Incredible Bulk
define 'blast the muscle'
while i liked the higher rep work during prep i never really strayed higher than 12 reps. 12-20+ seems to be more of a cardio aerobic exercise or a feat of endurance more than anything.
While i agree the chances of injury are less than lower reps/heavier weights... do you not feel you are coasting rather than progressing?
Benching 18 reps then being able to bench 20 reps.... is that an increase in strength or an increase in stamina/endurance?
While i do believe that an increase in strength does lead to an increase in muscle size, i also agree in different rep ranges for different body parts.
You know i have my feet on the other side of the river on this one, just thought a little discussion is good for both of us.
hmm, well i supposse if the weight i used on the 18 reps was 'light' then i would just be cruising, but the next day and the day after the chest was definately torn!
i do go heavy once every now and then, but if i drop the reps and up the weight into the 6,8 or 10 rep ranges, then i seem to get tendon problems PDQ!
a few years ago, i could bench, squat, shoulder press etc etc, quite alot more than i can now, but im carrying alot more muscle!
i dont think im any worse off, lifting lighter and more reps.
BUT that said, if i could consistantly push very heavy and not suffer injuries then i probably would, as lifting very heavy is a good ego boost! id love to get back to my bench of old, where i was doing 155-160 for reps, 130kg OH shoulder press etc :-(
on the bench increase from 18-20 reps, and wether it is strenth or endurance increase, well i think its both! the muscle has more endurance because it needs to use less percentage of the fibres for each rep (a fibre can only pull or not, strenth is regulated by fibre recruitment). so more reps on the same weight means less fibres are being used for each rep, so they must be stronger!! If your working very low rep ranges, then strenth increases are due to the same reason IMO, and a little bit of CNS adaptation