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Anonymous
I'm currently doing a 5x5 plan. I'm curious about resting time between REPS. Like 1, 2, 3, struggle with 4, and then pause for like 6-10 seconds, and get the 5th one. Does that mean the weight is too heavy and counts as a fail? Should I deload? Should I be able to do them all at constant pace?
>> .tox !3I4SJbCh8M
You can have up to an enitre minute in between reps, the only exception is with squats.
>> Anonymous
that happenst to me too (on squats and deadlifts), even on weights well below my max
except that i don't pause for 6s but 1 or 2
>> Anonymous
>>156614
that's SETS. he said REPS.
>> Anonymous
>>156586
you should only really have to slow down on the last one or two reps. if you get so exhausted/disoriented/ off-balance that you have to do 3 reps and wait a second, your muscles are resting and this is detrimental to their ability to create lactic acid. just go down in weight. no one's going to make fun of you.
>> Anonymous
>>156627
i mostly do 1 rep, a second or 2 rest 3 reps no rest, another second or two, last rep
>> Anonymous
>>156627
Yeah, I have my weights at home, so I dont have to worry about being made fun of. I'm just afraid I'm not going heavy enough and cheating myself out of a workout. I want to go heavy as I possibly can. But like I said, im not sure if its too heavy if I can finish the 5x5. And this happens on squats and bench. Ill push at a normal speed, but once I hit the 4th rep and can BARELY push it up, i KNOW if i lower the bar again, it wont go back up. So i pause for a few seconds, then lower it. So i was wondering if that counts as failing and if I should do a soft deload and work my way back up until I can do them all at a steady pace?

Thanks for the responses so far though :)
>> Anonymous
>>156586
The key to bodybuilding in one paragraph:
Lift a weight and try to figure out what would be so heavy that you could only lift it one time and that's your one rep maximum, or 100%.

Between 70% and 100%, you are making myofibrillar tears in the muscles and they will grow in size. Below 50%, there is no real benefit, and between 50% and 70% you are creating sarcoplasmic tears that will make the muscle more lean and have more endurance.

So, when you're lifting, the key is figuring out what you want out of it. If you want size, do 70%-100%, if you want tone, stick to 60%-80%.

As far as how many reps and sets to do, honestly, this makes no difference as long as you go until you literally cannot lift a weight anymore. Something like a pyramid set of three is perfect. Start the first set at 70% for 12 (by the 12th, you should be barely able to finish), 80% for 8-10, 85-90% for 6-8 and move on to another exercise. Keep in mind that when I say '6-8', if the weight really is in the 85-90% margin, you will be physically unable to lift it more than that. You should go until failure every time.
>> Anonymous
>>156671
you're so fucking wrong. absolutely wrong. Aslo, way to misuse the word tone. you dipshit.
>> Anonymous
>>156688
seconded. Mostly bullshit what anon wrote there before.
>> Anonymous
If you are looking to increase strength, you should try to do clean, good-form reps with as heavy a weight as possible. In your case, it would be 3-4 reps, and when you feel you need a rest before doing another rep, stop there. You train your nervous system to lift more effectively by training to exhaustion (not failure), using heavy weights, and training with excellent form

If you are looking to increase size, keep doing what you're doing. Max effort, struggling for that last rep, causes more muscle fiber tears, and will cause a buildup of more muscle, but not necessarily more strength.
>> Anonymous
>>156703
Thanks! Yeah my goal right now is to pack muscle on to my frame. So I guess ill keep doing what im doing, increasing the weights as I go. I'm following Stronglifts routine, just wasnt sure if I was pushing too hard and using too much weight/when to deload.
>> Anonymous
Here's what I do:
curl 100 lbs until my arms are dead
curl 70 lbs until my arms are dead
curl 50 lbs until my arms are dead
curl 30 lbs until my arms are dead
curl 20 until I can't even move.
How effective is this? It "feels" like the best way to gain muscle, but if it's better to just curl 100 a few times then go watch tv or take a shit I should probably know about it so I can stop wasting time :( Thank you so much.
>> Anonymous
>>156729
CURLZ 4 TH GURLZ BRAH
>> Anonymous
Curl 100lbs for 3 or 4 sets.

Curl 105lbs for 3 or 4 sets next week.

this is how your muscles grow