how many sets to do

CCS

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I now agree with some people on here that heavy sets should only be done once a week, or maybe twice a week. But intermediate weights every 2 days works very well for me. 25% of your muscle fibers are probably fast twitch (heavy), 25% are endurance (light), and 50% are intermediate. So for most people, you will stimulate the most fibers best if you do a lot of intermediate weight sets. I can bench 170 pounds, but I do 6 max sets of 10-20 reps of 40 pound dumbbell flies every other day as part of my intermediate workout. Once or twice a week I replace some of those sets with some dips or 135 pound bench to fully stimulate my fast twitch muscles.

I took a few weeks to build up to this many sets though. The key is, if you are going to do a lot of sets often, do medium weights, not heavy. And listen to your body, and build up gradually. I have not gotten heavier, and my max has not gone up much, but my body looks a lot better now, and I can do many sets with 20 second breaks and keep right on recovering.
 

DoctorHouse

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CCS, you changed your name. Are you still wearing your piece?
 
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