XTrain slow reps / heavy weight

[pbjenny]

Hey guys!

So I just recently purchased the Xtrain chest / back / shoulder and biceps / triceps DVDs. What really attracted me to them was how Cathe conducted them in "rounds". I tend to get really bored doing the same lifts over and over again, so I love this style of trainig. It makes the DVD go by so much faster!

That being said, since Cathe does 16 reps for each lift, I find myself not going as heavy as I'd like so I can keep up with her rep speed. I feel like this is great for building my muscle endurance, but I'm really trying to build strength / mass. I was wondering if it would be effective to just lift as heavy as I can and slow down my lifts (probably only doing 8 - 10 reps) but still follow along with Cathe's rounds in the DVD.

Thanks so much!

 

[firemedic]

You might want to consider also getting XTRAIN burn sets. Cathe does 2 sets of 10 reps and on the third set you go to failure. So you can go slow and heavy. She does 3 different exercises and then an additional "burn set" just to make sure you feel it, like push ups for chest after your 3 different weighted chest exercises. But I still go pretty heavy in the ones you purchased. I've had great muscle gain alternating both of these workouts.

Kim

 

[pbjenny]

Thanks so much for the rec! I have both burn sets as well, but I prefer the formatting of the regular xtrains (cycling between different workouts). I'll definitely consider switching it up with the burn sets though!

 

[tiletha444]

In the XTrain User's Guide, Cathe says you can do between 10-16 reps for each exercise in the Xtrain Chest/Back/Shoulders and Biceps/Triceps dvds. I think in the dvd, she also mentions that if you cannot make it to 8 reps, you need to lighten your weight (likewise, if you can easily go beyond 16 reps, you need to heavy up). So, I would say yes, you could go heavier and do less reps for the effect you desire.