Weight Poll

9519sam · 11-04-2005, 03:16 AM

i have always trained starting (after warm up set) light on the first set and increasing the weight each set. but a guy i'm about to start training with starts heavy and gets lighter

i'm going to give it a shot anyway but was just wondering how everyone else does it?

Sam

zx9rjas. · 11-04-2005, 08:09 AM

I have done both ways of training and both work quite well.

J

divie · 11-04-2005, 11:55 AM

I find starting heavy works you harder.If you start light then you are not pushing yourself in the first couple of sets, the ONLY way you can reach failure is by doing loads of reps, this is good for cutting or tone up, but if you want to bulk, lift as heavy as you can for about 6-8 reps and deacrease the following sets as needed.This way every set is worthwile and not just an excuse to piss through the first couple of sets.Like ive said though if you are tonning up and not worried about adding mass then do light weights for about 15 reps.
The only positive i would say with starting light is it warms your muscles up good and injuries are less likely to happen.

PS just my present opinion which could change depending on feedback from this topic, if someone could state the pros and cons from starting light i might give it a try.

PPS interesting topic, especially for novices like myself.

divie · 11-04-2005, 11:56 AM

Oh by the way if starting heavy, obviously do a good warm up!

exaktlywhat · 11-04-2005, 02:47 PM

i start at about 80% of my max, then i move up till on my 4th or 5th set (depending on how i feel) im having my spotter force the reps out of me, only helping steady me or lifting just enough to get the weight up or keep me from dropping it on my face if i give out. i dont think, and this is just an opinion, that you need to go to failure on your first or even second set, unless youre only doing 3 sets. going down in weight may be a decent technique but really you arent warranting more work from the muscle through your sets, youre making it easier. i read an interview with priest (who has arguably some of the best arms ever) in which the hotheaded little aussie said that when he does arms for instance he starts out at about 80% (hence my little routine) and goes up for about 5 or 6 sets, and does 12 reps or more on each set. he said its all about volume and getting as much blood into the muscle as possible, he also went on to say that lifters that decrease reps as they increase sets are pussies, but thats just lee talking. now this may not work for everyone and there are probably those out there that say im full of it, but hey, take it with a grain of salt. let me know what you guys think.

9519sam · 11-04-2005, 03:18 PM

can i change my vote?

just been to the gym and tryd heavy - light and it made a lot of diffrence,really felt like i had a good workout today (chest) will be sticking with this for a bit see how it go's

and i agree with what divie say's, it makes sence to start heavy when you have the strength in ya to lift heavy

divie · 11-04-2005, 03:42 PM

I drop weight as the sets go on and im no pussy, so the chavie who said that bollocks is talking out of his F******G shitter.
Stop making it personel and just give your opinions, theres no point behind that comment.
If you read my post it states, if you dont lift as heavy as you can you cant be pushing yourself ,and will not reach failure unless you do loads of reps, AGREED, wich DOES mean you dont give it your all in that set.It may be like most i pressume some sort of extended warm up which is fair especially if you do a lot of sets..In my opinion if you dont lower the weights as your sets go on you are holding back and the previous sets are just warm ups.
We must take in to acount the reps aswell as sometimes we may do 12 of a certain weight and realise theres no point lowering the weight as 12 is a lot of reps so ill just do 6-8 on the next set with the same weight reaching failure both times.This happens to me sometimes when ive been on creatine a thew weeks.

I do garys routine which is a 3 day workout of only 3 sets ,so failure on every set is a must, but if i was doing a 5 day split id still go for failure every set as a good warm is enougth to get the blood flowing and if your only training that muscle once a week id make sure id give that muscle some punishment as it will have time to rest.
Take it easy

divie · 11-04-2005, 03:55 PM

Well done 9519sam its nice to hear honest opinions who arent just following the crowd.

Its common sense really, if you try your hardest from the start when you have more energy it will be your muscles that tire before you do.Starting light just wastes energy, time .In my opinion its an excuse not to try your best from the start, i used to train light to heavy, but when i decided to go heavy from the start i felt i had a way better pump.

Anonymous · 11-04-2005, 05:56 PM

hello chaps,

ive never actually satrted heavy and then gone lighter, i have alwaqys worked upto the heavy ones.

the reason why this is, is because fear of injurys.

i couldnt imagine jumping in and doing 200kg squats 150kg bench. i may try the other way soon, but want to get my training back on track first as i lost abit of weight and abit of strangth.

i adapted to the priciples i read years ago,and they worked for me.

however i will watch this thread, it will be interesting to see other peoples thoughts who have tried it both ways.

but my workouts are short and intense anyway.

exaktlywhat · 11-04-2005, 06:13 PM

hey divie, i didnt call anyone a pussy, i was merely passing along information that i had picked up along the way too. i was actually restating something someone else had said, sorry i left off the quotation marks. everyone trains different and different things work for different people. lighten up m8!

View Poll Results: Do you start heavy and get lighter or start light and increase the weight?
Start light and increase the weight	5	50.00%
Start heavy and decrease the weight	4	40.00%
Neither, use the same weight for all sets	1	10.00%
Voters: 10. You may not vote on this poll

11-04-2005, 03:16 AM	#1 (permalink)
9519sam Making Progress Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Just outside Joe16's house! Posts: 573 Rep Power:	Weight Poll i have always trained starting (after warm up set) light on the first set and increasing the weight each set. but a guy i'm about to start training with starts heavy and gets lighter i'm going to give it a shot anyway but was just wondering how everyone else does it? Sam

11-04-2005, 08:09 AM	#2 (permalink)
zx9rjas. Legend Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Southampton Posts: 697 Rep Power:	I have done both ways of training and both work quite well. J ______________________ 50% of Training is nutrition 50% of Training is not overtraining If you cant gain see the above.

