For the past year, I was hitting pretty heavy weights with just medium reps. I got my bench up to 405 x 5, deadlift to 565 x 5, squat to 500 x 5, etc. While it was fun, I felt like I needed more volume over all.
So over the past month or so I’ve dropped my weights and have not been going under 10 reps on anything. I’m also 20+ lbs light than I was this past winter so shit feels much heavier anyway lol.
I guess my question for some or you bigger, leaner, more aesthetic guys out there is…what are your rep ranges for your main lifts bench, squat, dead, press)? What do you feel has pushed your body to grow and develop the most?
Bench, squat and shoulder press: 15 reps have always given me the best results
Deadlift and bent over rows: 5 - 8 reps seem more effective
I am certain that if I’m going to get my upper-body back to anywhere near its former peak,I’m going to have to be pressing some heavy weights for high reps.
There’s little point in me trying a high-rep routine at the moment though, my current strength levels are too low. I’ve got the fitness to do a high volume workout but not the ‘oomph’ to really get the most from high reps
I’m building myself back up with a 5x5 routine. Once I’ve peaked, I’ll then cut the weight and train towards a 15RM that’s as close to my previous 5RM as possible.
good luck with your training
Isn’t this just a version of “the one you aren’t doing”? I find that I like lower rep ranges a lot better. After a while on these, it is humbling to go back down to a lower weight and up the reps. 12 or 15. I hate 'em, hate 'em, hate 'em. Prolly means they are doing me the most benefit as I re-adapt. Still hate them.
Keep working at it. Soon, getting to the gym, sitting on the equipment and reading a newspaper will blow your mind!
I do high and lower reps now but usually not less than 8. On some pressing movements I now do more than 20.[/quote]
LOL for me I like to peak from 10-12 down to 5’s but for lower body I like to keep the reps 10+ and I am working on getting to the 20’s to really kick my conditioning…
[quote]rds63799 wrote:
never really go below 8 for anything[/quote]
x2, and my body has never felt better.[/quote]
yeah man, that’s pretty much my reasoning too.
pre-exhausting, particularly my chest, has made a huge difference too. You should try it if you haven’t already[/quote]
I sure have. Actually have quite a few new stretch marks that have appeared in the last half year or so on my chesticles, and I don’t think I’ve ever trained as relatively light as I am in my life. Feels great, haha.
[quote]rds63799 wrote:
never really go below 8 for anything[/quote]
x2, and my body has never felt better.[/quote]
yeah man, that’s pretty much my reasoning too.
pre-exhausting, particularly my chest, has made a huge difference too. You should try it if you haven’t already[/quote]
Absolutely man, I love pre-exhausting for every body part now actually. Get that pump in there and then hit the real weights
[quote]jp_dubya wrote:
Isn’t this just a version of “the one you aren’t doing”? I find that I like lower rep ranges a lot better. After a while on these, it is humbling to go back down to a lower weight and up the reps. 12 or 15. I hate 'em, hate 'em, hate 'em. Prolly means they are doing me the most benefit as I re-adapt. Still hate them. [/quote]
I do think there’s something to the idea of periodically incorporating significantly different rep ranges than you’re used to. For example, working in the 3-5 range for several weeks/months, then adjusting and using 10-12 for most sets.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a fair argument up to a point, but there’s something to be said for reaping the benefits of new stimulation through varying rep ranges. Different rep ranges often, but not always, mean including exercises you haven’t done in a while (since some exercises “work better” in some rep ranges than in others) and any time spent with relatively-higher reps gives joints and support structures a break from those periods of heavier stress.
While I do not have a certain schedule that I follow for reps, I try to keep them rotating. For instance, I have a day once a month where I will work up to a heavy triple on flat BB. The rest of the workout is in the 8-12 range. I do deads every week but twice a month will work up to a heavy double. Most everything else is in the 8-12 range and certain things are up into the 15-25. And then some weeks I will use a rest pause method making sure that the first piece of the set is at least 8 reps.
The heavy stuff all the time or staying in the 3-5 or even 5-7 range kills me after about 3-4 weeks.
I’m a low-rep guy…I was on a hybrid powerlifting/BB program, where I used 5/3/1 for the main lifts and 5x5 by Reg Park for everything else. It worked great for about 2 years and I gained both strength and muscle mass.
Recent problems with my right knee prevent me from doing squats (I can leg-press though) and I can only do stiff-legged DL, so I dropped 5/3/1 from my routine and now I’m all about 5x5 mixed with some 3x6-8 for pump. Still works great for me.