no like on dips. Itll be more like 45, 20, 8, 4, 2.

quote:

Originally posted by Orbax no like on dips. Itll be more like 45, 20, 8, 4, 2.

yeah excersises like dips would be hard to do to failure for 5 sets, but i'll tell you this...arnold isn't doing plane old dips...he has weight attached and probably can just take off the weight as he goes...

and 45 sounds a little too high. you might wanna think about adding weight to your dips in order to keep the reps lower...

yeah, but then id have to find a weight belt somewhere and im lazy

Hmm... I figure this thread would be as good as any to go ahead and ask:

I've been lifting weights for a few months now (just a simple weight set - long bar, 2 short ones and about 100lbs worth of weights, no bench) and I'm concerned I'm not getting what im after. I want tone/strength more than bulk/looks. I've definately bulked out in the last few months but I don't feel like I've gained a whole lot of strength. I've been doing 2 sets of 8 in various exercises (mostly on the shoulders, biceps and triceps), but I worry I'm not getting enough high rep/low resistance that really builds that strength. Should I change my routine? If so, any suggestions as to what?

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NEW MIX [Feb/March 2008]

to get any gains you need to do a minimum of three sets of an exercise.

A good way for strength is to do a warmups with light weights for 12 reps or so. Then do a set of 8 with 80% of your maximum. Then id probably do a set till failure with max then two sets of till failure with 90% then drop back down to 80% and keep doing sets of 8. There is a process called working down the rack where if you cant finish 8 with say 40s, then you pick up 30s and do two more, and then grab the 20s, then the 10s.

With that method youll probably do something like:

warmup x 15
80% x 8
100% x 3-4
90% x 5
80% 6
70% 5
60% 6
50% 6

or something. The problem with strength training is that look at all the weight lifters.They all look like fatasses. Because out of hundreds of strands of muscle fibers only about 20% of them are devoted to strength. So when you tire those out and they cant work any more (which is probably happening relatively fast especially if youre done after 2x8) then those few strands will be the only things growing.

If, after those tire out, you continue to work the muscle, the supporting strands will also grow, increasing over all looks and strength.

Or you could just always do 2-3 seperate sets throughout your work out to give them time to rest. although theyll only get back to around 70% strength each time and itll be shortlasted.

My little saying I came up with is "The only way to increase weight, is to increase weight" keep grabbing those heavier weights and throwing em up as hard as you can. in a few months i was able to curl 50s from 25s ust because I always grabbed the heavy stuff first and THEN worked down. That way im doing strength training when I actually have strength. Same thing for bench press. Just throw weights on, get a spot, and max out once a week or so.

Don't forget to take time to focus on negatives, maybe two sets for each exercise that you're able to, every other week.

I have found that you dont have to focus on negatives per se if you just do the proper motion in the first place. a 2-3 second relaxation with an explosive contraction is generally seen as the best way to do a motion. So for bench, 1...2...3. UP 1...2...3.


they also say to wait .5-1 seconds between reps becaue most of the time 60% of the motion you are doing is momentum from the last one. Bring it to a total rest and then continue. Itll kick your ass.

Last edited by Orbax on May-24-2004 at 05:05

quote:

Originally posted by Orbax I have found that you dont have to focus on negatives per se if you just do the proper motion in the first place. a 2-3 second relaxation with an explosive contraction is generally seen as the best way to do a motion. So for bench, 1...2...2. UP 1...2...3. they also say to wait .5-1 seconds between reps becaue most of the time 60% of the motion you are doing is momentum from the last one. Bring it to a total rest and then continue. Itll kick your ass.

Yeah, unfortunately the majority of people don't go through the right motion, so it's necessary to focus on negatives. Plus, it's still a good workout. You'll feel a really nice stretch.

My diet is pretty poor....i just eat a lot of protein (red meat mainly), drink a lot of milk, as well as eating a lot of everything else (vegetables, chicken, bread, pasta, junk food). I tend to snack a lot, because i exercise almost every day, as well as going to uni, so i get pretty hungry! Oh well, i have gained about 3 kilograms (about 7 pounds) since February, and that is all muscle, so i'm pretty happy with that.

quote:

Originally posted by nrjizer Hmm... I figure this thread would be as good as any to go ahead and ask: I've been lifting weights for a few months now (just a simple weight set - long bar, 2 short ones and about 100lbs worth of weights, no bench) and I'm concerned I'm not getting what im after. I want tone/strength more than bulk/looks. I've definately bulked out in the last few months but I don't feel like I've gained a whole lot of strength. I've been doing 2 sets of 8 in various exercises (mostly on the shoulders, biceps and triceps), but I worry I'm not getting enough high rep/low resistance that really builds that strength. Should I change my routine? If so, any suggestions as to what?

traditionally this is what each encompasses...

Tone:

lots of reps little weight

Strength:

lots of weight little reps

and if i was you i'd get or gain access to a bench of some kind. you're not gonna be able to do so many things without it. just go to a garage sale or something and pick up some peice of junk to get you buy...

quote:

Originally posted by Vigilante My diet is pretty poor....i just eat a lot of protein (red meat mainly), drink a lot of milk, as well as eating a lot of everything else (vegetables, chicken, bread, pasta, junk food). I tend to snack a lot, because i exercise almost every day, as well as going to uni, so i get pretty hungry! Oh well, i have gained about 3 kilograms (about 7 pounds) since February, and that is all muscle, so i'm pretty happy with that.

I can guarantee that is not even close to all muscle. You even said yourself your diet is poor, why would you think it's all muscle?

quote:

Originally posted by Omegasox I can guarantee that is not even close to all muscle. You even said yourself your diet is poor, why would you think it's all muscle?

let him have his pipe dream...