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11-04-2005, 11:55 AM	#3 (permalink)
divie Making Progress Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: somerset Posts: 436 Rep Power:	I find starting heavy works you harder.If you start light then you are not pushing yourself in the first couple of sets, the ONLY way you can reach failure is by doing loads of reps, this is good for cutting or tone up, but if you want to bulk, lift as heavy as you can for about 6-8 reps and deacrease the following sets as needed.This way every set is worthwile and not just an excuse to piss through the first couple of sets.Like ive said though if you are tonning up and not worried about adding mass then do light weights for about 15 reps. The only positive i would say with starting light is it warms your muscles up good and injuries are less likely to happen. PS just my present opinion which could change depending on feedback from this topic, if someone could state the pros and cons from starting light i might give it a try. PPS interesting topic, especially for novices like myself.

11-04-2005, 11:56 AM	#4 (permalink)
divie Making Progress Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: somerset Posts: 436 Rep Power:	Oh by the way if starting heavy, obviously do a good warm up!

11-04-2005, 02:47 PM	#5 (permalink)
exaktlywhat Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: florida usa Posts: 642 Rep Power:	i start at about 80% of my max, then i move up till on my 4th or 5th set (depending on how i feel) im having my spotter force the reps out of me, only helping steady me or lifting just enough to get the weight up or keep me from dropping it on my face if i give out. i dont think, and this is just an opinion, that you need to go to failure on your first or even second set, unless youre only doing 3 sets. going down in weight may be a decent technique but really you arent warranting more work from the muscle through your sets, youre making it easier. i read an interview with priest (who has arguably some of the best arms ever) in which the hotheaded little aussie said that when he does arms for instance he starts out at about 80% (hence my little routine) and goes up for about 5 or 6 sets, and does 12 reps or more on each set. he said its all about volume and getting as much blood into the muscle as possible, he also went on to say that lifters that decrease reps as they increase sets are pussies, but thats just lee talking. now this may not work for everyone and there are probably those out there that say im full of it, but hey, take it with a grain of salt. let me know what you guys think.

11-04-2005, 03:18 PM	#6 (permalink)
9519sam Making Progress Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Just outside Joe16's house! Posts: 573 Rep Power:	can i change my vote? just been to the gym and tryd heavy - light and it made a lot of diffrence,really felt like i had a good workout today (chest) will be sticking with this for a bit see how it go's and i agree with what divie say's, it makes sence to start heavy when you have the strength in ya to lift heavy

11-04-2005, 03:42 PM	#7 (permalink)
divie Making Progress Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: somerset Posts: 436 Rep Power:	I drop weight as the sets go on and im no pussy, so the chavie who said that bollocks is talking out of his F******G shitter. Stop making it personel and just give your opinions, theres no point behind that comment. If you read my post it states, if you dont lift as heavy as you can you cant be pushing yourself ,and will not reach failure unless you do loads of reps, AGREED, wich DOES mean you dont give it your all in that set.It may be like most i pressume some sort of extended warm up which is fair especially if you do a lot of sets..In my opinion if you dont lower the weights as your sets go on you are holding back and the previous sets are just warm ups. We must take in to acount the reps aswell as sometimes we may do 12 of a certain weight and realise theres no point lowering the weight as 12 is a lot of reps so ill just do 6-8 on the next set with the same weight reaching failure both times.This happens to me sometimes when ive been on creatine a thew weeks. I do garys routine which is a 3 day workout of only 3 sets ,so failure on every set is a must, but if i was doing a 5 day split id still go for failure every set as a good warm is enougth to get the blood flowing and if your only training that muscle once a week id make sure id give that muscle some punishment as it will have time to rest. Take it easy

11-04-2005, 03:55 PM	#8 (permalink)
divie Making Progress Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: somerset Posts: 436 Rep Power:	Well done 9519sam its nice to hear honest opinions who arent just following the crowd. Its common sense really, if you try your hardest from the start when you have more energy it will be your muscles that tire before you do.Starting light just wastes energy, time .In my opinion its an excuse not to try your best from the start, i used to train light to heavy, but when i decided to go heavy from the start i felt i had a way better pump.

11-04-2005, 05:56 PM	#9 (permalink)
Anonymous Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 0 Rep Power:	hello chaps, ive never actually satrted heavy and then gone lighter, i have alwaqys worked upto the heavy ones. the reason why this is, is because fear of injurys. i couldnt imagine jumping in and doing 200kg squats 150kg bench. i may try the other way soon, but want to get my training back on track first as i lost abit of weight and abit of strangth. i adapted to the priciples i read years ago,and they worked for me. however i will watch this thread, it will be interesting to see other peoples thoughts who have tried it both ways. but my workouts are short and intense anyway.

11-04-2005, 06:13 PM	#10 (permalink)
exaktlywhat Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: florida usa Posts: 642 Rep Power:	hey divie, i didnt call anyone a pussy, i was merely passing along information that i had picked up along the way too. i was actually restating something someone else had said, sorry i left off the quotation marks. everyone trains different and different things work for different people. lighten up m8!