When you’re lifting heavy for high reps, you know you’re in the sweet spot, but how should we define, ‘heavy’? The way I define heavy is a weight that you can lift for no more than 10-12 reps.
Technically, a heavy set of something, in bodybuilding terms, is in the vicinity of 6-8 reps max, but I’m defining it slightly higher because I find that above 10, you get a good amount of hypertrophy (i.e. blood going into the muscle) compared to when you’re only lifting for 6-8 reps.
So, that’s kind of how I trained here in this podcast. If you choose a weight that fits this model, you end up getting 6-8 reps by the third or fourth set anyhow.
Since your muscles are fatigued the more work you put in, you won’t be able to get as many reps in each set, so what you do to counterbalance this and make sure you end up with at least 10-12 reps at the end of the set, is to take a short rest, put the weight down, and then finish the last 3-5 reps.
A short rest, meaning, around 10 seconds or so, and then continuing on with the set for the last 3-5 reps, will help challenge the muscle more as well as your CNS. This is what you want. The end result? Lifting heavy for high reps.
Anyhow, we also discuss my detox drink, which I take daily after my workout and the time I worked at a chiropractor’s office and some of the things I learned there that were truly life-changing.
Your training partner,
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