The official gym & weightlifting thread! rep #2

[jmattbassplaya]

It all depends on your goals, and the reason you are lifting weights. Low reps (up to 5 build strength), higher reps build endurance and hypertrophy (muscle growth). As your sets of 15 reps increase, your 1 rep max for that lift will also increase, but you are not specifically training for a 1RM.

That's correct for working out body parts like your arms, shoulders, and chest, but from my understanding your legs require a higher 'minimum set' for growth stimulation. The thought behind it is that your legs get more of a workout on your average day just from carrying your body weight around that in order to see your best gains you have to do more reps than you would with other muscle groups. So for strength gains you'd be doing something like 8-12 reps, for general fitness you'd do do 12-18, and for endurance you'd be doing 18+.

If it's wrong then (honestly) please correct me, but I've been doing this for around 5 years now for my leg workouts and it has worked really well for me.

 

[Chebass88]

...
If it's wrong then (honestly) please correct me, but I've been doing this for around 5 years now for my leg workouts and it has worked really well for me.

Well, then, it works!

Some things work well for some, and not so well for others.

If you are trying to go for a single rep maximum, lower rep sets help. If you are trying to get as much blood into the muscle as possible - higher rep sets work.

 

[tjh]

I am sure that this will be controversial, but there is absoutely no reason for anyone to ever do a single rep max attempt other than those training for competition to do so ... there is no benefit of any sort in doing a single rep to establish your 'max' lift, and unlimited possibilities for injury ... if you want to know your 1-rep max, run it through the fomula based on your 10 rep max ... JMHO

 

[benthughes]

We've started working higher reps for legs while throwing in a couple sets of heavy lifts.

Yesterday for legs
Squats: #135 for 20 , #225 12, #225 10 #275 8 and #225 for 10

Leg press: #360 for 8 with feet in high and low position on the plate ( 8 high 8 low for 16 total)

Leg extensions with 70 lbs. Really slow and holding at the top.

Calf raises and lunges to finish

We started doing a light weight high rep cardio day which is awful. Last week was a continuous set that starts with straight leg deadlifts to bent over rows to hang cleans to shoulder press. 90 pounds for 10 reps on each exercise for 4 sets. Next round was 1 minute each of kettelball swings, jump rope then box jumps. Turns out I'm grossly out of shape.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I am sure that this will be controversial, but there is absoutely no reason for anyone to ever do a single rep max attempt other than those training for competition to do so ... there is no benefit of any sort in doing a single rep to establish your 'max' lift, and unlimited possibilities for injury ... if you want to know your 1-rep max, run it through the fomula based on your 10 rep max ... JMHO

But it can work as a good psychological boost.

 

[NML1986]

I worked out for a year, 3 times a week, 2 hours a time, didn't see much results. Problem for me was, I was burning too many cals, I bike everywhere, went to karate, was on my feet all day at work. An online cal calculator said I needed 3500 cals a day! Then just before xmas I broke my wrist and had a plate inserted. That put an end to my years hard work.

 

[Darth Handsome]

I am sure that this will be controversial, but there is absoutely no reason for anyone to ever do a single rep max attempt other than those training for competition to do so ... there is no benefit of any sort in doing a single rep to establish your 'max' lift, and unlimited possibilities for injury ... if you want to know your 1-rep max, run it through the fomula based on your 10 rep max ... JMHO

Took the words right out of my mouth.

 

[J. Crawford]

Headed to the Arnold Classic this weekend. Sadly I can only attend Sunday, but one day is better than none. Being an Exercise Physiology major makes people think I'm going for research... Hehehe.

Freebie galore!

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Well, after gaining a boatload of weight, damn not being able to train regularly at all.

I'm going back to my Dr tomorrow, see if I can get a referral for an X-Ray or MRI scan to see if I've herniated a disc in my back. Yay

 

[jmattbassplaya]

Headed to the Arnold Classic this weekend. Sadly I can only attend Sunday, but one day is better than none. Being an Exercise Physiology major makes people think I'm going for research... Hehehe.

Freebie galore!

Nice!

In other news, I've recently come to the conclusion that I need to change my diet up. I've gotten to a weight I'm not too thrilled with, and while a lot of my mass is muscle, a decent portion of it is fat, as well.

My daily meal plan for the past week and a half has looked something like this (with a few variations here and there):

meal 1 - protein shake - 120 cal, 22g
meal 2 - oatmeal with a scoop of protein and water - 300 cal, 25g
meal 3 - beans and brown rice with salsa and skim milk - 450 cal, 20g
meal 4 - protein bar (this is pre workout) - 300 cal, 25g
meal 5 - protein shake (post workout) - 120 cal, 22g
meal 6 - mixed veggies and chicken breast - 375 cal, 23g
meal 7 - skim milk or a shake - 120 cal, 22g

I usually fall within 1,700 and 1,800 cals a day with 140-160g of protein taken in. So far I've lost around 3lbs fallowing this diet (though I should call it a lifestyle change). I'm planning to follow this for around 8-12 weeks, or until I drop down to 152-155lbs and bring my fat percentage to about 9-10%. From there I'll up my caloric intake a hair and look to maintain that weight.

