question about weights and reps

[j407]

for awhile now ive doing kinda of a pyramid with my weights and reps. like on the bench press i start out on a certain amount of weight for 10 reps then i work my way up to a amount where i can only do 6 reps. it normaly goes 10,10,8,6 and i do that for a lot of exercise's but ive recently read that thats not a good way to build muscle. it said that by the time your on your third or fourth set your to tired. this artical also said to just pick a weight that you can do 6 to 8 reps in perfect form. and do that for 3 or 4 sets.

so im confused. is it better to do 4 sets on the same weight? it seems like if the weight was heavy enough your reps per set whould start to drop. and should this be done on every bodypart?

and how whould you know when to up weight? what do most of you do?

[Firehawk]

You can do a pyramid style routine if youw ant to. It's all about finding what works for you.

If you made progress but then progress stops, thats time to change it up then.

if you're goal is pure muscle gain, stay 6 reps and up. If it's for strength, stay 5 reps and under.

[j407]

my goal is deffinitley muscle gain. and progress has slowed down alittle

[InkZ]

I do 3 working sets with each set between 4-6 reps to failure on each set. If I don't make four it's too heavy, if I can do 6 it's too light. I then try to build it up either one rep or a weight every week. It works for Todd, so I'm giving his method a go

There are lots of ways to do it, like the others say, find what works for you. I get bored and like to try new things every few months.

[j407]

Originally Posted by InkZ

I do 3 working sets with each set between 4-6 reps to failure on each set. If I don't make four it's too heavy, if I can do 6 it's too light. I then try to build it up either one rep or a weight every week. It works for Todd, so I'm giving his method a go

There are lots of ways to do it, like the others say, find what works for you. I get bored and like to try new things every few months.

is that max ot?

[j407]

i just started the 12 week course at the ast site. and i have some confusing questions about max-ot. has anyone else noticed that they have a page that says exercises not to do?. and it list's a few exercises for each bodypart. but some of the exercises on the list are incorporated in there routines why is that. i think max-ot is a good way to train. but i dont quite get that. can you change the routine but use the same method of the rep/intensity/weight scheme? they also dont mention when to up weight. ive read todd's "no f'around workout" thread. and his ways of uping the weight are pretty good so i will probly use that.

is anybody in the middle of doing or just completed a cycle of max-ot. if so how did you like it? and did you follow there routines to a tee or try your own thing.

[InkZ]

I'm currently doing my old workout (cursors 3 day split), but with Max OT principles. Hard to say what results I'm getting as I've only just started applying the ideas, and I've only been working out for 9 months now. Just getting used to the ranges etc, and trying to sort my diet out at the same time. I've got some more reading to do before I religiously start following Max OT. So many diff techniques, ideas, advice, it's hard to know what to do

[threenorns]

it's easy: pick a system and try it for 8 weeks. if you don't like it, change something and see if it works better over the next 8 weeks, etc.

bodybuilding is an open process, not a closed loop where you say "there! done!"