lifting technique?

A

awesomeame

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ok, so i have a program put together for me. 3x12-15. i'm pretty weak, so i'm mainly building some strength right now and losing some bf%.

so my question is: how should i be lifting? i always keep tension on the muscles, but i blast through the 12-15 pretty quick. should i go slow, fast? pause or hold the position?

--matt
 
As with most things in weight training, there is not one clear cut answer for that. There are several forms of training, each with their own benefits, etc.

In general, for the average person starting out, slow and controlled would be good. Not super slow, but slow enough to focus on your breathing, your form, and contracting the proper muscles for the exercise. Going too fast can increase your chances of losing form and lead to joint injury.

Many times, when people lift quickly, they aren't doing it b/c of any particular type of training, they are just trying to get through the set faster (holding 50 pounds for 30 seconds is a lot easier than holding it for 60 sec). They basically increased their risk of injury, while decreasing the effectiveness of the exercise.

(P.S. - I'm not referring to the seasoned lifter doing explosive lifts on purpose, just the average guy whos "education" consists of reading muscle mags).
 
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I'll also add that the rep range you listed is not very focused at strength, its more at hypertrophy, and above.

since you're new, you should stick to 10 reps on average...an 8-12 rep range...for a few weeks...up to 8 weeks. this prevents you from going too heavy too soon, which might be more than your tendons and ligaments can handle...even if your muscles seem like they can.
everything has to get stronger to avoid injury.

after that, you should consider dipping down to 6 reps per set, upping the weight, as this will stimulate more strength gains.
 
ok, i'll slow it down a bit today and pay more attention, 'cause i did notice my form going to hell yesturday near the end of the reps.

malkore said:
I'll also add that the rep range you listed is not very focused at strength, its more at hypertrophy, and above.

after that, you should consider dipping down to 6 reps per set, upping the weight, as this will stimulate more strength gains.
Click to expand...

hypertrophy is muscle mass gain, aka bulk, right? how strong would i have to be before i start concentrating on bulk, not so much strength? thanks!!

--matt
 
right, hypertrophy tears down more muscle, with the goal of building it back bigger. it's stronger too, but size is the focus.

if you lift heavy weight, lower reps, you gain less size, more strength. you don't completely sacrifice one for the other...just an emphasis.

you can focus on bulking whenever you like. bulking is more about how much food you eat, as you can't bulk with any workout routine if you lack enough calories to pack on weight.

since yer bodyfat's at 14%, I'd try to lean out a little first, which should happen naturally since you're now exercising more...and as a novice trainee, you'll gain some muscle at hte same time...for about a month or so.

once you learn how to get lean, then you can think about bulking up for a while, and then lean out again to show off the new muscle.
 
thanks for the info. i just got back from the gym. slowing down the movements, man i really feel the "burn," lol. had to reduce the weight on some of the machines.

leaning out first is the plan. how lean (bf%) do you think i should go before thinking about bulking? ideally i don't want to be huge, just lean and well defined, maybe bulking isn't the way to go for me, i dunno!

--matt
 
you dont have to slow down the movements,just do it with the correct form "every rep" if you slow it down to much that will mean you might be using less load than you should be.
 
ok just oneeee more question! :)

i'm doing 3 sets. should i do 3 sets in a row on one machine taking maybe 30s breaks between? or should i do one set on one machine, go to a different machine, do a set, another machine, do a set, and go through all the machines like that, 3 rounds worth. does it matter? i notice most ppl at the gym use the first option..

--matt
 
That's a good rep range range to start with, it isn't the ideal range for strength but you will see some overall gains. Use 2:2 timing mean that the lift is two seconds on the concentric and eccentric phase of the lift i.e. The "up and down" bits of the lift goes for 2 seconds each way.
 
awesomeame said:
ok just oneeee more question! :)

i'm doing 3 sets. should i do 3 sets in a row on one machine taking maybe 30s breaks between? or should i do one set on one machine, go to a different machine, do a set, another machine, do a set, and go through all the machines like that, 3 rounds worth. does it matter? i notice most ppl at the gym use the first option..

--matt
Click to expand...

I want to know about this as well.
 
awesomeame said:
ok just oneeee more question! :)

i'm doing 3 sets. should i do 3 sets in a row on one machine taking maybe 30s breaks between? or should i do one set on one machine, go to a different machine, do a set, another machine, do a set, and go through all the machines like that, 3 rounds worth. does it matter? i notice most ppl at the gym use the first option..

--matt
Click to expand...

Do 3 sets in a row, with 30 to 90 seconds break.
Doing a set of an exercise than doing a set on another exercise and returning to first exercise and so on, is called supersetting. When this is done each of the two exercises that are done should work different unrelated muscle groups.
There's no need to do that at this point.

Also.. why are you using machines? You should stick to free weights !
 
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