reps/sets

[pumpITup]

if i do 5 sets of 10 reps for a muscle, should i decease the weight i use as i go through the set or keep it all the same for every set

 

[goldenear]

Assuming you're looking for maximum hypertrophy...if you can rep the same weight for 5 sets of 10, then I would recommend you increase the weight substantially, drop the volume, and increase the intensity.

 

[pumpITup]

intesity? please explain further?

 

[goldenear]

Lots of different ways to up the intensity...check out some of the workout faqs somewhere on this site. If you want, I can give you an example. Shoot me over your typical 5 sets of 10 flat bench weight.

 

[pumpITup]

im only 16 and just kinda got into body building..but my chest is lagging behind the rest of my body..so i want to train it on a seperate day isntead of doing it with tri's. i usally warm up with 60 lbs..than move to 140 lbs for 3 sets. i wanted to do something different today and up it to 5 sets and 10 reps and drop it to about 120 lbs

 

[petenyc]

i do it differently, theres no rule of doing 10 reps...

I would do something like

140 X 10 reps
160 X 8+ ( as many as possible )
180 X 6+ "" ....(keep going up weight)

Adjust the weight however you would

 

[pumpITup]

so you would keep upping the weight and dropping the reps until i get to 5 sets?

 

[petenyc]

thats what i do... i'm sure other people go different ways but my average bench is doing that for 5 sets, then adding a 6th set at my starting weight attempting 20 reps

 

[goldenear]

i wanted to do something different today and up it to 5 sets and 10 reps and drop it to about 120 lbs

It's my opinion that you're going the wrong direction. Instead of adding more volume and dropping the weight, I'd recommend dropping the volume and increasing the weight. Try something like this:

60 x10
100 x 6
145 x 8 x 3 sets

For even better results, I'd rest pause your working sets. That will really push the intensity of your workout. RP's are where you lift a weight for as many times as you can, rack it and take 10-15 deep breaths, unrack it and go again until you can't complete the positive, rack it and take 10-15 deep breaths, and go again until you fail. So you're doing 1 big set and 2 mini sets. Trust me, they'll screw you up.

Your bench routine would look something like this:

60 x 10
100 x 6
145 x 8 x 4 x 3 <---I'm guessing on the # of reps you'd be able to complete here. Just go until you can't, rack it, and do it again two more times.

Do another RP set @ 145 and your chest will hurt so much that you'll probably call it quits. If you're able to get more than 15 combined reps, you should move up in weight.