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This. Take shoulder press as an example Most people would be better off lifting a 10 lb weight 50 times instead of lifting a 50 lb weight 10 times. High weight

by jmole 4y ago

This. Take shoulder press as an example Most people would be better off lifting a 10 lb weight 50 times instead of lifting a 50 lb weight 10 times. High weight, low reps is a great way to injure yourself if you're like 99% of people out there.

jiggywiggy 4y ago
Yeah i moved back my weights to 50/60% of max rep. No more back issues or injuries. Also train less. Yet strength and mass have gone up.
dsego 4y ago
I always had problems doing full pushups. Now I'm starting slow, doing upright pushups against the wall. Have to thank this youtuber for the motivation: https://youtu.be/zkU6Ok44_CI https://youtu.be/zkU6Ok44_CI
- SenHeng 4y ago
  Somehow I just knew it would be Hampton’s video. Yes, this guy and his channel, hybridcalisthenics, is amazing at breaking workouts down into progressive sets for beginners .
andreareina 4y ago
Source for 10-rep sets being particularly injurious please. And 10 lbs x 50 is much less stimulative than 50 lbs x 10, bordering on being not particularly effective.
- ungamedplayer 4y ago
  Any weight you can do 10reps of is unlikely to be near your 1rm max. From my limited experience it's a out 15 percent off.
  - jstx1 4y ago
    > Any weight you can do 10reps of is unlikely to be near your 1rm max. Most people can't do 10 reps at 85% intensity, it's closer to 70-75%.
- tomp 4y ago
  It’s not that 10rep set is injurious. It’s that 50lbs is injurious, even just lifting it overhead.
  - FartyMcFarter 4y ago
    It's only injurious if you can't do it. If you can lift 50 lbs up above your head a few times in a row, there's nothing wrong with doing that. Most males can probably do that with a tiny bit of practice.
    - tomp 4y ago
      Holding a heavy weight overhead is an inherently unstable position. Even if you can lift it overhead (using momentum), doesn’t mean you can hold it overhead. Even if you can do a few overhead presses, you need to be very careful not to do it to failure, as you need enough strength to safely bring it back to the ground. If you lose balance and the weight swings back, your shoulder is fucked, especially at that weight.
      - throwaway22032 4y ago
        Yes, but essentially no-one tries to do a high weight overhead press without training. If anything, most people are less likely to even touch a barbell because it looks like "serious work". For most adult men lifting the bar (44lbs, so almost 50) above their head after studying the form is not "injurious".
      - balfirevic 4y ago
        > Even if you can lift it overhead (using momentum You don't do shoulder presses using momentum (unless you're doing something specialised, in which case you know what you're doing). > as you need enough strength to safely bring it back to the ground You don't, you can do them in properly configured squat rack and just drop them.
      - andreareina 4y ago
        The overhead press is usually done off of hooks or pins, you don't have to start or end on the ground. The front rack position is very stable, I've never felt it to be the least bit sketchy lowering the bar even after a failed lift, either strict or with leg drive. If you do start off the ground, it's going to be a weight you can clean up into a front rack position; if you can clean the weight you can certainly lower it back down.
- Ensorceled 4y ago
  > Source for 10-rep sets being particularly injurious please. That's absolutely not what they said.
- curiousllama 4y ago
  99% of people have bad form, because nobody showed them good form. 1 set of 50lb dumbbells on shoulder press with no warm up & bad form, by a middle aged dad with no gym experience, can def mess up a rotator cuff.
  - drakonka 4y ago
    I don't think that means the solution is to recommend they do 10lb sets with bad form though; it's more like they should learn proper technique instead, regardless of what their target weight is.
- AlwaysRock 4y ago
  25 pounds for 6-10 reps, always stopping before any pain, is a good middle ground. Dont do curls with 2-5 pound weights. Find something that is actually a bit difficult, but most people shouldnt pile on weight or even continue to increase it unless their current weight feels like it isnt very difficult.
