Weight Training a la Mike Mentzer/Arthur Jones

**1point2** · Posted On: 2/25/2013 8:15pm

Originally Posted by lordbd

Any opinions on rest-pause, assisted reps, negatives, and drop-sets? I've been playing around with that sort of thing too.

Direct answer: All of those are, to my understanding, firmly understood as bodybuilding methods, not strength training. If you want da beeg mussells go for it. Athletes have no need for them as I see it.

Rambling: You say strength is your goal. Do you lift as an athletic supplement, or is lifting its own thing? In other words, do you want maximal strength or maximal athleticism?

Strength training is high weight, low reps, e.g., 3-6 reps at 90% or 95% of your rep-max for that number of reps. Power training is 1-3 reps at a time, at maximal speed, with somewhat submaximal weight. In both cases you do multiple sets to accumulate volume.

What exercises are we walking about, anyway? Squats or curls?

I suspect you would enjoy reading/watching Pavel Tsatsouline and/or Dan John.

**TheRuss** · Posted On: 2/26/2013 1:38am

Originally Posted by lordbd

Any opinions on rest-pause, assisted reps, negatives, and drop-sets? I've been playing around with that sort of thing too.

As previously noted, these are tools to increase time under tension and thus muscle mass; they're not for gaining strength.

**lordbd** · Posted On: 2/26/2013 9:09am

I'm not lifting for any specific purpose, it's just the type of exercise that I enjoy and helps me feel fit and keep the fat off. I like to watch my numbers go up, so in that way, strength is really what interests me. I don't spend too much time worrying about size.

I work full body twice per week (bench, chest fly, leg press, leg extension, lat pulldown, cable row, weighted crunches, machine bicep curl, tricep pressdown with rope thingy).

I basically started training HIT style on a whim just to try something new and to cut down on the time I needed to spend in the gym.