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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   1620 thread views

Wellness Wednesday for March 18, 2026

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Question for those more experienced at the gym: If focusing on hypertrophy, is it better to start with the heaviest weight I can lift and manage 6-8 reps before having to do a drop set, or is it better to use a lower weight where I can do 10x3 without becoming absolutely exhausted till near the end? To clarify, the initial approach doesn't involve a single extended set, but I find that if I do this, I have to use progressively lower weights to finish.

My understanding is that my approach is likely suboptimal, unnecessarily fatiguing at the very least. But I'm curious about experiences.

I have a favorite set-rep system (from Andy Bolton, IIRC).

  1. Start with a weight which you can do 5 x 5, then slowly progress up to 10 x 5 (sets x reps).
  2. Then increase to 10 x 6 (10 sets of 6 reps each) and progress to 10 x 10.
  3. Once you can do that three times, increase weight.

Timing: there are two ways

  1. EMOM (every minute on minute) = when the seconds hand strikes 12, you start, complete the set, and rest for rest of the minute. At next 12 strike, you start the next set.
  2. 30X0 with 60-120 sec rest. For a biceps curl, read this as:
  • (3) from completely flexed position with the dumbbell in hand, you extend the weight slowly over 3 seconds = eccentric phase
  • (0) at the end of complete extension you don't wait and immediately start the next flexion,
  • (X) you do the flexion as fast as possible = concentric phase,
  • (0) at top you don't stop for next extension.

Apply that with any weight and any exercise.

Do what you like doing.

Unless you're entering a comp, the hypertrophy focused sets will get you stronger, and the strength focused sets will make you bigger. Compound lifts should form the core of your work, and assistance work can target the lagging muscle groups in between if you feel the need.

These kinds of aesthetics vs performance details are ultimately unimportant.

Research suggests heavier weight and low reps (6-8 is perfect) is usually the sweet spot. But consistency and form is what's most important. The weight must be heavy enough where you can stick to proper form. If you go too heavy, you may be able to lift that weight but if the form is suboptimal you're gonna get injured or you're working out the wrong muscle.

This is a second order consideration. More total volume (reps * weight) matters more than how it's distributed. I don't even mean to over-index on that formula. Just in the broadest sense of "more work, more reward."

Do whatever makes you most likely to consistently lift. For me, that's medium (8) to high (15-20) reps at lower weight - I think it's more fun and less stressful re: form. I also think a babysitter trainer is worth paying for, even just occasionally, for accountability as much as anything. You may be able to convince your insurance to help.

I did have a trainer, sadly he was very expensive and I did not go often enough while I had him to benefit significantly. But I do have a gym-freak brother, who does his best to keep me honest, and I'm well past the annoying few days of DOMS that often cuts my return to the gym short.

You may be able to convince your insurance to help.

I don't have insurance, at least in the UK. There's probably a plan in India, now that I think about it. But this strikes me as unusual, is insurance known to cover a trainer or PT in the absence of a clear medical indication? I am merely lazy, not physically unwell!

Thanks for explaining. I am surprised that someone named lagrangian doesn't extend the principle of least action to not going to the gym, but I'm not complaining,

I have a home gym and recurring calendar event for my in-home trainer/PT, on autopay. Claude pulls my calendar and generates receipts for insurance. Least action indeed.

I have some genuine/chronic physical therapy needs such that the insurance case is straightforward, but it's not impossible to find an excuse and/or morally flexible PT (conveniently, this can stand for either physical therapist or personal trainer).

Can you say more about how you have Claude set up to monitor your calendar?

In the rare instances where I'm aiming for hypertrophy rather than pure strength, my best results come from total volume.

As a rule of thumb, I multiply weight times total reps and try to maximize that final number.

I could lift 1 kg for longer than I could bother to keep counting the reps, but I get what you mean haha. Thanks!

Just generally try to do a bunch of hard sets.

The advice seems reasonable, but I'm a chronic noob and I'd appreciate clarification on what exactly counts as a hard set. Does it mean that I'm spent by the time I reach the last set?

I like AthleanX's 'effective reps' concept

you can do something called effective reps. This style of workout is highly intense and ensures that you are not only going to, but you are going through failure as well. You start with an ignition set of 10-12 reps then you rest up to 30 seconds and start your reps again to failure. Now, you will find that the number of reps you can do in a set will come down from 10-12 to about 7-9. Once you reach failure, you will again rest up to 30 seconds before you start your reps again to failure. Now, you might only get 4 or 5, then maybe 2 or 3 after that. You keep going in this fashion until your targeted number of effective reps are reached

tl;dr: Every set should have a few reps that feel hard. If you aren't grinding out the last few reps, then that isn't a hard set.

My definition of grinding out a rep = Proper grimace, rep needs perfect breathing and a few optional groans.

The only exception is RDLs (or any deadlift), where I stay below failure to avoid breaking my back.
Another exception is hack-squats (or any squat). Here, the 1st set is never that hard and the last set feels like death regardless.

Effective reps is probably wrong.

This is gold.

I find it useful as a yardstick, not an absolute. Generally agree with the article.

For starters, I think there’s a pretty large kernel of truth to the general idea of “effective reps.” I think the “hard” version of the idea (“the last 5 reps before failure are all the matters”) has major problems, but a “soft” version of the idea is almost self-evidently true. To maximize hypertrophy on a per-set basis, you do almost certainly have to get somewhat close to failure, in basically any context I can think of. If you can do 12 reps with a certain weight, doing 3 sets of 10 is almost guaranteed to get you more growth than doing 3 sets of 3.

unsurprisingly, stopping each set REALLY far from failure did compromise hypertrophy.

Altogether, these studies support the idea that in order to maximize growth on a per-set basis, you do need to be reasonably close to failure, but actually reaching failure probably isn’t necessary, especially for trained lifters.

Yeah, that's good advice.

Hmm. I tend to go for the heaviest weights I can, as soon as I can. The sense of progression is encouraging, but I might be overdoing it. I also avoid deadlifts because I have the impression the risk of injury is concerning, and I would not pretend to have perfect form. Thanks! This is helpful.

I tend to go for the heaviest weights I can, as soon as I can.

I also avoid deadlifts because I have the impression the risk of injury is concerning

Those two are related!

Anyway, form is more important than weight. Not just for injury, but also to make sure you're actually progressing and not just finding new ways to cheat that will bite you in the ass (while also probably killing your mind-muscle connection gains). Your goal is not to get the weight from point A to point B, it's to do the lift. You won't progress as fast in the numbers, but you'll progress a lot better in the mirror.

There's some interesting science behind the speed of your lifts - that is, the velocity of the bar on its way back up. In short, the last few reps before you reach your limit will be notably slower, with the very last being a struggle session. You don't need to reach that last blow-out set to see results, in fact I would recommend to avoid it unless you have a spotter, but you do need to reach the point where you feel yourself slowing down in order to get good results. That's also why too light of a weight, even lifted 1000 times, is just cardio.

High quality sets refer to those that employ exercises that are likely going to be limited by the muscle you’re trying to train, through the longest range of motion you can maintain with safe form, taken within 2-3 reps of failure*, and performed when you’re adequately recovered from your previous set (generally around 1.5-2 minutes of rest for isolation lifts, and 3-5+ minutes for heavy compound lifts).

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