Thread: Strength

Just so you know, the last time I worked out I did 190 for squats (76% of 1RM), and 205 (68% of 1RM) for deadlifts.

it must be nice to be that young and be so big...i wish i had that quality...ne ways..training for strength you could prob hit the rep range of 3-6 for best results..just pyramid goin up in weight and lowering the reps...also, goin to the gym is the easiest part of training in my opinion...make sure you are eating enuff clean and mass gaining foods and resting enuff...diet and rest are very key to making progress...and take it slow..you have decades left of training...learn your body and how it reacts to different methods of training and diet...good luck

If you want to train at 90% or heavier, those that do so use the conjugage method where you change the exercises from one week to the next. I have made a couple posts on this recently if you feel like searching the training forum, under my name for conjugate.

Otherwise you need to keep it at least 5 reps or higher, and even then I start to lose strength if I dont mix things up.

Are you not squatting in a power rack?

I just train at home in my basement (hence no spotter), and the 'squat rack' I use is just basically a place on the back of the bench where you can also squat. So there's really no safety type thing, but I just take the safety bars from the bench and put them in the holes from the other side. That way if I have to, I can lean forward and something will catch the bar. It's sort of hard to explain if you don't know what it is I have, but to put it simply, I still need to be really careful with what I do.

Thanks for the encouragement, krazi, but unfortunately a lot of my 'bigness' just happens to be fat (even though I'm trying to change that).

Thanks for the replies.

So - and correct me if I'm wrong - the conjugate method basically says to rotate the weight and number of sets and reps to use. For example: Next week for squats I can do 2x3 of 215; the following week, 8x2 of 135; the following week, 2x3 of 215 or 220; the following week, 10x2 135; etc.. And then I would just apply this to basically every exercise I do.

Oh, and would '8x2' in this case be 2 sets of 8 reps? Because 8 sets of 2 reps seems kinda strange...

This theory is very similar to Louie Simmons conjugate method, whereby you use similar lifts to your main exercise.

8 reps is not 90% or heavier...

I can't tell you what 8x2 is unless you show me the example given, but it could very well be 8 sets of doubles. Some of the Westsiders during the explosive period, do doubles or tripples with about 60 seconds of rest, with 50-60% of max weights.

Sorry if I gave the impression that I thought to do 8 reps of 90% or higher, because that's not my line of thinking. Maybe that last line at the end of my last post kind of messed up others' perceptions of my thoughts.

You wouldn't be able to without forced reps.