Reps when going heavy

[RicanFury]

what do ya suggest to see results when you're going to go heavier? gonna take some suggestions i got to switch more to dumbells and go up in weight. now on the machines i uusally did 5 sets of 12. now if im going to dumbells where the stabilzation muscles arent fully there yet() how many reps/sets would ya suggest to make the best of the workout and make sure theres some actual progress being made? would those experienced suggest the 5 sets of 12 or 5 sets of 5 ive seen some people do and discuss??

 

[Houston911]

i liked 4 sets of 6-8 when i try to go heavy

make sure your form is correct too

 

[NSSVO]

I go 4-6 if I'm going heavy.

 

[unit321]

what do ya suggest to see results when you're going to go heavier? gonna take some suggestions i got to switch more to dumbells and go up in weight. now on the machines i uusally did 5 sets of 12. now if im going to dumbells where the stabilzation muscles arent fully there yet() how many reps/sets would ya suggest to make the best of the workout and make sure theres some actual progress being made? would those experienced suggest the 5 sets of 12 or 5 sets of 5 ive seen some people do and discuss??

Same concept as if you were doing it with barbells. When you go with heavier weight/lower reps, you are going for gains in mass. So, since you are going with dumbbell bench presses, you are going to use less weight. But you can still format your set/rep workout with the same numbers.
That means, with correct form, you can still do a one-rep max as a set if you wish. I prefer not to do this though and try to lower the weight even more to achieve at least 2 to 3 reps instead of doing a one-rep max when using dumbbells.

 

[diggy]

4-6 like the max ot program

some prefer 6-8

 

[50CentStan]

I go 4-6 if I'm going heavy.

this

 

[Slystallion]

What are you trying to achieve strength or bulk? For bulk lift till failure in the 6-8 range with heavy weight.

For strength and to harden muscle but not grow do 3-5 and rest 1 minute to 1.5 minutes between sets.

For bulk I think it's better to pyramid low weight and slightly increase each set in 12-10-8-6-12 format with the last set going back to original weight doing it fast with little rest in between 30-45 seconds or even less

 

[50CentStan]

What are you trying to achieve strength or bulk? For bulk lift till failure in the 6-8 range with heavy weight.

For strength and to harden muscle but not grow do 3-5 and rest 1 minute to 1.5 minutes between sets.

For bulk I think it's better to pyramid low weight and slightly increase each set in 12-10-8-6-12 format with the last set going back to original weight doing it fast with little rest in between 30-45 seconds or even less

I almost always do this, bulk or cut, hope its not minimizing my gains

 

[Slystallion]

I almost always do this, bulk or cut, hope its not minimizing my gains

It shouldn't be. This gives you a pumped look but doing it all the time will give you a watery look unless your body fat is low and you eat right.

Try to go for 2 months with a mix of bulk and strength with a 5 sets of 5 routine with a weight you can do 8 times but do it 5. Rest 45 seconds between reps

Then for another 2 months go heavy near your max but not your max for 3 sets of 3 with minute to minute and a half of rest while you do lots of cardio and cut calories

Then for 2 weeks do the high rep little rest pyramid weight training to bulk up and it will give you an awesome look

Stay in the 5 sets of 5 for maintenance if your happy with size and sprinkle in the pyramid low rest sets whenever you want to look good for the beach 2 weeks before beach.

And as far as size goes if your bulking you have to increase calories if you want to add size if not your good and the pyramid high rep workout will give you a pumped look

 

[Spliff]

What are you trying to achieve strength or bulk? For bulk lift till failure in the 6-8 range with heavy weight.

For strength and to harden muscle but not grow do 3-5 and rest 1 minute to 1.5 minutes between sets.

For bulk I think it's better to pyramid low weight and slightly increase each set in 12-10-8-6-12 format with the last set going back to original weight doing it fast with little rest in between 30-45 seconds or even less

Stick to trolling KTL...

 

[nalej]

I go 4-6 if I'm going heavy.

this. I usually start with 10 add weights go to 8 add weights and go to 6 for 2 sets.

 

[krackdagawd]

Stick to trolling KTL...

 

[semtex]

3-5 for me.

 

[sknk80]

depends on the exercise.

 

[RicanFury]

thanks guys.