Question bout always going heavy..

[jeffsz28]

Months ago i came off a cycle and ever since then i have noticed my strength not being up to where it use to be. i have always gone as heavy as i can even when off a cycle. a guy at the gym told me that pro trainers from my area have told him that you should switch it up every week. like do chest heavy one week then go light the next week. i never go light and i think it has caught up too me and my joints and body are just tired maybe?

what do you guys think?

[Flexor]

See this thread about losing strength, it may be helpful.

http://67.18.108.244/showthread.php?t=215523

It isn't a good idea to go light one week and then heavy. It doesn't allow the body to stick at one thing and get better at it. If you change it too quickly its wasting the adaptation it has done in the last week. Change up every 6 weeks and stick with it for 6 weeks.

There are many other things you can do besides changing your reps as well. Your strength drop is because of your CNS, so its possible you may be overtraining slightly. However, it is far more likely that you just need to switch around some things.

[doby48]

Like Flexor says you may just need to switch up your routine (exercises you are doing, number of sets, reps etc) try rest pauses or omitting if you are currently doing, going to failure, etc. Another thing is that your body does need rest at some point and you may just need to give it a rest. When people go on vacation for 1-2 weeks they let the exercise go and just enjoy the vacation, but when they return the gains are usually good and it gets them out of the rutt. If you haven't had any breaks in a while, take a week of to rest and recover, one week off is not going to set you back any.

[jeffsz28]

i just took 8 days of when i was out of town with my family for the holidays. i do a bunch of different exercises, so i don't think thats it. i think its the weight issue and maybe i need to go light for awhile and do more reps and sets. in the past two years lifting as heavy as i can go doing 5reps of 4sets and i have gotten very big doing that routine and gained alot of strength. i have never go light or did alot of sets and reps,like burn outs or anything. so it leads me to think my body is just worn out.... ? any have any real proof that the pros always go as heavy as they can all the time they lift? i know they do shit loads of sets... thanks guys

[Machdiesel]

Fully agree with the 6 week period, ive read the body adapts to a certain exercise if done the same every week after about 4-5 weeks, but i noticed i dont plateu untill 6 or 7, then just switch it up , i love going high rep for a few weeks, then switching over to heavy, then when u go back to high reps ur like holy shit, i got strong as hell,

[jeffsz28]

so you agree i should go light and increase my reps and sets till burn out?

maybe i will do that for like 4-6weeks> then go heavy again? when i'm on a cycle going heavy all the time doesn't bother my body at all. this is the first time ever though being off a cycle months later having my body express being bored and worn out.

Flexor- also with my forearm still being kinda sore i think i should go lighter for awhile anyhow. it has been feeling better but today it was hurting again.

[Machdiesel]

If you wanna add some serious strength very quikly, heres what i reccomend. look at the sticky above called various training methods, and go to the very bottom, the workout is called IRONMANS HIT, i just recently did this and loved it, i then took the reccomended week of n switched to a once a week, rep scheme 10, 8 , 6, and saw AMAZING RESULTS, PM me if u want some more detail, but this is a great shocker, and once u go back to once a week ull grow EXTREMLY fast. Im not an expert or nething, just telling u what worked for me

[CFH]

In a Harvard Health Letter last year they did a study that concluded that the body will adapt to a certain repetition range after 15 days. After that, the benefit you recieve from the exercise at that same rep range drops by about 15% each week there after. You need to change up your rep range every 2 weeks. I personally do sets of 3, 10, and 16. Everyone is different and responds to different rep ranges differently. Find which ones are good for you and roll with that.

[Flexor]

so you agree i should go light and increase my reps and sets till burn out?

maybe i will do that for like 4-6weeks> then go heavy again? when i'm on a cycle going heavy all the time doesn't bother my body at all. this is the first time ever though being off a cycle months later having my body express being bored and worn out.

Flexor- also with my forearm still being kinda sore i think i should go lighter for awhile anyhow. it has been feeling better but today it was hurting again.

it doesn't hurt to have a rest every now and again. I was injured over christmas with shoulder impingement, and working out for the first time a few days ago was shit. The second workout i felt really fresh, and the rest has done me good. you can go lighter for 4-6 weeks, but there are other things you can do. You could do another type of program such as HIT or lots of high reps and a volume training. Anything really, just change it.

[jeffsz28]

cool thanks guys and i will check that thread out.. i had a good workout today doing light weight for arms- 6-8-10