@staystrong sorry it’s taken me a couple days here, thanks for your patience! Let’s do it!
Yes, the last set is very challenging, but I typically can always get the last rep. I typically rarely ever go to fail, and usually leave one “in the tank.” Sometimes I’ll go to concentric failure, so to the point where I could probably squeak out one or two more, but at that point would be using more body momentum than I like, and wouldn’t really be keeping the tension in the desired muscle.
Just my thoughts here, not saying “this is how it should be done” or whatever, I think constantly trying to add weight and going to fail is a recipe for never making gains. I think adding weight over time is a good way to go, but not necessarily for each and every session. If I’m going for four sets of 10, after my warm ups, I’m going to pick a weight that I can do a “hard 10”, with as much intensity as possible while making sure I’m isolating the muscle. On the first set, the 10th rep is hard, I leave one or two in the tank, rest a minute, and repeat. I think going truly going to fail is pretty damaging and should only be done sparingly.
I firmly believe that in the grand scheme of progress, if you’re lifting hard, consistently, week in and out, you’ll make much more consistent progress training with max intensity, leaving one in the tank, making sure you’re contracting the working muscle, and just letting time do its thing, and focusing on nutrition and recovery. This is especially true if you’re a natural. If you’re assisted, you can probably get away with more going to failure and still recover and grow.
You don’t want to do a weight that’s easy enough that you don’t feel like you have to work really hard to do it. But again, I think trying to go heavier set to set all the time is more of an ego booster than muscle builder. For example, let’s say you want to do 4 sets. If you’re going to ramp up every set, that means the first set has to be light enough that it’s not very challenging, or the first set is hard and the last set is so heavy you’re not isolating the muscle properly. I’ve made significant improvement in my training and physique by getting a couple good feeler sets in, get to my working weight and ride that out. If I’m on the second set and I feel strong, like I know I could move up a little bit, I will, but I’m talking slightly. No more than 10%, then ride that out.
Sure. I go by feel, some exercises move up quicker than others. So let’s use your example of 4x15 with 20lbs dumbbells. I like to use rep ranges as it gives me some wiggle room. So, instead of 4x15, I’ll do 4x 12-15. On the 4th set, I’ll do 22.5lbs instead of 20, and get 12, maybe even 10. Next workout, maybe I’ll try moving up on the 3rd set if I feel I can do it. Another thing to consider is that not all exercises need to/should be ramped. For example, shoulders were a top priority for me in the off season. I wanted to get stronger on my isolation exercises, so I started doing seated DB presses for 5x5, and did that for about 8 weeks. First week I did all the same weight, all 5 sets. Next week I felt a little stronger, so I’d do the first 3-4 sets at the weight of the previous week, then move up the last set. Gradually, I was able to keep moving up until all 5 sets would be at a new, heavier weight. Lather rinse repeat, you can do the same with any exercise. Some exercises like alternating front raises, I’ve been able to move up significantly, recently I’ve been able to do 4 sets of 40sx10. But, for lateral raises, I can’t get that much. I have no problem using the same weight for an exercise every week, as long as I feel I’m working the muscle, and am getting generally stronger over time.
So to summarize, I am generally not a fan of moving up in weight set to set on a regular basis. I think in the long run, one will make better gains focusing on a solid MMC, and thinking more about consistency of proper training, nutrition and recovery, and long term gains, rather than constantly going to failure.
Hope this helps man, if there’s anything I can be more specific about please let me know!
