How much weight?

[charly]

Ok..I fall into the beginner cat. because I've never worked out consistantly more than 6-8 months at a time. My max squat and bench is aprox 160 lbs @ 5 reps. Don't know what my 1 rep max is..never tried it.
So my question is should I choose a wgt based on completeing the reps with good form (with plenty of gas left) or when finishing the last rep at a point of fatigue?

I did most of TAP and want to be consistant with New Rules

Thanks for the help,
charly

[Lou Schuler]

The workouts in New Rules aren't designed for you to go to failure, especially in the early stages of Fat Loss and Hypertrophy. You may inadvertently go to failure, especially in the advanced programs like Fat Loss III and all three Strength programs, but it's not something you're supposed to do here.

You should focus on completing the reps with good form. The amount of gas you leave in the tank depends on where you are in each program.

Let's say you're doing a specific workout a total of three times. The first time through, you probably want to leave two reps in the tank, or at least shoot for that. You'll probably undershoot or overshoot a bit, since there's no magical way to know how much weight to use for every exercise in every rep range. It's all trial and error.

The second time through, try to get within one rep of your limit.

The third time, push yourself a bit, and make the last rep you perform the last rep your muscles could do. (Don't go past that, however, with forced reps or partial reps or anything else. The recovery periods in Alwyn's programs aren't calibrated for that kind of supramaximal intensity.)

You'll still be working with heavier weights in each of these workouts, because you're getting stronger.

I hope this helps!

[charly]

Thanks, Lou. I appreciate the help.

charly

[yovwmon]

This may be a good post to copy into the FAQ's section, I had the same question a few weeks ago.

Originally Posted by Lou Schuler

The workouts in New Rules aren't designed for you to go to failure, especially in the early stages of Fat Loss and Hypertrophy. You may inadvertently go to failure, especially in the advanced programs like Fat Loss III and all three Strength programs, but it's not something you're supposed to do here.

You should focus on completing the reps with good form. The amount of gas you leave in the tank depends on where you are in each program.

Let's say you're doing a specific workout a total of three times. The first time through, you probably want to leave two reps in the tank, or at least shoot for that. You'll probably undershoot or overshoot a bit, since there's no magical way to know how much weight to use for every exercise in every rep range. It's all trial and error.

The second time through, try to get within one rep of your limit.

The third time, push yourself a bit, and make the last rep you perform the last rep your muscles could do. (Don't go past that, however, with forced reps or partial reps or anything else. The recovery periods in Alwyn's programs aren't calibrated for that kind of supramaximal intensity.)

You'll still be working with heavier weights in each of these workouts, because you're getting stronger.

I hope this helps!