How Much = Too Much

[swolemc]

it seems as tho i have all aspects of training and dieting in check except the 1.. HOW MUCH WEIGHT is Too heavy??

for example..im currently doing the 5x5 ( with great results i must add) but before that i would bench around 265 for 3 sets of 8.. by the time i got to rep 7-8 my form was pretty terrible but i could still get the weight up.. The question is should i lift like 2 plates but keep super strict form??

when i lift less i feel the burn more but i dont wanna be curling 30 pound dumbells when i can do more..

the thing is for example when im doing curls with 45's ill feel it in my bicep but also in my shoulders.. before i thought maybe this is better for building mass compound style but now i dunnno.. any opinions?

 

[swolemc]

any thoughts/ideas/inputs?

 

[Dlove]

Prop's on the 5x5 bro, it seem's like not many believe in 3 day spilt's until they do them.

How you benching? BBer style of Pler style? Ima add a clip here that might help ya out.

As for going balls to the wall that's what's up but watch getting sloppy I would personally drop the weight and get the form down better and that might ultimately pay off more and will help avoid injury. When I stopped going to failure and leaving a couple clean reps left in the tank I saw myself getting stronger every week in return gaining every week. That's just what helped me.

YouTube - Dave Tate's Six-Week Bench Press Cure

 

[sisqq]

4-6 reps min and not for a long time frame (months). You have to understand that you're a bodybuilder and not a powerlifter. It's the common error of most in this sport.

 

[DADAWG]

4-6 reps min and not for a long time frame (months). You have to understand that you're a bodybuilder and not a powerlifter. It's the common error of most in this sport.

heavy lifting adds mass , PERIOD. im not saying maxx out all the time but if you dont lift heavy then you will never reach your full potential.

 

[swolemc]

Prop's on the 5x5 bro, it seem's like not many believe in 3 day spilt's until they do them.

How you benching? BBer style of Pler style? Ima add a clip here that might help ya out.

As for going balls to the wall that's what's up but watch getting sloppy I would personally drop the weight and get the form down better and that might ultimately pay off more and will help avoid injury. When I stopped going to failure and leaving a couple clean reps left in the tank I saw myself getting stronger every week in return gaining every week. That's just what helped me.

YouTube - Dave Tate's Six-Week Bench Press Cure

i do a bb bench except with my shoulders pushed together..

How accurate do you think it is to judge a workout by the "burn". cause now that i dropped the weights a bit i get more of a burn.. but then again i also get a burn from swimming and thats not building any mass...

and DADAWG.. i hear you about heavy lifting bro but when I get back pumps after bicep day i think its a little too heavy lol. im gonna keep the weights down for a month or so and see how my body responds.

 

[numba1scrapper]

i do a bb bench except with my shoulders pushed together..

How accurate do you think it is to judge a workout by the "burn". cause now that i dropped the weights a bit i get more of a burn.. but then again i also get a burn from swimming and thats not building any mass...

and DADAWG.. i hear you about heavy lifting bro but when I get back pumps after bicep day i think its a little too heavy lol. im gonna keep the weights down for a month or so and see how my body responds.

im the same way when I workout, when I do heavy weight less reps I feel almost no burn whatsoever, but when I do lighter weight more reps I feel like my muscles are on fire. I feel like I would benefit more doing the less weight more reps, but lots and lots of research states otherwise. What I do now is a few months heavy weight low reps and then for 1-2 weeks inbetween I switch it up to less weight more reps to trick the muscle. THAT i've read is ok and benefitial.

 

[Chicago Made]

Great thread Swolemc!

I still haven't really read anything definitive though.

I was taught by a pro BB to go less weight and it was the form that mattered. However he never really trained me like he was supposed to so we didn't get very far into it. I mean he was HUGE, and would use ridiculously light weight.

Needless to say I haven't really taken to his advice because my natural instinct is to go hard and heavy and that's what Ive done. But when I did it his way...MAN could you feel the burn!!!

Any others weighing in on this subject?

 

[Conrad415]

Keep exploring different training style after several months of using them and evaluating the results.
I like to do a couple warm ups then continue to increase in weight starting at 15 reps until I max out at 6-8 reps.

 

[Welter]

Im kind of in the middle, I go high reps low weight for 3 or 4 weeks at a stretch then go heavy weights low reps for the next 3 or 4 weeks. What i can tell you is the first few workouts after the switch I am ALWAYS sore regardless of which routine im on. I think its good to continue to switch it up. Also depends on your goals....are you looking to lean up? put on mass? increase strength? lots of variables....