I do both depending on where I'm at on training plan. I'll start off with lighter weight high reps, half way through I'll up the weight and lower the reps, then towards the end back to lighter weight higher reps.

Great topic, bro. Caused by issues with my neck and my lower back, i prefer lower weights with more reps. I figured out, that for me it works as fine as lifting heavy weights. Fur sure there are some days i do some heavy workouts, too. But not as often as some years ago....

It pretty much boils down to TUT and what you want to achieve. For sheer hypertrophy and not strength the muscles grow best with a TUT between 40-70 seconds. Adjust your weight, reps and tempo to primarily stay in that range and you should experience maximum hypertrophy. My target reps on a set are 8-12 reps with 4-0-1-0 tempo. That will put me in the optimum TUT hypertrophy range. Obviously, this all incorporated into some type of progressive overload lifting regime and you have to use strict form which is key, cheat on form and you are no longer putting tension in the target muscle and just sabatoging your efforts for ego lifting. Hypertrophy training is focused on getting you bigger faster but it won' t get you stronger faster. Strength training requires something different. Your typically higher weight lower rep sets with usually longer rests in between sets to allow for the next set to be heavy also.

The catch 22 here is that if you are stronger your hypertrophy training will yield better results because you can lift heavier weight with better form which translates into greater tension which is what the muscle responds to when trying to make it bigger. With just pure hypertrophy training it will take you longer to get stronger which in turn will keep you from using heavier weights which would benefit your hypertrophy training. See the delima here. That is why every once in a great while I will incorporate a pure strength program into my lifting regime which will help me down the road for hypertrophy training. For newbies just starting out I would recommend primarily strength training to build your strength and base and then you can use that to your advantage when you are looking to put on size quicker with the more bodybuilding hypertrophy type training.

I train "branch warren style" ... means, like a freak with heavy ass weights and it works great for me.

With low weight/high reps I've never seen results. Also during my pre contest diet in 2011 I trained with heavy raw iron - only difference, more plate loaded machines instead of free weights.

Yo J great topic here. This just my 2¢ here but I think to build any solid base you gotta go heavy and compound movements. 5x5s 3days a wk. It really does wonders for overall strength, explosiveness, size and I’ve found if you add in some intermittent fasting you can lose fat while adding mass. This is a lot easier when you’re younger btw.
I also think that it’s important for muscle confusion. Progressive intensity or periodization is a must. Things have to get harder when developing any physique IMO. I think that applies to any program. One of the most frequent issues I see for younger folks is lack of rest. Just because you can push through a workout doesn’t mean it’s served you good. I always look at that when someone is talking about hitting a wall/plateau.
The more base that’s been built the more you can isolate the smaller muscle groups and pound blood in there for focused growth. I’ve found that over the years I’ve moved to a lower intensity and higher volume that does best with my body type and age group. I still love heavy compound movements on a push pull set up but I throw in lots isolation movements with super and drop sets to get the pump.

Nicely said. I’m I n chronic train around injury , some of which could be blamed on stupid too heavy ego lifting in my past. Now I’m old and broken and spend more time fixing broken than bodybuilding. Still super fun and quite challenging. +1 and fr sent

Dam, you just described my w/o partner. Im 42 hes 30 and likes to go heavy dam near every session. I actually called him an ego lifter this morning. Lol. I do like to challenge myself with weight and he is great for pushing me to throw 5 or 10 more lbs on than I think I can do but there are those days when I just want the pump that comes with reps. I think it comes down to age. Im looking more for long term longevity and he wants to be a big badass. Which is fine too.

@Jarhead2

Hello Sir,

Think in BB one of the most important aspects in regards to actual training is progress. I personally prefer to stick to progressive overload training regime. So what it actually means is that every further workout becomes harder than your previous one. It does not necessarily mean you have to add extra weight, it could be an extra rep on every set commenced within the same period of time as if compared to your previous workout. Or it could mean adding an extra pound on the bar and doing same amount of reps. Or make your pauses shorter between your sets and overall workout becomes shorter. That way every workout you do becomes harder than previous one and the total poundage lifted increases. That way you stimulating your body to adjust to harder workouts and muscle mass has to adjust accordingly if nutrition and rest factors are not missed. Once weights you lift become too heavy and you start experiencing some kind of uncomfortable feeling, all you do is switch to different exercises and start with lower weights all over again until you build up to your max. To follow this routine you would have to have a discipline as this requires to take a notes of every workout (exercises, sets, reps, time) and would have to eliminate any contact to other gym users as the time you resting between your sets is crucial. Also it is a good idea to do this routine every other week - one week heavy progressive overload, the following week you do 50% of the weights you lift on your heavy week and then just keep rotating. This way you give your body full recovery - physically and mentally.
Now all the other ways of training you described above will work but will work to a certain point until your body gets used to this way of training and will not respond. And even when you swap around the exercises you still keep doing same work in circles. People that follow this routine are the ones that never change, the ones you regularly see in the gym for years doing same exercise routines and always looking the same.
With progressive overload however you do not give your body a choice, you always progressing. Once you progress in your workouts your body muscle mass will have no choice as to adjust to the pressure you keep putting on.
Now if you are an enhanced athlete your body will respond fairly well to any kind of weigh lifting workout - heavy weights, light weights,medium weights, tut or any other types of training, unless damage is done to muscle fibers.
But this type of training will not work on Natural BB. Any pump type of training for non-enhanced athletes in most cases will be waste of time and will not give a desired result. Progressive overload training style would be a good choice for a natural BB that is looking to add some muscles.
I do not see many people in the gym using this technique since it requires lots of hard work, focus and discipline but I would recommend this to anyone and even guarantee the results if everything done properly. Hope this helps @Jarhead.

Regards

I’ve done every combination at some point. My conclusion is it doesn’t make any difference just so you go to failure. Could be different for someone else.

imho, Its what you enjoy the most doing. or depends on fitness goals i suppose

Medium weight high reps ;) I Focus on form pre fatiguing muscle groups using body weight ... i go heavy on some negatives tho whether it be smith machine or a buddy pushing on the bar.

I've always switched it up. Right now for instance I've gone back to all 5x5 stuff and I'll stick with that for about 9 more months. Then I'm going to switch over to as much 10x3 stuff that I can. Then after that I'll go back to something with higher reps like in the 8 - 12 range for sets of 4. I'll be 38 in January. I've been doing these three basic rep ranges for years and so far I've managed to stay fairly uninjured. Lol hope I didn't just jinx myself.

I feel like heavy compound movements are the most important early in the lifting career of an individual to establish a base. Once that base is set then higher rep training can take over for shaping and polishing/maintaining. This is my personal opinion.