gadders 4y ago
Yeah, if you want an old age filled with weakness and fragility. If you build up to it and you have the strength and lift with good technique there is nothing wrong with it. 50lbs is only just over the weight of the bar anyway. Weakness is never a strength.
FartyMcFarter 4y ago
50 times is a bit too much for me, and probably a lot of other people. It leads to mental or cardiovascular fatigue, which is not what I'm after when building muscle/strength. If you're an endurance athlete it would be more appropriate. When training for muscle size the important thing is to fatigue the muscle itself, which is easier to do with 5-20 reps, maybe 30 at the most if exercising small muscles. Regarding "low reps", that usually refers to sets of 1-3 reps very close to your maximum potential. Once you go above 5 reps or so, the risk of injury is much lower. There are lots of beginner programs using sets of 5 reps, and people aren't getting injured left and right on those.
- hackernewds 4y ago
  Think they were being hyperbolical. Your example makes sense though
jstx1 4y ago
You still need a minimum level of intensity. You won't be improving strength with something that you can lift 50 times. One way to measure perceived exertion is how many additional reps you think you can do - if you're doing 10 reps at a weight where you can only do 10, then you're obviously at some risk of having worse form / injury; if you're doing 10 reps at a weight that you can lift 12-15 times, you'll probably get stronger, if you're doing 10 reps at a weight you can lift 25-30 times, you likely won't make a lot of progress.
- codingdave 4y ago
  If you can lift what you need to 50 times, do you need to improve strength? For most people, exercise is about health and about being functional in their life. If you have a baseline level of fitness and an exercise habit that supports it, it is OK to plateau at that level and just live your healthy life.
  - jstx1 4y ago
    It's perferctly fine to maintain but that also requires training at some minimal level of intensity.
  - patricklouys 4y ago
    It's not ok to plateau at that level. You will get old, your strength and bone density will go down and it is a lot harder (but still possible) to improve those when you are old. Much better to start with a lot more than the minimum so you have a decent safety margin (and lifelong habits that will keep you healthy for as long as possible).
NathanielK 4y ago
What's your current maximum shoulder press, and how's your physique? I've been training the latter, and I am almost certainly stronger than you.
- hombre_fatal 4y ago
  While I do like the idea of HNers having to post their physique in any thread related to nutrition and fitness, the topic of this thread is what's ideal for most people who aren't as serious about lifting. Whether they are right or wrong (I don't think we have a way to know), it's kind of a different point. Besides, I don't think your body is going to be any different from your clone doing massive reps to failure with the same conviction.
patricklouys 4y ago
Using 10lbs for shoulder press does absolutely nothing for your fitness. Even 50lbs barely does anything unless you are completely untrained. And 10 reps is not low reps either. It's on the upper end of what people usually use in their workouts.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- hombre_fatal 4y ago
  They could be talking about dumbbell weight, as 10lb is entry level but 50lbx10 requires some shoulder development. Either way, I don't see the issue with doing 50 reps of something if you're failing at the end. The main issue is that it's boring and more mentally taxing than 6-10 reps I think. There's a Huberman Lab podcast with some expert who also says the ideal rep range is anywhere from 6 reps to 30+ reps to make the point that we overly fixate on it. Lifting something until you can't is the operative goal. I personally like drop sets for this purpose (decreasing weight until failure) because you end on a lighter weight that won't hurt you if something goes wrong, but you aren't stuck lifting one weight for too long.

