Which exercises do you go light/heavy on?

[jbig]

I know some people go HEAVY on basically EVERYTHING but I like to go for reps sometimes (by 'reps' I mean 12 or over).

I'll get the obvious out of the way first.

HEAVY: Squats, deadlifts, bench.

REPS/LIGHT: (Personally) skull crushers, SL deadlifts and... lat raises (unless cheating)

[Rich]

I follow something close to the Max-OT philosophy, which means I truly believe that if I don't go heavy there's no point to the exercise. So my working sets are always 4-6 reps, 8 reps max if I choose a weight that is too light by accident. I do go higher rep with abs though.

I will occasionally break the rule for a shock or just for fun, and go for high reps or do a drop set or something like that, however it could be with any exercise. I've done this with squats, bench press, leg press, and isolation movements like leg extensions and so on.

I'm surpirsed you go light on SLDL's though. That's a really valuabel ham builder if you go heavy, IMO.

[RUBICON19]

Its all relative I guess. I go as heavy as I can for whatever rep range I am shooting for that day

[Karrie]

I agree with Randy, I think it is all relative. For myself, I tend to pyramid with my wo's. Pyramiding works best for me, but there are days I warm up and do directly to my heaviest weight.

[Tim Wescott]

I gotta` go with Karrie and Randy..............the only stipulation is on stiff-leggeds where I go lighter because of my back which I hurt a few years ago........still not quite 100% yet.

I also feel that on some movements,if I go lighter,I feel the targeted area much better.

Sometimes if you lighten the load,train faster,stricter,and get a good mind/muscle connection,it`s much more effective for growing purposes,but usually,if I`m shooting for 15-20 reps on something,I will be struggling at 12 or so............not max 1 rep weight,but heavy none the less.

[jbig]

After my wrist injury I have a robust fear of something happening again... Despite the fact my wrist injury was caused by me PUTTING BACK THE WEIGHT (I think) and not the actual lifting.

I suppose heavier weights aggrivate it [wrist] a bit more...

I may try heavier for a few weeks and see where it gets me!

[Tim Wescott]

jbig said:

After my wrist injury I have a robust fear of something happening again... Despite the fact my wrist injury was caused by me PUTTING BACK THE WEIGHT (I think) and not the actual lifting.

I suppose heavier weights aggrivate it [wrist] a bit more...

I may try heavier for a few weeks and see where it gets me!

I can relate.....I still haven`t squatted over 300 pond for 5-6 reps for fear of hurting my back again.

Take your time and be careful.

[TNA]

Right now with DC, I'm going heavy on every exercise. There will be the odd one that I'll go a bit lighter but like Randy said, it's all relative.

[beckie]

I used to go heavy on everything but a few injuries later I'm being more careful and using more variety. I do a 6-15 rep range but the higher reps are for legs generally and for isolation exercises.

[youngblood]

All of 'em. And none of them.

I let the reps dictate the weight, and not the weight dictate the reps.

[mrky03]

Honestly, I agree with Rich. I believe you gotta challenge the muscle with enough weight to force muscle growth! But certain exercises do lend themselves more to using heavy weight, like squats, deads, presses etc. If I'm doing hacks or leg extensions I'm more comfortable using a higher rep range.

[cuzza]

Here we go, my first post.

I go as heavy as I can whilst maintaining proper form across the particular rep range I'm training in.

Despite not being very strong I do believe that the more weight I can lift the bigger I'll get, and after having a year where I was overseas for three months and lost a bit of size, I've certainly fallen behind on my poundages.