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2002/12/23, 01:57 PM
Hi All,
Just want to ask this: Ive started lifting with 3 to 4 sets of what my program says. Ive decided to use less weight. Im not really sure of the machine or excerise names yet so bear with me on this. The ft program says 20 16 14 12 reps per set. Thats kind of how my program works. So my arms strength with free weight I can do a lying bench w/ 30's in each hand. I choosen to use 10 to 15 now...but more reps then before. My legs on the calf machine I can work 260 with my legs for calf. Im still doing that weight but like 2 sets w/10/12 reps. Otherwise I use 20 for cables pulldown things like that. Hopefully Im making some kind of sense here!!!!???? My question is with the new reps Im burning like hell but less weight. If I use the old way of using heavier weight cant really get 20 out of that. So am I (?) doing alright not really max'ing out? I am seeing improvement w/ the FT way but wondered if I am supposed to use heavier weight. Thank ya;ll for any and all responses. CC
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2002/12/23, 02:14 PM
Other than your warm up set, I would reccommend performing the exercise with a weight where you reach failure (or are very close) on the last rep. This provides the greatest amount of resistance for each set. I hope this is what you were shooting for in an answer.
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2002/12/23, 02:23 PM
cc that 20 rep set was a warm up only not to be used witha lot of weight. It is ok to change a workout routine every now and again, but really should at least give it a 6-8 weeks of longer. You say you are seeing results the FT way, then why change? What was the reason for using lighter weights?
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TO DEADLIFT, OR NOT TO DEADLIFT, THAT IS THE QUESTION!
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2002/12/23, 02:24 PM
I think I understand what you are getting at.
Different reps for different muscle fibers.
For example, I like using the leg press if you cannot tell :),
Say you do
20 @ 90
16 @ 110
14 @ 130
12 @ 150
Then you do
50-100 @ 70
Both ways work the muscle fibers but the second choice will build endurance. You are using your fast twitch, slow twitch, Type I, Type II and Type IIB depending on your rep and weight range. Both ways will burn but for me the second choice I feel a different kind of burn.
Hope this helps.
:) Melissa
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Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather we have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
- -- Aristotle
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2002/12/23, 06:53 PM
Mandre...good answer. You are right on track with this. Unless you are one of the "blessed" ones that have a large proportion of fast twitch fibers, the low reps with heavy weight will go more toward building strength. True, these fibers have the most poteintial for growth, but as stated, if you are not genetically blessed you probably don't have a large amount of them. Therefore, you have to counter with lighter rep range sets also to work the other fibers to induce growth. That is the reason you can see one guy next to you doing 3 sets of 3-5 reps and growing like a weed, and another guy does the same thing and doesn't grow at all. Will get stronger though. For most of us, a 9-12 rep range is optimal for growth.
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The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary!
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