by jmole 4y ago

jiggywiggy 4y ago

Yeah i moved back my weights to 50/60% of max rep. No more back issues or injuries. Also train less. Yet strength and mass have gone up.

dsego 4y ago

I always had problems doing full pushups. Now I'm starting slow, doing upright pushups against the wall. Have to thank this youtuber for the motivation: https://youtu.be/zkU6Ok44_CI https://youtu.be/zkU6Ok44_CI

SenHeng 4y ago
Somehow I just knew it would be Hampton’s video. Yes, this guy and his channel, hybridcalisthenics, is amazing at breaking workouts down into progressive sets for beginners .

andreareina 4y ago

Source for 10-rep sets being particularly injurious please. And 10 lbs x 50 is much less stimulative than 50 lbs x 10, bordering on being not particularly effective.

ungamedplayer 4y ago
Any weight you can do 10reps of is unlikely to be near your 1rm max. From my limited experience it's a out 15 percent off.
- jstx1 4y ago
  > Any weight you can do 10reps of is unlikely to be near your 1rm max. Most people can't do 10 reps at 85% intensity, it's closer to 70-75%.
tomp 4y ago
It’s not that 10rep set is injurious. It’s that 50lbs is injurious, even just lifting it overhead.
- FartyMcFarter 4y ago
  It's only injurious if you can't do it. If you can lift 50 lbs up above your head a few times in a row, there's nothing wrong with doing that. Most males can probably do that with a tiny bit of practice.
  - tomp 4y ago
    Holding a heavy weight overhead is an inherently unstable position. Even if you can lift it overhead (using momentum), doesn’t mean you can hold it overhead. Even if you can do a few overhead presses, you need to be very careful not to do it to failure, as you need enough strength to safely bring it back to the ground. If you lose balance and the weight swings back, your shoulder is fucked, especially at that weight.
    - throwaway22032 4y ago
      Yes, but essentially no-one tries to do a high weight overhead press without training. If anything, most people are less likely to even touch a barbell because it looks like "serious work". For most adult men lifting the bar (44lbs, so almost 50) above their head after studying the form is not "injurious".
    - balfirevic 4y ago
      > Even if you can lift it overhead (using momentum You don't do shoulder presses using momentum (unless you're doing something specialised, in which case you know what you're doing). > as you need enough strength to safely bring it back to the ground You don't, you can do them in properly configured squat rack and just drop them.
    - andreareina 4y ago
      The overhead press is usually done off of hooks or pins, you don't have to start or end on the ground. The front rack position is very stable, I've never felt it to be the least bit sketchy lowering the bar even after a failed lift, either strict or with leg drive. If you do start off the ground, it's going to be a weight you can clean up into a front rack position; if you can clean the weight you can certainly lower it back down.
Ensorceled 4y ago
> Source for 10-rep sets being particularly injurious please. That's absolutely not what they said.
curiousllama 4y ago
99% of people have bad form, because nobody showed them good form. 1 set of 50lb dumbbells on shoulder press with no warm up & bad form, by a middle aged dad with no gym experience, can def mess up a rotator cuff.
- drakonka 4y ago
  I don't think that means the solution is to recommend they do 10lb sets with bad form though; it's more like they should learn proper technique instead, regardless of what their target weight is.
AlwaysRock 4y ago
25 pounds for 6-10 reps, always stopping before any pain, is a good middle ground. Dont do curls with 2-5 pound weights. Find something that is actually a bit difficult, but most people shouldnt pile on weight or even continue to increase it unless their current weight feels like it isnt very difficult.

gadders 4y ago

Yeah, if you want an old age filled with weakness and fragility. If you build up to it and you have the strength and lift with good technique there is nothing wrong with it. 50lbs is only just over the weight of the bar anyway. Weakness is never a strength.

FartyMcFarter 4y ago

50 times is a bit too much for me, and probably a lot of other people. It leads to mental or cardiovascular fatigue, which is not what I'm after when building muscle/strength. If you're an endurance athlete it would be more appropriate. When training for muscle size the important thing is to fatigue the muscle itself, which is easier to do with 5-20 reps, maybe 30 at the most if exercising small muscles. Regarding "low reps", that usually refers to sets of 1-3 reps very close to your maximum potential. Once you go above 5 reps or so, the risk of injury is much lower. There are lots of beginner programs using sets of 5 reps, and people aren't getting injured left and right on those.

hackernewds 4y ago
Think they were being hyperbolical. Your example makes sense though

jstx1 4y ago

You still need a minimum level of intensity. You won't be improving strength with something that you can lift 50 times. One way to measure perceived exertion is how many additional reps you think you can do - if you're doing 10 reps at a weight where you can only do 10, then you're obviously at some risk of having worse form / injury; if you're doing 10 reps at a weight that you can lift 12-15 times, you'll probably get stronger, if you're doing 10 reps at a weight you can lift 25-30 times, you likely won't make a lot of progress.

codingdave 4y ago
If you can lift what you need to 50 times, do you need to improve strength? For most people, exercise is about health and about being functional in their life. If you have a baseline level of fitness and an exercise habit that supports it, it is OK to plateau at that level and just live your healthy life.
- jstx1 4y ago
  It's perferctly fine to maintain but that also requires training at some minimal level of intensity.
- patricklouys 4y ago
  It's not ok to plateau at that level. You will get old, your strength and bone density will go down and it is a lot harder (but still possible) to improve those when you are old. Much better to start with a lot more than the minimum so you have a decent safety margin (and lifelong habits that will keep you healthy for as long as possible).

NathanielK 4y ago

What's your current maximum shoulder press, and how's your physique? I've been training the latter, and I am almost certainly stronger than you.

hombre_fatal 4y ago
While I do like the idea of HNers having to post their physique in any thread related to nutrition and fitness, the topic of this thread is what's ideal for most people who aren't as serious about lifting. Whether they are right or wrong (I don't think we have a way to know), it's kind of a different point. Besides, I don't think your body is going to be any different from your clone doing massive reps to failure with the same conviction.

patricklouys 4y ago

Using 10lbs for shoulder press does absolutely nothing for your fitness. Even 50lbs barely does anything unless you are completely untrained. And 10 reps is not low reps either. It's on the upper end of what people usually use in their workouts.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
hombre_fatal 4y ago
They could be talking about dumbbell weight, as 10lb is entry level but 50lbx10 requires some shoulder development. Either way, I don't see the issue with doing 50 reps of something if you're failing at the end. The main issue is that it's boring and more mentally taxing than 6-10 reps I think. There's a Huberman Lab podcast with some expert who also says the ideal rep range is anywhere from 6 reps to 30+ reps to make the point that we overly fixate on it. Lifting something until you can't is the operative goal. I personally like drop sets for this purpose (decreasing weight until failure) because you end on a lighter weight that won't hurt you if something goes wrong, but you aren't stuck lifting one weight for too long.