1 - I understand what you mean by pushing yourself to be able to get one step higher on the never ending staircase. I'll lift something that isn't exactly comfortable, but I don't feel like I won't be able to put the weight back to where it started without banging loudly. There's certain things like lats that I can do with 40-50kg wide grip and I feel like I can't lift anymore than that. Not because I can't physically put the force in, but more because it's 80-90% of my bodyweight and I'd be pulling myself towards the weight, not the weight towards myself without the help from my legs. Other things like working on delts or biceps I really have to push hard to complete a set. I find it hard to shoulder press when I get to the 3rd-4th set, even when only lifting 20-30kg.
2 - I'm not scared of going over 5 a set. But I've overheard a trainer saying things like doing 4-6 reps is what you should lift in order to fully work that area. I sometimes go up to 8 reps when I'm not consentrating, even though I'm still counting. Like I said above, 15-20 seconds seems like forever of a break on some things, but then it seems like hardly enought time on others.
3 - I'm not taking all day to do a rep, but I don't just let the weight fly back into starting position. I try to keep it a smooth motion, same speed in both directions. Is that a bad thing to do or?
Thanks for the advance Sig
Ok. Let's try to break this down a bit more and figure out the sticking points:
- If you can physically put in more force on a particular lift without changing anything else (how fast you can do it, how much rest you need to do it, etc.), then you should be lifting more.
- If you can easily forget and keep going up to 8, then you are probably not using the correct weight for 5 reps.
- If you can't do lat pulldowns at a higher weight without engaging your legs, then you have hit a max point for that specific exercise for you. But I don't quite understand your argument about how this relates to your overall bodyweight. The reason you do not fly up is that you must exert force against the weight you are pulling down. Period. Are you seated with your legs locked in? I keep envisioning a cartoon character on the other end of a pulley here. Hehehe.
- There is nothing wrong with doing pull-ups, instead of pulldowns! Many would consider pull-ups (at bodyweight & then with added weight as you progress) to be superior to latdowns anyway.
- How did you choose the weight amount you are using? On some exercises, you might be lifting the correct amounts. On others, you may be too light. On others, you may be trying for too heavy. It IS supposed to get "hard" -if you feel like you have to push really hard to get it done? That is GOOD! And note that the fact that you might be lifting too light on one thing does not "compensate" for lifting too heavy on a totally different exercise, and we all have some exercises that we are naturally "stronger" at.
- There is no magical # of reps, so ignore what you overheard a trainer saying. Rep choice depends on what you are trying to achieve (fat loss, muscle size, muscle strength, etc.) & it depends on where it fits in your program - you need to switch things up over time so that you try a bunch of different rep ranges to maximize progress.
- Lots of different choices for tempo (how fast to lift, pause, and lower a weight). Doesn't sound like you're doing anything wrong, but there are a lot of opinions about which is best for different kinds of goals also. I don't think this aspect is really affecting you much either way.
***-*** This is the tough part. 15-20 seconds feels like "forever." To your body, it isn't. If you actually pushed your muscles hard, it takes minutes to recover. Not seconds. Really. I know this is hard, because there are times when I feel like waiting 90 seconds in an eternity! Even 30-60 seconds, which can be valuable in a fat loss/metabolic program of lifting, can seem long, I know. You don't have to wait for full recovery to jump into the next set - many programs deliberately DON'T wait for this. However, you do need to have SOME recovery time, or you are not benefitting from being able to use a system of even having sets & reps!
Most important missing question: What are you trying to achieve? Hehe. That would help figure out if you're doing a program that best targets those goals!