less weight, more reps or more weight, les reps for bench press?

Question

I'm 15. Kind of thin. I eat decently, not too much or not too little. I'm looking to get a little more muscle on my triceps and chest, of course. I don't wanna get RIPPED like hulk hogan or arnold, hell no ... I just want decent muscles to make myself look a little bit jacked at this age just cuz I'm too thin. So with that being said, should I bench press with less weight and do more reps or do it with more weight and do less reps? Thanks for the help, YAHOO.

Answer 1

Everything I read about weights says you should set the weights so you "fail" (can't do it any more) between 10 and 20 somewhere. Do that 3 or 4 times, with a 30 to 60 sec pause in between.

more weight,less rep builds muscle size. Less weight, lotsa more reps builds endurance.

of course, the best exercise regimen is to alternate, one day weights, one day aerobic.

Answer 2

Less weights for more reps does not get you get 'cut' - it gives you a degree of muscular endurance, but does not burn fat any more effectively, in fact it does so less effectively, then any other combination. Anyway, im not sure what you mean by get jacked.. im assuming you mean you want to put on muscle mass. To do this - you want to achieve muscular hypertrophy. The most effective way is by doing 8 reps at around 80% of your 1 rep maximum. Your 8th should nearly be failure. If you do less then say 6, you will not see dramatic increases in size. You will see huge strength increases, but not size. If you do more then say 12, you will not see dramatic increases in size. You will see good increase in muscular endurance, but not size. Also, i would consider possibly working a few other body parts.. and not just using the benchpress.

Answer 3

If you want to bulk up I would eat mostily proteins, and do more weights with less reps.. When you do a lot of reps with a little bit of weight, all you're going to do is tone, not bulk up.. Make sure that after you work out you drink a protein shake or take a vitamin, you want to replenish your body, because when you're working out you're pretty much ripping your muscle.. It'll take some time! Good Luck! =)

Answer 4

Fewer reps, more weight.

The Mens health website should give you some good ideas.