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When I lift, I focus all my attention on the muscle being worked. Say for example bicep curls. I can curl a 50lbs dumbell for a good 8 reps, but if I really focus on the muscle and squeeze the muscle, I can only do about 25lbs for 8 reps. Should I be putting that much focus on the muscle? I get a great pump and I feel it a whole lot more but the weight I use is usually half of what I can lift normally. What's the best way to lift?
stop thinking so much and lift
Good questionQuote:
Originally Posted by calichico
Why not do both? Lift heavy on some exercises and use more mind-muscle connection on others.
its not about the weight its about the resistance u feel... if u can get the same pump with less weight then do that... less likly to get a injury
agreeQuote:
Originally Posted by OH REALLY
legitimate question dont have an answer for you but im also interested
"Concentration curls" used to be very popular, but I don't hear much about them any more and never see anybody doing them. They are an excellent isolation excercise for your biceps. I wouldn't recommend basing your whole routine around them, as they are not the best mass building excercise, but they will get you pumped like nothing else.
I agree with this. Do both, hell do both in the same workout. Do some drop-sets. Go heavy, then after you fail, grab the 25's and finish out. After failing, sling the weight up and fail on your neg motion. I think using a weight where on your 3rd set you fail at 8 reps w/ slow CLEAN reps. I like to also focus 2 second on the positive motion, and 4 second on the neg motion. I can almost do double the weight I workout with if i'm doing 2 second reps but i'm telling you, it does very little for you unless using that technique for drop-sets/pump-sets.Quote:
Originally Posted by tommy22587
Just what works for me
The pump is usually from lighter weight with hard squeezes.. At least for me, but I still go heavy to keep up my strength since if you only pump and squeeze you will loose strength and be a BIG *****. At least in my experience..
As mentioned above, change it up, do some pumps and some strengths. I do pump strength and then finish with pumps.
I can give my own experience on this subject. Been lifting since 1979. My arms were always a weak spot for me. My arms were stuck at 16 inches for along time. My bodyweight was always around 190 or so. I always lifted heavy in the 6 to 8 reps. I was experiencing alot of elbow pain so I decided to start lifting lighter and also to squeeze the muscle more at peak contraction. I raised my reps to 12 to 15 range and reduced my total sets for biceps to 6 total sets. I also did this for all bodyparts. ( lower sets and increased reps ). End result was I now weigh 205 and my arms measure 17 1/4. Granted the weight gain caused some of the increase in size but I believe that I was'nt working my bi's correctly. Going too heavy sometimes takes away form. I'm also 51 years old and natural. My gains came over 5 to 6 month period.
You need to find your balance. Do i believe in lightening the load ? Nope (only if causeing form issues). How will you force your body to grow by using lighter weight.
You say you can lift 50lbs for 8 reps
How is 25lbs for 8 reps more ? Its not. In the end you are doing less work ! Are you getting a good pump ? Yes , are you stressing the body to its full potential ? No way.