FBR - revisited

[anima]

Hi, I'll be starting the full-body routine next week and I was wondering what is the ideal amount of reps/sets per exercise.

I know that you have to train HEAVY WEIGHTS, but I'm not sure what is the best amount of reps/sets.

What I've heard was 10-12 reps and 2-4 sets. But I was thinkin if you want to do HEAVY WEIGHTS, shouldn't you do 4-6 reps??

Help would be great

thanks

[swanso5]

like all plans try something like this:

squat/stiff leg deadlift 4 x 6, 90secs rest...alternate sets of each
row/bench 3 x 12, 1min rest...alternate
chins/shoulder press 2 x 15, 2mins rest...alternate

do it mon/wed/fri but switch the order of the exercises

mon - above
wede - start with row/bench 4 x 6 and work back down

fri - start with chins/shoulder press 4 x 6 and work back down

each pairing is trained 3 different ways during the week stimulating all strength, hypertrophy and endurance motor units

if not after hypertrophy than do 3 exercises per session all 6 x 4 - 6 ish so you'll have 2 workouts a week and probably do them 2 each over 8 days instead of 7

[anima]

thanks alot, when u say ( 2 x 4 , that means 2 sets of 4 reps? or 4 reps and 2 sets?? lol sorry... )

I also have another question, which i forgot to mention in the first one (sorry for that)

If you were to do 4 sets per body part, will it matter if its 2 diff exercises but still doing 4 sets? For example,

flatbench press 6reps 4sets

-or-

flat bench 6reps 2sets
incline bench 6reps 2sets

is this a good/bad idea? is keeping the 1 exercise rule REALLY important??

o and what about like biceps???? or is the "chin" for biceps? and is triceps included in the benchpress?

[swanso5]

yes 2 x 4 would be 2 sets of 4 reps

for strength it would be best to do one exercise, for hypertrophy you may want to mix it up...a good idea for that may to start off with a 5 - 6 rep max with incline presses and when you can't do get the reps change to flat bench with the same wt...eventually your incline wt will catch up to your flat bench wt so you'll be stronger...this is better than doing flat benches than decreasing the wt for iclines

i don't liek a lot of arm work for full body workouts as it cuts into recovery time so yes chins, presses etc are your arm work...i done 3 x 18 triset of inverted rows, ring push ups and chins yesturday and arms blew up although i did do some more arm work after it

[anima]

ah thanks, ur da man

ONE LAST QUESTION I PROMISE

what exactly is... hypertrophy... ?? lol

[swanso5]

muscle growth

there are also two types of hypertrophy

1 - sarcoplasmic hypertrophy which is glycogen/water storage in the muscles cells which doesn't neccesarily make you stronger (bodybuilder etc)

2 - sarcomere hypertrophy which is an increase in the size oft he actual contractile proteins in the muscles which does make you stronger (gridiron player, wt lifter etc)

it's still good to train for both as you'll only be getting 50% of the gains you could if don't and depending on what your goal is will detirmine which one you favour

[Sportsman4920]

Hi, I'll be starting the full-body routine next week and I was wondering what is the ideal amount of reps/sets per exercise.

I know that you have to train HEAVY WEIGHTS, but I'm not sure what is the best amount of reps/sets.

What I've heard was 10-12 reps and 2-4 sets. But I was thinkin if you want to do HEAVY WEIGHTS, shouldn't you do 4-6 reps??

Help would be great

thanks

When you first get into lifting, or are getting back into it after a substantial lay off, you should always be cautious. Meaning on the first day, don't try to max out on your bench press for 1 rep. This can lead to joint problems and possible injury. Instead, take a couple of weeks, or even months, and ease yourself into the sport. One good way to do so is by doing a high amount of reps. 3x10-12 is good, but maybe even 3x15. The high number of reps automatically keeps ones ego in check. By going on the lighter side, it decreases the chance of injury, helps prevent one from embarrassing themselves by lifting so much weight someone has to save them from dropping it or dragging it off their chest, and it also helps a beginner learn proper form. It's easier to keep proper form with a lower weight.