Weights Routine

[Gorilla]

Hello.

I have read that pyramid training weights is an effective way in increasing muscle mass, and looking bigger. Is this also good for power/strength?

Also, what would one get out of doing heavy weights til muscle failure (size, strength, explosiveness)?

Thank you :)

[Wiegieboard]

I used a half pyramid successfully in the past and found that it worked well for my muscular endurance as well as strength. I used it in a bench press program that I created and used over a ten week period. I would start off after my warmup sets with a 20 rep max. I found that it pre exhausted me a large amount, I then performed with spotter, a set of 10 to failure followed by a set of 5 to failure. I started off gaining between 7 and 9 reps on my 20 rep. max per week, by the time week 10 had arrived I was only gaining 2 or 3 reps per session. My 1 rep maximum increased substantially in those ten weeks also. I found it to be a very rounded plan for all over functionality using many energy systems. It helped my stability and endurance whilst scrambling.

If you use heavy weights to failure, you're working the muscle much harder. It's believed that working this way will not only strengthen the muscle more successfully than working without failure,(if you do the correct number of sets) but will also increase the effectiveness of your bodies electrical pathways to the muscle itself. Working a higher rep. range for example 10 to 15 reps is believed to help your body recruit more muscle fiber in the lifting process.Bodybuilders commonly use this rep range. The theory is that one group of muscle fibres tires and another group picks up the slack, working more of the muscle.

For strength and explosiveness, I always lifted the weight as powerfully as I could. I let the weight drop to the count of four though. A slower eccentric movement works your muscle much much harder than just letting gravity do its thing. This should also help with hypertrophy.

[Gorilla]

Thank you; that was a very good and detailed response, which is what I was after. Problem is I am an idiot and need that explained to me again, but in a language as if I was six years old...

[Wiegieboard]

A half pyramid is where you go from light to heavy with your last set being the heaviest weight that you lift.

Muscular endurance/muscular strength- muscular endurance is working a muscle hard over a prolonged period whereas muscular strength is working a muscle very hard with a weight (load) that you can only manage a few reps with or even just one.

Pre exhausting- where you tire your muscle out before performing a particular exercise. This way, you can use less weight which is safer than using a large weight that you may drop on your toe, face etc.

Spotter- a partner who is there to help you with the weight if you get into trouble for example if you have squatted down and cannot lift it back up. This is important whilst squatting or benching heavy.

Rep. Max- If I had done a 5 rep max, I would have lifted a weight that I'm only capable of lifting five times.

Failure- when you cannot lift a weight one more time no matter how hard you try.

Eccentric action- lowering the weight back to the starting point. You contract your muscles to lift the weight, when the muscle lengthens in the lowering process, this is an eccentric action.

Hypertrophy- when a muscle increases in size/volume. One of the main goals of bodybuilding. To make your muscles bigger.

[Gorilla]

Thank you. So which routine is the best for achieving strength and hypertrophy? I know for explosiveness it's lifting as powerfully as possible. I used to do the 5 sets of 5 heavy weights, which I found gave me strength and shape, but not size.

I wanted to compare the above with pyramid and failure. At present I am doing pyramids, where I start with light weights at ten reps, then they get heavier as I drop the reps by two - so by the time I get to two reps and cant lift more than 2 reps, then I work back up to ten reps, decreasing the weight load as I go. I know this is good for hypertrophy, but wanted to know how good it is for strength to support my grappling.

Any advice, comments or suggestions is most welcome; including from Wiegieboard.

[black gerbil1]

for me personally, I find high reps (8+) with heavy weights, focusing on compound movements get the job done.


assuming diet and enough rest is in place.

[Wiegieboard]

If you want what's best for overall strength I would do.

Deadlifts once per week, 3 or 4 sets of 6 for 4 weeks, then 4 sets of 4 for 4 weeks then 4 sets of 2 for 4 weeks then bring it back to the start.

I would do Squats after two rest days following the same sets and reps advice for the deads.

I'd do upper body crap, probably weighted dips and chins after a rest day again following the same pattern as the deads and squats.

Thing is, for grappling you need different types of fitness against anyone that's any decent, not just loads of mong strength. Muscular endurance is incredibly important when rolling as is neck strength in my opinion. Learn how to do neck exercises properly. What I've given you there is basically what I'd give to soeone who wanted to become strong, but it isn't neccesarily what is best for someone who wrestles a lot.
The leg, hip,lower back, neck and core strength is all very important, but you need to throw in different types of endurance training (youtube the randy couture barbell workout) along with it because deadlifting and squatting for high reps isn't really all that good for you over time, plus the lower weight stuff actually helps what is called an adaptation phase which is basically where your tendons that connect the muscle to the bone have time to catch up with your muscle strength. Tendon doesn't strengthen as quickly as muscle and when you're talking about gaining huge amounts of strength, having weak tendons is deadly for an athletes performance. Tendon injuries take longer to heal than bone injuries! This is why you need the high rep stuff too.

[Gorilla]

Thanks wiegieboard; all extremely helpful tips. I tore the ligament in my knee twice and have been off training because of it for ages...(sigh). Guess the low weights high reps should come in handy to strengthen them.