Weight vs Rep Training

[Lizard King]

I think I need to change up my training. In most of my training I do 4 - 5 sets of 10 reps for my last set (heavy set) until I can't go any longer. I have been seeing decent gains and I'm still going up in weight in all exercises. Problem is my joints are starting to hurt (elbow, wrist and knees) and I am thinking of going for a lighter weight and higher reps for a while to see how this works.
In doing this methodology what is a good amount of sets and reps to be doing? Do I cut down to 3 sets of 20 reps, 4 sets of 15 reps?
All input welcome. Thanks!

[sportsclub]

I have been doing reading on fast and slow twitch muscle fibers and which muscles groups are made up of which and have based some of my workouts on this. It has helped me get more out of my leg workouts for the last week or so. So depending on what you are training the wt reps and sets can very. For example quads are both slow and fast twitch so they get better training with either less wt and higher reps or vise versa...whereas hams are slow twitch and work better with heavier wt and less reps. This has helped me get back on track.

[dennis]

Great answer sports...Lizard..your joints/tendons/ligaments are trying to tell you something.Change your workout regime 180 degrees for 3-4 weeks.Add new exercises,change stances and grips,get to the 12-16 rep range 3 sets with less rest between sets,use some stripping techniques.List the gym routine you now use and we can give you some examples,just list muscle groups exercised and on what days.

[Lizard King]

I know my joints are telling me something and it's OUCH! I also joined a flag football league so I'm using some muscles I haven't used in a while too!
Chest - Dumb Bell Presses flat, Incline barbell presses, cables and flat bench barbell
Back - Low rows, cable rows, high rows, pull downs, deads
shoulders - smith machine overhead presses, side raises, front raises, rears with dumb bells laying forward on an incline bench, shrugs
Arms - different combo of curls and tri extensions.
Legs I'm not too concerned with, I don't usually go that heavy except for hack squats which don't bother me as much.

I did chest yesterday and did dumb bell presses for 3 sets of 20 (70, 80, 90lb) and my elbow wasn't bad at all. I usually do 5 sets of 10 with 80 - 120/130. I think I'm going to work towards 4 sets of 15, the 20 reps burnt me out pretty quick which was good and bad. Thanks

[Lizard King]

Ok, so did back yesterday and went for 4 sets of 15 - 18.
Bent over rows 3 sets at 135 for 18 and 1 set at 185 for 12
Low Rows (hammer strength) 2 sets of 18 @180, 2 sets of 16 @ 270
cable rows 1 set 16 @144, 16 @ 156 16 @ 156 16 @ 168
pull downs 16 @ 108 16 @ 120 16 @ 132 16 @ 140
Tri pulls downs - 3 sets of 20 with 80lbs
feel good today, nothing hurts too bad, I was doing 6 sets on the low rows starting with 90 and each set adding 90 getting up to 540lbs so the lighter weight def hurts less!

[dennis]

tell me what days you are doing what muscle groups.

[agpando]

Have you tried using glucosamine, condroitin and MSM? I'm not a big advocate of GNC at all because they are way overpriced, but they have a product called Triflex, that contains all three of those compounds, and whenever I'm starting to get joint pain I start taking it. You can also try taking another product they put out called Calcimate plus 800. Its a mixture of Vitamin D, Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium. The type of calcium that they use is called a "superior form" but essentially its Calcium Citrate Malate, which has been shown to increase bone density. There was a study done on it, and supposably women menopausal women that are over the age of 55 took this type of calcium and showed a 70% less bone loss. Just some things that may be good items to either pick up or look into. Good Luck!

ag

[Lizard King]

dennis, this is what the week usually looks like with back and chest alternating depending on how busy the gym is.
Monday - Chest/Bi's
Tuesday - Back/Tri's
Wed - Legs
Thurs - Shoulders
Friday - Arms

Ag - I was taking glucosamine for a while and didn't really notice any difference. I guess I can give it a try again. I don't go to GNC, i have a vitamin place by my house that makes and distributes so I go there since the prices are awesome.

[dennis]

Originally Posted by Lizard King

dennis, this is what the week usually looks like with back and chest alternating depending on how busy the gym is.
Monday - Chest/Bi's
Tuesday - Back/Tri's
Wed - Legs
Thurs - Shoulders
Friday - Arms

Ag - I was taking glucosamine for a while and didn't really notice any difference. I guess I can give it a try again. I don't go to GNC, i have a vitamin place by my house that makes and distributes so I go there since the prices are awesome.

monday: glutes/hams/tris
tuesday;quads/calves/bis
thurs; chest/shoulders
friday: back/lat/trap
Humor me and try this next week...your body will thank you.Oh yeah,take wed/sat/sun/off.

[Thickneck]

Do some higher rep sets . Can't go heavy all the time . Glucosomine (sp) has really helped my joints . I just get the cheap stuff from target . My right shoulder used to ache all the time and now I have no pain at all. Takes about 6 weeks to kick in . I think I read somewhere that it works for 65 % of peeps .