 

[Chebass88]

Headed to the Arnold Classic this weekend. Sadly I can only attend Sunday, but one day is better than none. Being an Exercise Physiology major makes people think I'm going for research... Hehehe.

Freebie galore!

Awesome! Are you going to view the strongman competition also?

It appears to be a great cast of characters - Mikhail Koklyaev, Brian Shaw, Zydrunas Savickas (Big Z), Terry Hollands, Mike Jenkins, Travis Ortmayer (The Texas Stoneman), Derek Poundstone (Worlds Strongest Cop), Laurence Shahlaei, and Haftor Bjornsson. Too bad Benedikt Magnussen had to back out due to injury - watching him deadlift is awesome!

 

[J. Crawford]

We are going to be there the entire 6 hours, so I'm sure we'll see everything we possibly can. I feel like I may be blowing through some Joey this weekend..

JMatt, I'm digging the diet! I'm trying to change mine, but I'm such a creature of habit that I'm taking it step by step. First step was to completely cut out pop and deep fried foods. It's going well thus far. I don't miss pop whatsoever.

 

[buzzbass]

Just so you know, when you're doing legs you don't want to be doing less than 15 reps at a time, otherwise you're not working your leg out to its fullest potential - or at least that's what I've always heard/read. My instructor even mentioned it in the class I took, so I'd consider it a good rule of thumb to adhere to.

Horseshiz ! (with a Z)

 

[buzzbass]

Nice!

In other news, I've recently come to the conclusion that I need to change my diet up. I've gotten to a weight I'm not too thrilled with, and while a lot of my mass is muscle, a decent portion of it is fat, as well.

My daily meal plan for the past week and a half has looked something like this (with a few variations here and there):

meal 1 - protein shake - 120 cal, 22g
meal 2 - oatmeal with a scoop of protein and water - 300 cal, 25g
meal 3 - beans and brown rice with salsa and skim milk - 450 cal, 20g
meal 4 - protein bar (this is pre workout) - 300 cal, 25g
meal 5 - protein shake (post workout) - 120 cal, 22g
meal 6 - mixed veggies and chicken breast - 375 cal, 23g
meal 7 - skim milk or a shake - 120 cal, 22g

I usually fall within 1,700 and 1,800 cals a day with 140-160g of protein taken in. So far I've lost around 3lbs fallowing this diet (though I should call it a lifestyle change). I'm planning to follow this for around 8-12 weeks, or until I drop down to 152-155lbs and bring my fat percentage to about 9-10%. From there I'll up my caloric intake a hair and look to maintain that weight.

you're not eating nearly enough. your body will begin to see it as a "famine" situation and begin slowing your metabolism accordingly. Your gains/losses will stop, if they haven't already

 

[jmattbassplaya]

you're not eating nearly enough. your body will begin to see it as a "famine" situation and begin slowing your metabolism accordingly. Your gains/losses will stop, if they haven't already

Err, do you know my height/weight/activity level? Not trying to be a butt, but that's exactly how many calories a guy like me needs in order to lose fat. I could afford to consume an extra 100 calories, but if I went up even 300 calories I'd be in the 'maintaining weight' range. Also, with the way I space my meals I never starve myself, so my body is very unlikely to see it as a starvation situation. And with the amount of protein I take in my body won't be breaking down much, if any, muscle, either.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

you're not eating nearly enough. your body will begin to see it as a "famine" situation and begin slowing your metabolism accordingly. Your gains/losses will stop, if they haven't already

Wouldn't say that's near starvation mode cutting, IMO/IME.

 

[Keano]

Speaking of diet:
Swole.me - The automatic diet planner

I don't have trouble coming up with meals, but I've been playing around with the site just for the heck of it and seems pretty good. Could be useful for someone just starting out on diet planning.

 

[Darth Handsome]

you're not eating nearly enough. your body will begin to see it as a "famine" situation and begin slowing your metabolism accordingly. Your gains/losses will stop, if they haven't already

He's cutting, not bulking. His calorie number with 170 g of protein & no simple carbs sounds like a decent approach to me.

The metabolism will always adapt to whatever you're doing eventually. And he won't go into "famine" on 1800 cals/day.

 

[buzzbass]

Err, do you know my height/weight/activity level? Not trying to be a butt, but that's exactly how many calories a guy like me needs in order to lose fat. I could afford to consume an extra 100 calories, but if I went up even 300 calories I'd be in the 'maintaining weight' range. Also, with the way I space my meals I never starve myself, so my body is very unlikely to see it as a starvation situation. And with the amount of protein I take in my body won't be breaking down much, if any, muscle, either.

1800 calories a day isn't enough to keep a humming bird alive. Pm me, I'll give you my cell and we can discuss, too much to type

 

[buzzbass]

He's cutting, not bulking. His calorie number with 170 g of protein & no simple carbs sounds like a decent approach to me.

The metabolism will always adapt to whatever you're doing eventually. And he won't go into "famine" on 1800 cals/day.

your metabolism needs to elevate to digest protein, you're looking fo at least 1 gram per lb. of bodyweight each day. Agree on the simple carbs, and limit complex carbs. A bit of fat is advisable too, it'll help the body get over the loss of carbs. If you're losing or gaining, you basically eat the same way. It's the activity level and other things that determine what your body does. Many smaller meals throughout the day are also better than 2-3 larger ones.