[quote]bulkNcut wrote:
I guess I’m having a hard time explaining my question. My bad. Let me put it another way. If my 3RM is 195, what is the best way to get to that for building muscle and gaining strength.
Something along the lines of this:
185x7 190x5 195x3
Or something more like this
175x7 185x5 195x3
It just feels like the second option would be less work, therefore less muscle growth and less strength gains. [/quote]
Neither one of these is optimal. There is simply not enough volume there. That is only 15 total reps for that movement.
How did you arrive at your 3RM? Did you use a calculator, test yourself or take a guess? Personally, I would drop the weight some and add in more volume.
How often do you bench and what do you do the day before? Do you do any warm up at all? Is your press the first movement for that day or are you doing other things before that?
Whenever I have trouble in the past with a lift, I will always stop to ask myself - Have I done something recently that would affect my energy or strength? Did I rest enough between sets? Did I leave enough in the tank for my last set or did I do too many sets/reps leading up to?
It’s really all about self-inventory. You need to learn when it’s time to move ahead, when it’s time to back off and when it’s time to revise a new strategy.
To answer your original question though, no, I would not ever load like that.