Which way to lift?

[adrianm]

Fairly obvious question for some but bare with me so you read so many alternative things...

To gain lean body mass is it better to start your sets with the heaviest weight and work up or the other way around? I find that by doing the former I am lifting less weight than if I start with the heaviest?

I'm slightly build and burn calories like a furnace so am trying to confirm the best way to train.

Thanks all

 

[wild]

Not sure there is any "best" way to train.

IMO though, you should be training across a variety of rep ranges i.e. heavy (under 6 reps), medium (8-10 reps), and light (12-15 reps)

I stick to a program 4-6 weeks and strive for weekly strength gains w/ each workout.

So typically I will use the same weight for all sets and increase it the next workout, example:

week 1

195/4
195/4
195/4
195/4

week 2

200/4
200/4
200/4
200/4

 

[Hoss]

The general rule of thumb is <6 reps for strength with a 3min+ break, 8-12 for muscle size with a 60-90sec break, and 12+reps for muscular endurance with very short breaks between sets.

 

[malkore]

i don't bother pyramiding my rep range on sets. i stick to my predefined rep range on each set, and lift as heavy as I can. usually 2 warm up sets to start off though. i find a couple warm up sets = heavy poundage on first set,a s the muscles are primed for a real workload. i never start with heavy weight and cold muscles. NEVER.