What do you think?

[StrongerThanILook]

Recently I posted to see other opinions concerning whether it's worth it to increase the weight if you're able to do 12 reps with one weight, and only 5 reps with the increased weight. I was told that the 5 reps with the increased weight would be the best way to go, rather than doing 15 reps with the lower weight to build up strength...

 

My second part of that question is this...let's say I'm doing dumbell front raises with a certain amount of weight (full range of motion) but after increasing weight, my range of motion is limited. Should I still increase?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Lean and Green]

The breakdown as i understand it is more or less something like this

 

15+ reps endurance

12-15 reps definition

10-12 definition and growth

8-10 maximum growth

6-8 strength and growth

less than 6 strength

 

As far as switching it up, i would stick to a certain range of repetitions for a period of time, say 2 months and then change to anther range of repetitions. You don't have to stick to one number. You can do a pyramid routine like say x12 x10 x8, 3 sets. Whatever keeps it different for your body and suits your needs.

 

As far as limiting your range of motion, not on an exercise like dumbell front raises. It's like doing a 1/2 rep. In certain circumstances, though, depending on what your looking to do, it could be beneficial. For example, 1/2 squats, top half of bench press or bottom to strengthen that part of the push and so. If you want to strengthen a certain part of the full repetition for future training, it is understandable. Like if say you have no problem exploding up on a bench at the bottom but always get stuck midway, you can train only the upper part of the repetition. It gets more involved but that's a simple way of thinking about it for now.

 

I'd stick to the basics for a while and get comfortable with the full range of motion before I wandered off into other types of training.

[StrongerThanILook]

Robert - thanks so much!

[Richard]

How much are you increasing by? Going from 12 reps straight to 5 seems like a big step, isn't there a weight inbetween? I think that 5 is a fine number to work from, no problem there. However, if it drastically affects your form, or makes you unable to do complete reps, I'd say you need to take it down a notch.

[el_flaco]

I'd be tempted to pick up a set of wrist weights and use them to smooth the jump. You can also get magnetic weights (or just magnets - maybe from old speakers) to give you more options.

 

Another option would be to do a barbell variation for a few weeks.

[VeganDude]

magnetic weights (or just magnets - maybe from old speakers) to give you more options.

 

Cool idea, never thought of that before.

[Lean and Green]

I use these; i think they are 1/4lb each. two per dumbell, 1/2 lb jumps in weight.

 

http://scientificsonline.com/product.asp?pn=3037621&cmss=epoxy+magnets

 

http://scientificsonline.com/images/250/30376-21.eps.jpg

[Mike]

How much heavier is the increased weight? If you want to work down to low reps, you could increase the weight 10 pounds each workout and decrease the reps by 2 (10lbs x 12 reps, 20 lbs x 10, 30 lbs x 8 etc.). That depends on your goal. Lean and Green gave a great description of various rep ranges you can use, depending on what you want to achieve, so you don't have to work all the way down to 5.

 

If you don't mind me asking, what is your goal in doing dumbbell front raises? If you're looking for overall shoulder strength, overhead presses would be a great alternative and much better for your shoulders.

 

Mike

[StrongerThanILook]

Thanks for all of the great feedback!

 

I do the overhead presses, and more or less do the front raises just for variety.

 

I have done the increase in weight with decrease in rep thing before, and still do from time to time. I guess it was the LAST increase that had me unable to do the full range of motion, yet I could still feel stress on my shoulder so I wondered if it was helping on some level. But it makes sense when you said it was like a half rep.

 

I like the advice about the wrist weights. I think I will invest in those.

 

Thanks again.

[Gaia]

My reasoning for doing the 5 rep with very heavy weights, and only getting half the range of motion, is that at least I am just using the belly of the muscle to lift the weight, not the ligaments/tendons to help. So I figure it is blasting the muscle fibers right there, and thus increase size in the belly of the muscle only. Now this will not keep the ligaments/tendons strong and healthy, so I will go down to the light weights and do high reps with full range of motion. This will only tease the belly of the muscle (probably use the fat in the muscle with the aerobic use of the high reps), but will strengthen the ligaments/tendons. I cycle this ligament training at the beginning of every month to keep them healthy. Then I increase the weights incrementally and go from a medium weight with 12 reps per set, up to heavy heavy weights in the 6 to 8 rep set. Sometimes, just for fun, I will do a one rep max just to see how strong I could go (extremely carefully with this, as you could hurt yourself really bad and end up not being able to lift for months!) and then use this as a goal for the future.

 

I wanted to add that I do not do "cheat" reps most of the time. I will do them if I am feeling slightly energetic and want to push 2 more reps out (or I have my son help me push out the last 2 reps). I listen to my body and if it has been awhile since I have gone up in weights, then I start to push it (during my bulking phase: not during the cutting cycle - then my focus is maintaining my muscle mass while losing the fat).

[Guest]

Muscle groups have a lot to do with reps. Some muscles...like calves..tend to react more positively to higher reps...while most people's chests do better with less reps. This is also something that varies between people. I myself recommend doing both if you've got the time.

[StrongerThanILook]

Thanks again everyone. Yeah, I think I like the idea of switching up the reps that Lean and Green mentioned. This is more or less what I do anyway. For example, one exercise I might do with 3X10, another might be a pyramid, the third exercise 3X5, etc. And then I'll switch it up in the next workout or two.

 

Lean and Green - not quite sure why I called you Robert when I thanked you in my earlier post. I think because I received the email from Robert saying I had a new post, and just quickly replied. Haha.

[Powered by Carrots]

many people argue that your goal in lifting to bring each muscle to the point where it cannot lift anymore, which breaks down the largest about of muscle fibers.

 

one way to do this is to start at a light weight with 12 reps, use the same weight for 10 reps, up the weight for 8 reps, and max out the weight for 6 reps and then go back to a lighter weight for 12 final reps to cap off the muscle.

 

i think this will solve your problem.

[StrongerThanILook]

Powered by Carrots - I have never tried switching back to the lighter weight for higher reps after having done a pyramid like that. I will definitely try it now. Thanks for the suggestion.

[bronco]

My reasoning for doing the 5 rep with very heavy weights, and only getting half the range of motion, is that at least I am just using the belly of the muscle to lift the weight, not the ligaments/tendons to help.

Tendons attach the muscles to the bone, but can not produce any force on their own. This means that they are allways involved in lifting the weight regardless if it is heavy or not. Using full range of motion is superior in most cases.

 

many people argue that your goal in lifting to bring each muscle to the point where it cannot lift anymore, which breaks down the largest about of muscle fibers.

Then again, many people argue that the goal in lifting should be to move as much weight as possible as often as possible, and in this case training to failure is counter productive.