Thread: Getting back into it, and # of reps

Hello all,

Important questions here for me - basically all I feel I need to know to get things right. So....

... I'm a serious ectomorph in the worst way (you've all hear that no doubt from lots of people). 5'7 (barely), and 128 pounds soaking wet. 130 if I'm lucky . My hands and wrists are about the size of a 12-year old girls. I checked, heh. I'm in excellent shape though, as I play Ice hockey on a very competitive level 3 days a week, and always have.

I used to work out quite well for two years, thanks to the advice from this forum, but the last 9 months in Ireland stopped my training. I do it as a "pride" thing for me - I take it seriously, but I'm not what you'd call "hardcore".

Regardless, it's been 9 months since I was "doing my thing", and I want to get back to the gym - so two training questions:

#1.

Should I immediately start loading the creatine, and go in there and attempt to lift the weights I used to? With all the people that tote "shock your body into growth", this logically seems to be the right answer. Obviously I'm not as strong as I was, but I'll use *common-sense* of course, and even though I won't be able to lift as much as I did previously, should I simply do as heavy a weight as possible? This could be overload, but again the whole "shock" thing comes to mind

#2. Being a skinny little dude, I'm mostly trying to go for mass, as I'm already pretty "defined" for my size - hell, I even have a fairly good set of abs. I was once told lifting the heaviest weights that you can do in the 4-6 rep range was what was best for mass gain. Or simply, do 4-6 reps. 6-10, or more with light weights for definition, and only 2 or 3 reps with absolute boulder-style weights for strength. Are these three sets of numbers correct?

2-3 = strength (w/heaviest weight possible)
4-6 = mass (as heavy as you can lift to manage at least 4-6)
6-10 + = definition (lighter weight)

There's a nice little "graph", heh. For example, I used to use barbells for bench press when I didn't have a "spot". 70 to 75 pounds "per arm" was my maximum (don't laugh).

So, I normally did 4 to 6 reps of 55 to 65 pounds (depending on the day, some days I was stronger than others) since that's the weight range I can do 4 to 6 reps in, consistently, for 2 or 3 sets, in an attempt to gain mass on the chest.


...and yes, I know, eat like a crazy-person

Appreciate the advice!

By the way, I take it mass/strength is still lower reps (4-6) and heavy weight?

I saw someone mention that wasn't the case any more in their opinion, heh.

What's the low-down? :0)