Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan H Having sum trouble figuring this out.Rep guidelines allows recommend sumthing like this
12+-Endurance
6-12-Hypertrophy
1-6-Strength
1-3-Power Its also recommended to change the range every 6-8 weeks to stop adaption.
My problem is when u pick a range should u pyramid the weight.
Example Rep Range 6-12 Incresing the weight on each set
Set 1 12
Set 2 10
Set 3 8
Set 4 6
Or should u just select a weight and use it until u can do 12 reps then increase to weight where u can just do 6 and work ur way back up to twelve again |
Take this from a pretty strong H.I.T. low volume advocate....... Lately I've been training a lot of exercises in the 12+ rep ranges and it's been yeilding some nice hypertrophy.

Yes, your rep range examples are just that......examples and rules of thumb.
I do not reccomend that you switch up your routine every 6-8 weeks. I reccomend that you switch it up when you stop getting noticable results, or you reach a plateu of some sort. Your body will also feel and tell you when you might want to try a new routine. But I see what I believe to be too much talk about switching up routines purely for the sake of switching up routines. I believe it's counter productive.
Pyramiding your weight and sets is good, and is the way I see a majority of people train. It's good. Remember though, it is one strategy among many good strategies. But straight sets are also good. They can also help build muscle endurance, strength and size.
You ask,
"should u just select a weight and use it until u can do 12 reps then increase to weight where u can just do 6 and........." Well, it depends on what your goal is. Right now I have a goal of doing pull ups while hanging a 45 and 25 pound weight by june with no straps. So, I train pull ups right now by doing 4 sets of 15 to increase my prolonged grip strength for pull ups. I also have found that my lats respond well to high volume. About every 3rd back workout is heavy, low volume right now.
So, it depends on how you want to train. I dare say that if you are training in the 12+ range, (don't miss this!!!) rep number 7 or 8 should be the point where you would have put the weight down and shouted profanities........ but you push through the pain barrier and rep out the extra 4 or 5 reps that concludes your set. Thats when 12+ rep sets grow muscle.