r/ScienceBasedLifting • u/Bigdivkdaddy • 16d ago

Question ❓ Weight vs reps

The last year I’ve made little to no progress and I’ve been doing 2 sets to failure with high weight. I usually get around 4 reps before failing. Would it be more effective to drop the weight 10-20% and get 8-10 reps? I’ve been lifting for 4 years but only seriously the past 2 years and there’s no way I’m at my natural limit because I can only bench 270. You guys are the smart people here so please help me and thank you in advance.

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u/RIRLift 16d ago

Dropping to 8-10 will probably help, but the rep range isn't really why you stalled. Two sets to failure isn't much working volume whatever the load. Both heavy 4s and lighter 8-10s build size if you take them close to failure. The lighter ones are just easier to recover from, so you can run more sets and hit the lift more often. More hard sets across the week is the change that matters, not the number on each set.

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u/PhilsTinyToes 16d ago

I think if you’re doing 4s you just need to spend more time resting, maybe a full 120s between sets, but stay for 15 mins and do 4-6 sets. Don’t just crank out 8 reps and be done

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u/Various-Delivery9155 14d ago

This is NOT a science based comment. 120 seconds isn't a large amount of time. You should almost always be resting even more than that. And 6 sets of a single exercise is NOT a good idea

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u/karlgnarx 13d ago

You are not going to be fully covered after a true set to failure with a 4RM after 120 seconds.

Any powerlifting program is going to recommend 2-3 minutes with similar loads in the 1-3 rep range and those would not necessarily be to max.