how many reps???

[lemon]

alright guys, im trying to add size, so Ive been pyramiding...well everything haha
i do a set of 10 then 8 then 5 on all exercises, building weight each set

but then i took a peak into my dads body building mags, and they said " for strenght 3-5, for size/mass buliding 6--8, and for conditioning 15-20"...sooooooo have i been lifting like a moron and doing nothing to increase my size? i thought i was looking bigger, but then again, it could be that im just looking different and not bigger ...idk guys help me out

 

[rankbull]

well... let's see where to begin....... sooooooooo. haha?!

See how annoying it is to have to read such a sad excuse of grammar and sentence structure? The government spends over 350 BILLION DOLLARS each year to fund education. Please give me faith in our nation and my tax dollars.

Now, onto your question. You said you wanted to increase your size, but said nothing about your food or calorie intake. Number one rule to increase your size or muscle mass is to eat like a gorilla and you'll see the most ideal results with a good routine. For bulking, I would suggest what was suggested to me a long time ago by the head personal trainer for Baylor University's Athletics (definitely a guy that knows his $h!t). It's a 4 week split of 4 different rep counts for each set.

Like this:

*Each exercise begins with a lightweight set of 15-20 warm-up reps with very low weight. Concentrate on positive and negative movement.

Week 1: 12 reps on each set. (I typically do 3 sets per exercise)

Week 2: 10 reps "

Week 3: 8 reps "

Week 4: 5-6 reps "

This is truly my favorite bulk routine... Good luck.

 

[thesinner]

This is indeed the age-old question that I've often been lead to believe may infact be an arbitrary parameter.

In essence, weight training is designed to push the desired muscles to a point of anaerobic limitation. Ignoring the semantics revolving around the various biochemical reactions, we might assume that the end result is to keep more adenosine triphosphate on reserve, in other words, store more energy to be used in anaerobic activity. Logically, the control is and should be to push the limitations of readily available energy in the muscle. The complexing part comes with the fact that other energy sources become utilized throughout the weight training process, based on the available rates of utilization. Since rate of consumption is a time-dependent parameter, it seems to make more sense to use time as the proper measure, as opposed to the number of reps, which may be suggestive of time, but in practice are not.

The rule of thumb for anaerobic activity states that the body can maintain a solely anaerobic state for about 15-20 seconds. After that, other sources come into play, and ease the stress on anaerobic pathways. That being said, after this 15-20 second threshhold, your ATP hasn't yet run dry. This comes to the difficult part of the set, in which your body starts to struggle for available energy sources. The amount of struggle is going to depend upon how well your body utilizes oxygen (and how well it transports to the specific muscle groups you are working!), which can throw up a variable range of working times. I personally shoot for a nominal of about 30-45 seconds.

 

[thesinner]

well... let's see where to begin....... sooooooooo. haha?!

See how annoying it is to have to read such a sad excuse of grammar and sentence structure? The government spends over 350 BILLION DOLLARS each year to fund education. Please give me faith in our nation and my tax dollars.

Unfortunately, a greater chunk of that goes towards the printing of standardized tests. :/

 

[scherbs]

I hear you on the uselessness of standardized tests, but as a teacher (thankfully not of English), the grammar and syntax of some posts make me want to gouge my eyes out!
I hate to hijack the thread and I do like immaboss's layout--but it is also good to finally hear another voice in the wilderness calling for at least a modicum of literacy on the boards of AM!

 

[BIG R]

You (Lemon, the OP) give me the impression you are fairly new to weight lifting, and probably a young guy as well. If that's so then what I would do is concentrate on getting strong first. Once you get strong, then you can figure out what number of reps seems to work best for you. A lot of guys hear "do such and such # reps to get big" but they are so weak, they end up spinning their wheels.

I would find out how much I could lift on each exercise, then do the most i could possibly do to barely survive four reps in good form, then cheat up one or two more with a spotter, for three sets each exercise. Keep trying to push yourself and raise the weight as often as possible. Get enough sleep and never work a muscle group that is still sore from its previous workout.

