Thread: HELP: # of reps, sets, wight, rest ... questions...

Lots of questions... but the answers arent so easy..... each person is different, but I will give you what I think is a good basis for these questions. But remember, this is NOT set in stone, just some basic guidelines.

1) a) How many sets in total should I do per body part? In other words how many exercises and sets for each exercise?

Usually you do more sets for larger bodyparts, less sets for smaller ones. I would say 3-4 for large ones (Back, Legs, Shoulders, Chest)

1-3 for smaller ( Arms, calvs, abs, forearms)

Stick to 6-10 reps per set. Failure isnt always nessecary to get bigger, but you can use it as a tool.

3) How should I determine how much I should be lifting? i.e. dumbbell weight I should use?

A good guidline would be if you can get 12 reps on a certain weight, increase the weight 5 lbs. Its just a guideline, but a solid one. As far as dumbell and and barbell, switch things up, there is no harm changing from say, dumbell for 4 weeks, to barbell for four weeks and etc.
I wouldnt recommend changing too often though, because you want to be able to see your progress, so keep the same exercises for at least 4 weeks IMO.

4) a) How much rest in seconds should there be between each set?

That really depends on your goal. Again, for mass and strength, a good GUIDELINE is anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Much of it will depend on how heavy you are lifting that day. If your doing a very heavy compound movement such as squat or deadlift, 5 and even 10 minute rest isnt unusual.

5) How much time in total should I spend on the gym floor?

Honestly, getting in and out as quickly as possible is the best idea. I dont mean rush your workout, but dont fraternize. Get in, work hard and leave. Horomone levels drop and cortisol shoots up anywhere between 60 to 90 minutes. I always try to get my workout done around an hour or so. If less, thats great!

6) When should I maximize a set by doing x reps then immediately drooping weight off and doing y more reps?

What your talking about sounds like drop sets, and while drop sets can be effective, they are usually for people with a good deal of training experience, that know their bodies well enough to know when is best to use them. I wouldnt recommend doing drop sets until you really understand your body, and weight lifting in general. Stick to basic free weight movements, either going to failure, or going within a rep or two of failure, depending on ur goals and how fast your CNS can recover.

) Should the body type excesses be continues/consecutive for the body type or I can switch them in my workout? I.e. do 2 for biceps then 2 for back (during which time by biceps recuperate) and then again 2 and 2 and again... OR I should finish all my biceps excesses (note they will be killing by the end) and the do all back excesses...

Your question is hard to understand, but you always want to do larger body parts BEFORE smaller ones, otherwise your smaller group will cause the larger to be weaker. There are TONS of theories on when to train what and so forth, so instead of me giving a million different speals and theories, do a search in training for these popular methods:

HST (hypertrophy specific training)
Dual Factor Training
Max-OT
GoPro Workouts

These are all good workouts, read up on each one and pick one. You really cant go wrong with any of them.

) I go on a cardio (run/stair) machine for 30 minutes for warm up prior to lifting, is that OK?

Actually No , it isnt ok if your looking to put on size. The best thing for you to do is leave cardio either between 8 and 12 hours BETWEEN your workouts, OR on an off day. I would say no more than 3 times a week if you want to add size, probably 1 or 2 would be better. Look up HIIT under training for High Intensity Interval Training, which I believe is the best cardio you can do to keep mass gains high and fat to a minimum.


Hope this helps. Any more questions, feel free to ask.


Dave

camaro -- you are nice guy...

^here here
i agree, take a lot of time
that i didnt want to

Originally posted by plouffe
camaro -- you are nice guy...

Agreed.

Eh, no big deal. Everyone is stuck in this stage of being overwhelmed with information at some time. Hell, I still get stuck trying to decipher what is solid and what isnt. But thanks for the compliments my brothers in iron! Thats why this board is da Pimp!

Dave