# Weight Poll



## Guest (Apr 11, 2005)

*Do you start heavy and get lighter or start light and increase the weight?*​
Start light and increase the weight654.55%Start heavy and decrease the weight436.36%Neither, use the same weight for all sets19.09%


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2005)

i have always trained starting (after warm up set) light on the first set and increasing the weight each set. but a guy i'm about to start training with starts heavy and gets lighter

i'm going to give it a shot anyway but was just wondering how everyone else does it?

Sam


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2005)

I have done both ways of training and both work quite well.

J


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2005)

I find starting heavy works you harder.If you start light then you are not pushing yourself in the first couple of sets, the ONLY way you can reach failure is by doing loads of reps, this is good for cutting or tone up, but if you want to bulk, lift as heavy as you can for about 6-8 reps and deacrease the following sets as needed.This way every set is worthwile and not just an excuse to piss through the first couple of sets.Like ive said though if you are tonning up and not worried about adding mass then do light weights for about 15 reps.

The only positive i would say with starting light is it warms your muscles up good and injuries are less likely to happen.

PS just my present opinion which could change depending on feedback from this topic, if someone could state the pros and cons from starting light i might give it a try. 

PPS interesting topic, especially for novices like myself. :wink:


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2005)

Oh by the way if starting heavy, obviously do a good warm up!


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2005)

i start at about 80% of my max, then i move up till on my 4th or 5th set (depending on how i feel) im having my spotter force the reps out of me, only helping steady me or lifting just enough to get the weight up or keep me from dropping it on my face if i give out. i dont think, and this is just an opinion, that you need to go to failure on your first or even second set, unless youre only doing 3 sets. going down in weight may be a decent technique but really you arent warranting more work from the muscle through your sets, youre making it easier. i read an interview with priest (who has arguably some of the best arms ever) in which the hotheaded little aussie said that when he does arms for instance he starts out at about 80% (hence my little routine) and goes up for about 5 or 6 sets, and does 12 reps or more on each set. he said its all about volume and getting as much blood into the muscle as possible, he also went on to say that lifters that decrease reps as they increase sets are pussies, but thats just lee talking. now this may not work for everyone and there are probably those out there that say im full of it, but hey, take it with a grain of salt. let me know what you guys think.


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2005)

can i change my vote?

just been to the gym and tryd heavy - light and it made a lot of diffrence,really felt like i had a good workout today (chest) will be sticking with this for a bit see how it go's

and i agree with what divie say's, it makes sence to start heavy when you have the strength in ya to lift heavy


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2005)

:lol: I drop weight as the sets go on and im no pussy, so the chavie who said that bollocks is talking out of his F******G shitter.

Stop making it personel and just give your opinions, theres no point behind that comment.

If you read my post it states, if you dont lift as heavy as you can you cant be pushing yourself ,and will not reach failure unless you do loads of reps, AGREED, wich DOES mean you dont give it your all in that set.It may be like most i pressume some sort of extended warm up which is fair especially if you do a lot of sets..In my opinion if you dont lower the weights as your sets go on you are holding back and the previous sets are just warm ups.

We must take in to acount the reps aswell as sometimes we may do 12 of a certain weight and realise theres no point lowering the weight as 12 is a lot of reps so ill just do 6-8 on the next set with the same weight reaching failure both times.This happens to me sometimes when ive been on creatine a thew weeks.

I do garys routine which is a 3 day workout of only 3 sets ,so failure on every set is a must, but if i was doing a 5 day split id still go for failure every set as a good warm is enougth to get the blood flowing and if your only training that muscle once a week id make sure id give that muscle some punishment as it will have time to rest.

Take it easy


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2005)

Well done 9519sam its nice to hear honest opinions who arent just following the crowd.

Its common sense really, if you try your hardest from the start when you have more energy it will be your muscles that tire before you do.Starting light just wastes energy, time .In my opinion its an excuse not to try your best from the start, i used to train light to heavy, but when i decided to go heavy from the start i felt i had a way better pump.


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2005)

hello chaps,

ive never actually satrted heavy and then gone lighter, i have alwaqys worked upto the heavy ones.

the reason why this is, is because fear of injurys.

i couldnt imagine jumping in and doing 200kg squats 150kg bench. i may try the other way soon, but want to get my training back on track first as i lost abit of weight and abit of strangth.

i adapted to the priciples i read years ago,and they worked for me.

however i will watch this thread, it will be interesting to see other peoples thoughts who have tried it both ways.

but my workouts are short and intense anyway.


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2005)

hey divie, i didnt call anyone a pussy, i was merely passing along information that i had picked up along the way too. i was actually restating something someone else had said, sorry i left off the quotation marks. everyone trains different and different things work for different people. lighten up m8!


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2005)

Agreed steve, it is safer starting a thew sets light, but if you warm up well going straight in to heavy-light is ok for me.

EXACTLYWHAT i know you didnt call anyone a pussy i was refering to that profesinoal BB quate you explained on your post hes the pr**k as it was his quote not yours,peace.Like you said take it with a pinch of salt m8, :wink: .

I think my first post hits the nail on the head, by the looks of it theres nothing new coming in, id like to hear more on the advantages of light to heavy as at present it just looks like every one does it this way but doesnt know why.Im not asking which is best im just curious of the advantages of light-heavy so i can give it a try one day and mayby get more gains, but im not going to bother wasting time on light sets if injury is the only pro as warm up is good enougth in my opinion. :?


