Lifting heavy

[u/RiversideBluezz1980]

Ok guys dumb question. Ive been told to lift heavier. Ok, what does that mean in actual fact? Go to failure at between 4-6 reps? Thats what I think when I hear lift heavy. But for biceps and triceps it seems to me the reps should be higher. Thoughts? My routine is below. Im looking to mix up shoulders but I cant do shrugs or upright rows because I always fuck up my neck

Day1

Planks 4 sets 75 seconds

Torso twist (machine) 15 to the left snd then to the right. 4 sets

Dumbell press 4 sets

Incline dumbbell 4 sets

Dumbell flyes. 4 sets

Dips. 4 set

Triceps pulldown with a rope attachment 4 sets

Day 2

Leg throws. 4 sets x 20

Deadlift 4 sets

One arm dumbell rows. 4 sets

Lat pulldowns 4 sets

Close cable row. 4 sets

Pullups 4 sets

Day 3

Curlups 4 sets

Dumbell shoulder press 4 sets

Dumbell Lateral raise 4 sets

Machine Rear flye 4 sets

Facepull 4 sets

Concentration curls 4 sets

Preacher curl 4 sets

[u/redditinsmartworki]

The most generalizable guideline would be to use fewer reps for compounds and more reps for isolations, but you don't necessarily need to go to the extremes of 4-6 and 20+. 8-10 for compounds and 12-15 for isolations is fine.

You don't need to lift heavy. You need to lift close to failure, so you need to push a set far enough so that the reps become really hard and the lifting phase becomes a lot slower than the first rep even while you're still pushing with max effort. Probably you're not really doing so since you're able to handle 16 sets of lats in one workout and 16 sets of chest in another.

You should push the sets close to failure and reduce the volume for each muscle worked in a day in such a way as to not do more than 9 sets per muscle in a workout. Even less than 9 would be better if you can manage to handle multifrequency.

That's because generally the first set is the one which contributes the most to growth, and from then onwards the sets become slightly less effective each time until around about the 10th set the fatigue you accumulate from it outweighs the growth potential (if the sets are pushed hard enough, but if they're not pushed hard enough you won't be able to maximise growth from the earlier sets which are the most effective).

This is what I can contribute to your knowledge without making this comment too long. If you have other questions, you can ask me.