Decreasing Reps vs. Decreasing Load

The Smaniac · 04-21-2006, 02:47 PM

Quick question:

I'm in Hypertrophy I right now (and it is whupping me royally) and I'm finding that especially on the 4x10 days I can't get the full 10 reps in my fourth (or sometimes third) set for some exercises with the load I start with. Should I stay with the weight I start with and do as many reps as possible or drop weight to complete all reps?

Just for clarification, I can usually get ~8-9 reps with my starting weight on the last set.

BFG · 04-21-2006, 03:07 PM

how longs a piece of string I think is the answer to that one. Depending what camp you sit in will be the answer you get.

Tis better to have good form and shift the weight than crap form to get the numbers up

gobbla · 04-21-2006, 03:28 PM

I *think* alywn recommends using as much as you can for set one....as much as you can for set two...as much as you can for set three....ect

so the weight might change from set to set but all the time you're hitting your rep goal.

that said...one or two reps on your last set isn't a big deal...rack it...wait 3 seconds and finish your last couple of reps

Three · 04-22-2006, 08:04 AM

What Gobbla posted is exactly how I have been doing these workouts.

I lower the weights as needed to complete each set and if that still happens to be too heavy, I put the weight down, wait a few seconds and then finish the set.

I have always wondered if that was the right thing to do. Maybe Lou or Alwyn can set us straight?

Three · 04-23-2006, 10:26 AM

I left out a few thoughts on the last reply...

I think that you are supposed to pick a weight that you can use for all the sets without having to lower them, however these workouts are all new to me and in picking a starting weight I sometimes miss and end up too heavy. I'm sure this happens to a lot of people. Ultimately after the first time through a routine I have the weights correct and I set the following workout up so that they get heavier or stay the same as the sets get completed.

So, to continue my ramble here. The first time through a workout I may have to lower the weights or rest a few seconds and then continue the set to the specified reps....blah, blah, blah.