Whats better for muscle growth

Flex

OK, theres 2 questions Id like to ask here.

1) Is it better to take shorter rest breaks between sets and lift lighter weights as a result, or to take longer breaks and be capable of liftin heavier weight? I usually take a 2 minute rest, but I want to raise the intensity level to around 1 minute per set for a while to see how my body reacts and a few other reasons. Would this be better for muscle growth, because the more intense a workout, the more GH production is stimulated, right?

and...

2) Is it better to aim for 8-10 reps on every set you do and drop the weight on each set, or is it better to pyramid; like, 12 reps, 10, 8, 6, 4, 1 etc. to stimulate muscle growth?

Thanks

PS: Im an ectomorph if that influences which methods would work better for me

Dragan

1) Traditional viewing is that the shorter the rest time between sets the better for growth as it will stimulate more GH production like you said, however heavier sets with longer rest periods will allow you to move more weight an activate more muscle fibres therefore stimulating more growth. However, will this additonal stimulation be required to maintain a constant and noteable increase in size and strenght?

To be honest, i'm still out on it, i like to keep my rest periods short , in the 60 to 90 second range. However, i also like to do heavy days where i'm doing 5 reps or so and resting for just a little bit longer.

As per usual i would suggest you incorporate both methods into your training, by either switching it up to shock the muscle on a regular basis, or by doing a 8 to 12 week workout cycle concentrating on each style to find what works best for you as an individual.

2) Once again, switch things up. I will incorporate both Oxford and De Lorme pyramiding ( up and down ) straight sets and all sorts of things depending on what i am in the mood for on any given day.

Oh yeah, just thought i would add in here that while the argument for 8 reps and lower to activate the deeper type 2 muscle fibres is a good one, the argument that 12 reps or so will actively stretch the muscle facia allowing more room to grow is a good one as well.

SprostonGreen

Flex wrote:

PS: Im an ectomorph if that influences which methods would work better for me

I'm hearing ya, I'm an ecto too, theres a good discussion about it here, it gets good from about the sixth post onwards.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=679118

t-ha

Flex wrote:

1) Is it better to take shorter rest breaks between sets and lift lighter weights as a result, or to take longer breaks and be capable of liftin heavier weight? I usually take a 2 minute rest, but I want to raise the intensity level to around 1 minute per set for a while to see how my body reacts and a few other reasons. Would this be better for muscle growth, because the more intense a workout, the more GH production is stimulated, right?

Depends on you and your goals. If you want to improve strength, you want to lift heavy. If you want to lift heavy then you need to regain your strength between sets so rests will be longer. I usually take about 3 mins between sets when going heavy. I used to do much more pacey workouts (short rest times, lots of sets, bit like cardio really) and really didn't make much size gains, although I did get fitter to be fair.

Other times I might take 90 seconds or even just 60 seconds depending on what I'm doing. I guess what I'm saying is, not all exercises are the same. Why would you only take 60s break before a heavy squat set of maybe 3 reps, you wouldn't have the strength to move a big weight which is the whole point of doing a 3 rep set. On the other hand, why hang around for 3 minutes between sets of 12 reps of skull crushers?

Flex wrote:

2) Is it better to aim for 8-10 reps on every set you do and drop the weight on each set, or is it better to pyramid; like, 12 reps, 10, 8, 6, 4, 1 etc. to stimulate muscle growth?

Thanks

PS: Im an ectomorph if that influences which methods would work better for me

The answer to this, and to your first question are pretty unique to you, and you just have to experiment a bit to find out what's best. I've heard of people who benched 500lbs but their chests never grew until they started doing 15 and 20 rep sets. Personally, high volume & low weight like that does virtually nothing to my chest - I have to hit it heavy. Your own best protocol will be personal to you. It also may vary from bodypart to bodypart. Try splitting up your workouts into 8-10 rep days, pyramiding up days, pyramiding down days, plain ol' heavy days, low weight/high volume days, explosive lift days, etc. for each bodypart split and keep a mental note of which one brings the most progress to a given area.

Ectomorphs will often have a lower percentage of fast-twitching muscle fibres so may do better with medium-higher reps, but all ranges should ultimately be trained for growth and, like I say, it's worth experimenting a bit to see what works best for you.

Superdub2

i found the best thing for growth is bout 5 sets of 8 reps and bout 75 sec break between sets