I more or less want strength. Yea it'd be cool to look huge (I'm already 6'4 215 at 15 years old) but I'd rather be strong than look strong. I read that more weight less reps for strength. Like 1 rep of 200 is better than 4 reps of 150 but then I hear you need at least 4-6 reps to gain strength. And then I read that 5x5 is the best way to go. I hear in one place that training to failure is best then in another I hear that you should train near failure but not quite there. So please will somebody just explain the right way (matter of opinion from what I understand) to me like I'm the stupidest person alive. As of right now I do 4 sets 4-6 reps of high weight and then I rep out at about 70 percent of my max.
Upper body exercises I usually do(not all in the same day of course): curls, reverse curls, bench, incline bench, decline bench, dumbell rows, tricep extensions, incline dumbell press, shrugs, lat pull down, dumbell flies, and dips. And I do cardio just about everyday. Can some one please help me organize my workouts. Thanks for atleast reading this far.


Oh yea I almost forgot I have my lower body workout already taken care of.


Edit: I have some fat I want to get rid of and some people tell me its easier toturn fat into muscle while others assure me that that isn't even possible.

4 to 6 is fine. You can throw in some singles, doubles and triples to keep it interesting.

The people who tell you it's not possible have got it right... You BUILD muscle, and you BURN fat.

If strength is your main goal, then work at 85-95% of your 1RMs. You might pick one main lift to work up to a 2RM over 6-8 sets of 3-4 reps. However, I would include some higher rep work (8-10 reps) for tendon strengthening.

You might try a pyramid approach that goes from reps of 8-6-3-5-8.

The 5X5 method is a good one but depending on your recovery level, may beat the hell out of ya.

So, you might pick your one main lift (bench) to work up to a 2RM, pick your other lifts (db press, push press) and work the 4X6 method at 80-85%, and for the bb curls and what not, you might try a 5X8 or 6X10 (depending on time frame).

There's no reason to do bench, incline bench, decline bench, dips, and incline db press in every workout. Pick 2 chest movement for each workout. Pick 2 back movements, 1 overhead pressing movement, and 1-2 isolation movements (total) for biceps, triceps, rear delts, etc. Try and limit your lifts to 6-7 movements total.

Old school strongmen from the around the 1890's-1920's would "practice" the same lift once or twice a day. They kept the lifts simple and compound. They only would do about 3 reps and never went near failure.

Follow Evo's post and buy Power To The People by Pavel. It's all about getting as strong as possible with only a barbell and not getting bigger.

I like your post, gaining strength while looking the same.

Thanks for all the help guys. I'll more or less be doing what evo says.