how many times to life weights a week?

[Hengest]

I did have one question. It was mentioned that the routines in the musle magazines are for steriod users. So for us normal people, who just want to get in shape, work out to help are martial arts and any other activites we do, and also try to look decent, lol, how many sets or reps (well for instance I hear Arnold Swartenager likes to do 20 set of various exercises for chest, now we know he does not use steriods, lol) should I shoot for.

 

I mean right now for example, chest I do 4 sets of flat, 3 incline, 3 dips, 3 machine flys. Is that too much, to little, just right? I probably do about the same amout of exercises for my back, legs and shoulders, arms a little less. Thanks.

 

As you've probably noticed Jay, I'm very minimalist in my approach to weights. I think you'll find that weight training is not an exact science in that different things work for different people. That said, I am of the opinion that probably 80% of people out there lifting weights are over-training to some extent.

 

For chest, I bench press two or three sets of 8-10 reps once a week, and that's it. (Told you I was minimalist. ) I think dips are also great, but I do those instead of bench pressing rather than in addition to. And I would probably lose the machine flys altogether; if you're not a competitive bodybuilder, I don't think they serve any real purpose.

 

I take the same approach to most exercises. Overhead press, pulldowns, stiff-legged deadlift, leg curls, bicep curls, L-flys and crunches, I all use roughly the same sets, reps, and training frequency. The main exception is squats (or leg press). I still do that once a week, but instead I do one working set of 20 reps, usually with quite a lot of rest pauses towards the end.

 

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying what you're doing is wrong. I couldn't possibly without seeing how you train and the gains you're making from it. However, I do think that if more people cut back on the amount of training they did, allowing for more rest and recuperation and keeping workouts to the basics, short and sweet, they'd see far more gains than they ever have. I know I did.

[CapitalKarate]

what i've been told is 3 sets, or 4 if you really want to work the muscle, of 12, 10, 8, obviously increasing the weight each time, and use a light weight beforehand to just warm up the muscle also. and i guess everyone here is ignoring me but i'll say it again anyway, 3-4 times a week per body part exercised is the way to go. unless you're a professional body builder which i'll bet anything you're not. no offense of course

[CapitalKarate]

what i've been told is 3 sets, or 4 if you really want to work the muscle, of 12, 10, 8, obviously increasing the weight each time, and use a light weight beforehand to just warm up the muscle also. and i guess everyone here is ignoring me but i'll say it again anyway, 3-4 times a week per body part exercised is the way to go. unless you're a professional body builder which i'll bet anything you're not. no offense of course

[Hudson]

I think that our grips must be different on the bench press, because I do not get a triceps workout from the bench (Sure, they're in there, but it's more of a chest/delts thing for me), also I am curious to what the problem is with kickbacks, it's very interesting to me because I have them in my routine (cables).

[VinnieDaChin]

if youre looking to gain some serious muscle size, lift about once a week. abs are different though, you can do them every day theyre not sore. you can either lift them heavy with weights not unlike your other muscles, or just do as many situps as you like per set, as many sets as you like.

[CapitalKarate]

if you're looking for sheer strength, and don't care about size, what kind of set/rep ratio should you have for each exercise and how often should you lift, and what exercises should you do? set rep ratio meaning like, right now i do about 3 sets and reps being 12/10/8 or if its a heavier weight 10/8/6. what would be the way to go for just sheer strength?

[SevenStar]

in response to lifting daily, you CAN lift daily with no problems, depending on how you are lifting. you get sore when you do higher set and rep work - like mass or endurance training. Doing that type of training, the body needs rest. When you are lifting maximal weights - very heavy and very low sets - you can lift daily with no problems at all.

 

that said, what is your goal? you are stating that you need to get back in the gym, but what result are you looking for?

[SevenStar]

if you're looking for sheer strength, and don't care about size, what kind of set/rep ratio should you have for each exercise and how often should you lift, and what exercises should you do? set rep ratio meaning like, right now i do about 3 sets and reps being 12/10/8 or if its a heavier weight 10/8/6. what would be the way to go for just sheer strength?

 

for power training, you want heavy weght, low reps. A weight that you can push no more than 5 times, and do not do any more than 3 sets.

[SevenStar]

I think that our grips must be different on the bench press, because I do not get a triceps workout from the bench

 

yeah you do - but they are exercised only to a minimal degree - unless you use a close grip.

[SevenStar]

And I would probably lose the machine flys altogether; if you're not a competitive bodybuilder, I don't think they serve any real purpose.

 

but you do the following exercises...

leg curls, bicep curls, L-flys

 

from a non-bodybuilding perspective, these serve no purpose. you need compound movements, not isolation movements.