Once you get to a sticking point, where you go several workouts and you cant get any stronger, then change up and use lighter weights for appx eight reps or so, for three sets per exercise.

Then you will need to experiment to see where you want to go from there, because everybody's muscles respond slightly different to different techniques.

But a guy who is trying to decide if he wants to curl 120 for five, 110 for eight, or 100 for 12 is obviously in a better situation, regardless, than a guy who can only curl half that much, get my drift?

This has worked out well for a lot of new guys Ive trained with.

In all honesty though, I think if you are intense in your workouts, and you feel good about it, your pyramiding should probably be fine. If you are steadily getting stronger, you will definately get bigger that way.

 

[anoopbal]

As long as your strength is climbing or the weights you are lifting is increasing, none of these matters.

 

[lemon]

I am young, but not so much new to lifting. Ive been lifting for 3 years now, since i was on the shot put team in high school. but all i was shown / have done is circuit training. 3 sets of 12 reps on everything. i never tried to increase size and get stronger. Up until this last month, ive been trying to get as big and strong as possible, an no more circuit training.
i apologize for the poor grammar, im on 240sx.org and grammar never really applies to over there, and im used to text/im talk.

 

[bkoguy07]

If you can knock out the higher weight every week with the right form you will get bigger. that's all there is to it

 

[rankbull]

I am young, but not so much new to lifting. Ive been lifting for 3 years now, since i was on the shot put team in high school. but all i was shown / have done is circuit training. 3 sets of 12 reps on everything. i never tried to increase size and get stronger. Up until this last month, ive been trying to get as big and strong as possible, an no more circuit training.
i apologize for the poor grammar, im on 240sx.org and grammar never really applies to over there, and im used to text/im talk.

Haha it's all good man, I was just messin' with ya.

 

[lemon]

oh i know, no hate, just a little explanation/background on the situation.
today i just started logging all my sets, so i can have something to go off of to track my weights, instead of just trying to remember them haha, i feel like im 60 thinking back to what i did last and not being able to remember

 

[biggerthantex]

For size you have to eat eat eat and then did i mention eat. Like everyone else said not everyone is the same. Try and change up your workout til you find something that works. I have found that 4 sets of 4-6 reps help me the best with size and strength

 

[hugerobb]

well my opinion on this and it has worked for me for the past 30yrs is lift heavy and no more than 10 reps.x4-5 sets. and of course do them correctly.

 

[MM11]

My opinion is to get bigger it is not as dependent on how you train. More diet. People over analyze how to train. In my opinion go heavy on the big 3, and fill in the blanks as personally needed. If you want to get big eat 1000 cals over per day. This will work more than switching from 6 reps per set to 8. If you bust your ass in the gym And truly push yourself then focus on fixing diet issues. If your not busting ass in the gym well then I cannot help.

EAT.

 

[B5150]

Periodization for Bodybuilders - Part I

Periodization for Bodybuilders - Part II

Periodization for Bodybuilders - Part III

 

[CCV3]

15
12 if I go heavy.

If you are doing 10, it better be bone crushing weight.

 

[hugerobb]

I agree with MM11 you have too eat big then eat again

 

[MarkG]

Strenght training first then size.

I'm not the be all and end all of anything but trust me.

21 I was like 145 pounds, I'm now 198, ok I'm also 9 years older but in that time ice learnt alot.

Personally I started 5x5 increasing the weight as I go until it's at what I consider a good weight.

Then bulk, eat everything in the fridge and then the fridge itself, this is harder done then said, might want to look at a weight gainer thrown In twice a day to get your cals up.

The I change my routine, 10x3 at a slighty less weight then I was lifting 5x5, concentrating on the pump and getting the blood flowing through , ripping
that muscle.

Change ur exercises about every 6-8 weeks so themuscle don't get used to it.

Google werewolf training and on that site it'll list the top five excercises for each muscle, I typically do three per muscle .

Good luck bud .

 

[R1balla]

this works well for me

Compound lifts (BB Bench): reps 3 to 5
Secondary lifts (DB Incline): reps 6 to 10
Accessory lifts (Flys, Machines): reps 12 to 15