Doman26

First,

I was at the gym the other day doing deadlifts. I look to the right to see myself in the mirror to check my form. The one trainer told me I shouldn't do that because its exposes my spine and could be bad. I understand what he is saying but I was wondering what you guys thought. Is the turning of the head significant or just marginal for possible damage?

Second,

What is the advantage or disadvantage of working out in pyramid set.

Crude example,

set 1 10 reps of 25lbs
set 2 8 reps of 40 lbs
set 3 6 reps of 50 lbs

How is this compared to just doing lets say 8 reps and going down in weight per set?

Is one technique better than another for certain body parts? Or what is the purpose?

In the last two years I have only really done the pyramid with deadlifts because I can't see myself lifting 300 lbs on the first set, so I do it to warm up to the heavy weight.

I currently do a full body workout 3 times a week, definitely an ectomorph. I do similar things to Gary's beginner workout, I wish his link was still available to compare workouts.

Thanks for your time