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2005)

agreed, the only reason ive ever gone light to heavy is to wear down the muscle b4 i put the big strain on. then again i also do burnout sets and things like 21's which the guys in my gym tell me im crazy for as they do nothing, but if i hit a point where nothing is hurting my arms (granted i can actually lift the weight) and they arent sore the next day, ill do a burnout on my next arm day or to shock chest ill do a burnout once a month. so i take a much more abstract approach to my bb, not a ton of structure, i stick with the meat and potatos like bench and curls and squats, but i like to throw in things to keep it fresh, i get bored with monotany. maybe i should try something more routine.


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2005)

What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. Altering from time to time may help you benefit from either. Personally I allways start as heavy as I can pushing for 6-8 reps which should give me failure, reducing the weight on next sets to give enough reps again but still to failure on every set.


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## Guest (Apr 16, 2005)

sorry to rekindle this ive been away for a while. For a start gotta agree Lee Priest is a bit of a pr**k but he has some balls posting his off season photos so hell what he says goes.

As far as the actual q. Id never push to failure on every set. Certainly not the first and i usually just ease off very slightly just 1 rep lower than failure if i know im doing a particularly heavy set next.

I usually start about 75% then increase. 2 sets at this weight. The first being 1 rep more then a heavy set then either repeat it or drop down and pump out depending on how i feel. Althou this is just what i do most typically i change it up all the time.

Divie not to criticise bro i know we have argu,ments in the past had seen as we both have that great bodybuilding temper (its what makes us succeed) but u really shouldnt be doing less reps on the same weight to any significant degree. Like sure we all might push the occasional 8 then 6 and 1 spotted. But not 12 to 6-8 the heavy set in this instance ie the 6-8 range is not heavy enough if u can manage 12 reps on the same weight take a longer rest between sets. I remember reading in the rest time post a while back that yours were very short try resting longer this way your weights wil increase more and u will get stronger. My difference between 12 reps and 6 reps for say shoulders is 50kg for 12 to 75kg for 6 a good 33% more.

As for advantages of light to heavy heavy. Starting heavy personally i wouldnt be able to push out the same weight on my heavy sets ie 3-5 reps. Your muscles are to cold (very technical term there hope u know what i mean) at this point or i find this. And yeah your much more likely to get injured. Also the earlier sets are still to failure in a 5 set routine barring usually the first they just serve a different equally as important purpose. Earlier sets will usually be performed with a better range of movement in better form producing a better contraction. All far more important than lifting super heavy weights for muscle growth.

Just ask Jay Cutler that dude lifts some light arse weights on occasions for his size and dont think id complain if i was robbed of the olmypia recently and was no. 2 in the world.

Hope that helps. peace.


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## Guest (Apr 16, 2005)

I dont make a habit of sticking with the same weight, its just if im trying a new exercisse i might lift too little and get to 8 reps easily but because i havn't reached failure ill keep on until i do reach failure, then in the next set ill stay with the same weight or add more but my reps should come down to 6 again.It was just a bad example of goals and reps should be include into this topic when answering it.

To be honest i dont know f**k all anyway, ill stick to asking the questions as im in no position to offer any advice.However im happy with how quickly im learning as compared to the average joe.I met a friend(BB) of the family recently and he came from 11 stone (6 ft) to 18 stone and he reckons im doing well which has given me some hunger again, but he did confuse me even more as he recons i should be doing a 4 or 5 day split and he was encouraging me to do dianobal as he recons he gained 2 stone in 4 weeks :shock:

Anyway if i disagree with anybody on this forum again remind me im a novice tom.

PS Im thinking of doing a slow 12 reps but light weight to start of with then 2 heavy sets after sticking with garys routine (3 day fb workout)


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2005)

divie, you got everything spot on mate, i couldn't add anything to what you have said and i know exactly what you mean about trying a new exercise and finding you shud have gone heavier first set so you stick with that weight on the second, do exactly the same.

how are your gains coming along, i admit i find it hard to keep track of all the guys following my routine so let me know how your doing and where your at now as well as how long you've been training.

alot of guys swap to a split to soon because they think it makes them sound like a more advanced trainer, but its not neccessary i stuck with the routine your on till i got to about 15 stone and 18.5 inch arms at which point i needed to reduce the frequency of my training but increase the intensity of each workout. be judged by the muscle you build, not the routine you use.


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2005)

Toms putting some pics of me on the forum soon gary so that will show you how its going.Ive put on 2 stone since november 04 and my body fat aint gone up too much, i think ive come from a skinny bloke to an average size now.

Im happy with your routine and its all ive done.I am definatly a novice but every BB i speak to outside of the internet says i should be doing a 5 day so this last month ive been confused, but im going to stick with your routine for probably another year at least and i prefer 3 day workout at the mo as it trains your muscles more often mayby not so intense as a 5 day but thats obvious.

PS when i got to 12 stone a couple months back i cut back on food and wanted to stay at 12 stone and did, but im putting on the weight again and my long term goals are to get as big as i can, hopefully add at least 1-2 stone every year.Its hit me that it can be done over time and settiling for a pathetic 12 stone is a wimps exscuse.

Ive added the shoulder presses back to my routine and im not going to bother listening to BB i know outside of this forum as half of them dont seem to know much.

Cheers gary


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2005)

what is a stone...16lbs?


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2005)

14 lbs in a stone m8


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2005)

see, i was close. im trying but you know, even though we speak the same language (which i question sometimes) we have a different word for everything! thanks for setting my uneducated american cranium straight! now if only i can figure out that damn metric system you use!!!


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## joe1988 (Jan 17, 2010)

i ent raggin the start heavy and go light coz i have never tried it, but why if it works so well do the pros start light and go heavier???


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## Guest (Apr 19, 2005)

dont know...never trained with one?!


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2005)

Probably pro BB fear injury, pro BB need to avoid injury as a long lay off may fu*k there career up or stop them entering comps.I dont know but it may be why.


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