I was reading that to gain large muscles with weights, it is best to lift heavier weights with less reps. I am wondering what is the appropriate amount of 'less reps'? Would it be 3 reps? How long should each rep take? Should I be pumping them out as fast as I can, or slowly and controlled? In addition, how many sets should I be doing and how long of a break should I do in between sets?
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Gaining Large Muscles?
- Thread starter icu222much
- Start date
if you want to gain muscle mass, you want moderate reps, 8-12 per set.
you want explosive contraction of the muscles, with a slower release.
you'll want roughly 2 minutes between sets to recover, maybe 90 seconds.
number of sets just matters for you. if you're new to training, do 1 to 2 light warmup sets and then just 1 working set the first couple weeks. otherwise you'll be hurtin'
add another set after 3 weeks, and work your way up. the goal isn't to be sore. you shouldn't be more than 'stiff' the day after a workout, but when you're a newbie even 2 sets will make you tender.
but to really grow muscle, you need to eat. without extra calories you won't have the materials to build up muscle.
you want explosive contraction of the muscles, with a slower release.
you'll want roughly 2 minutes between sets to recover, maybe 90 seconds.
number of sets just matters for you. if you're new to training, do 1 to 2 light warmup sets and then just 1 working set the first couple weeks. otherwise you'll be hurtin'
add another set after 3 weeks, and work your way up. the goal isn't to be sore. you shouldn't be more than 'stiff' the day after a workout, but when you're a newbie even 2 sets will make you tender.
but to really grow muscle, you need to eat. without extra calories you won't have the materials to build up muscle.
Sounds great. Thank you.
What malkore said is pretty much correct.
Lifting with 100% intensity is not appropriate for novices because your muscles are not able to coordinate such a concentrated movement. 80 - 90% is perfect for building muscle mass in novice weightlifters, as it uses a greater population of motor units to accomplish the movement.
I would also suggest 1 - 4 minutes of rest between sets is fine.
I believe your should aim for 5 - 10 sets per exercise.
Also rep count is irrelevent, you want to lift until you are exhausted. But obviously if you can only lift 3 reps, and it is only your second set, you are lifting too much weight.
Lifting with 100% intensity is not appropriate for novices because your muscles are not able to coordinate such a concentrated movement. 80 - 90% is perfect for building muscle mass in novice weightlifters, as it uses a greater population of motor units to accomplish the movement.
I would also suggest 1 - 4 minutes of rest between sets is fine.
I believe your should aim for 5 - 10 sets per exercise.
Also rep count is irrelevent, you want to lift until you are exhausted. But obviously if you can only lift 3 reps, and it is only your second set, you are lifting too much weight.
Thank you.