Question;more weight and less reps or.,,

less weight and more reps--for instance--lets say your doing close grip benches--you ve got 200 on the bar but you can only bailey do 6 reps--so you do 2 sets of 6 reps--or is it better to lessen the weight to 175 and do a 12 rep set twice?

I've often wondered the same thing.
If I only get in 6 reps, 2 sets I feel like I'm cheating myself.
It's tempting to lighten the weight so that I can at least get in my full 3 or 4 sets but does that really just hinder my increased growth and strength?

its just that for me the range of 12 reps seems so much better-i get a better pump--but I know lifting more weight(hence less reps)has its positves too--which is best?

when you do more weight/less reps in crease the total number of sets. You should still be getting somewhere in the nieghborhood of 6-9 sets per muscle group. low reps/higher weight stimulates fast twitch muscle fibers more. it also requires more recovery time.

for the most part you have to do what feels right for you. keep in mind you should try to push yourself to increase weight so you can get the muscles to grow. like sm said, higher weights usually mean you'll be sacrificing reps. i'll bet you could drop 10-15 lbs and be able to get that for 3 sets of 6-8.

tuned up said:

its just that for me the range of 12 reps seems so much better-i get a better pump--but I know lifting more weight(hence less reps)has its positves too--which is best?

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What I've found to work very well for myself and my clients is to periodize their training. That is, break your training up into short periods of time, say 6-8 weeks, and use different values for variable such as intensity (as a % of 1RM), volume, rest interval, frequency, exercise selection, etc.

As your intensity moves towards 100% of your 1RM the primary benefit leans more towards strength/power while the opposite direction illicits hypertrophy and ultimately more improvements in muscular endurance (< 30% of 1RM). Remember, as you increase your % of your 1RM you will decrease the volume (reps/sets).

For someone looking to increase overall mass it is not a bad idea to go through both a strength phase and a hypertrophy phase because:

1. A strength phase will increase the loads you are able to use at higher reps.

2. A hypertrophy phase is less taxing on the joints/soft tissue than a strength phase.

3. Changes in load, volume, RI, exercise keeps one's body progressing/adapting.

3. You will learn what works best for your body (provided you keep detailed records of your training).

There is no best way of doing things. You need to try various training methods to find which is best suited for your goals and your body. Periodization is just one way to keep things structured and may help you discover which method is for you.

Hope that helps.

You really need to switch it up and do both every so often. As stated above basically heavy-low reps hit predominantly fst twitch fibers, light(moderate)-high reps hit predominantly slow twitch fibers. ANd don't we want to maximally stimulate all fibers for maximum growth?
KR

Muscle fiber training need not be a concern in bodybuilding as far as I am concerned. IMO bodybulding is not a performance oriented sprot, we are not training to use our muscle for a specific task. I am not saying it is not good to hit different varations and activate all fiber activity although it does'nt really matter wich one grows as long as we get big. I think it is important to circle the bioenergetic feild, by incorporating ATP-PC, lactic acid and little of our aerobic energy sources into the workout therby insuring we have stressed the muscle from all energetic fields. That bieng said I switch my training weekly by lowering increasing/decreasing rest between sets, raising/lowering weight and lowering/raising sets and/or reps.