How To Build Muscle - Determining How Much Weight You Should Use

So many muscle building literature are claiming that in order for us to build muscle we need to workout with heavy weights.
Well, yes, that claim is very true, except that it leaves a very big question for many people.
How much weight should one use, really? And how heavy is heavy? Well, the thing is, that is something that you have to figure out on your own.
There really is no way for anyone to determine the weight that you should use aside from your own intuition.
You're probably wondering now, "how do I find out how much weight should I use? What are the things that I can use to help me gauge whether I'm using the right amount of weights or not?" Well, the thing here is, instead of trying to determine the amount of weights to use, what you should really do is to use a technique, a scheme that will allow you to progress to heavier weights (and bigger muscles) over time.
There is atechnique called "pyramiding" which has been around for quite a while now.
Pyramiding is designed to help you increase your weights throughout the course of a set.
It is also designed to help you increase the weights you lift by at least 5 pounds week after week.
How it works is basically like this.
You do four sets per muscle group and you will decrease the number of reps and increase the weights you lift as you go through the week.
To illustrate, you can go 12 reps on your first workout day of the week, then drop down to 10 reps on your second day, then 8 reps on your third day, and six reps on your fourth and last day.
You can also use a lower rep range like 8, 6, 4, and 2.
The basic premise is that each set gets heavier and heavier over the week leading to an all out set on the last workout day of the week.
Your final set should be a set that you've never done before.
You should achieve a personal best, meaning you should lift a weight that you've never had before.
Let me show you how this looks like in a 4-day workout week program.
Let's say you're doing bicep curls.
On the first workout day of the week you are going to do four sets of 12 reps using 10 pounds.
On the second workout day you are going to do four sets of 10 reps using 15 pounds.
On the third workout day you are going to do four sets of 8 reps using 20 pounds.
And on the fourth and last workout day of the week you are going to do four sets of 6 reps using 25 pounds.
Then, in the following week, you go through the same pacing except that you're going to start with 5 pounds more weight than you did previously.
So, instead of starting with 10 pounds, you will be starting with 15 pounds.
And instead of finishing with 25 pounds, you will be finishing with 30.
Using the pyramid scheme will allow you to have a progressive workout for a couple of months until you reach a cap where you won't be able to use this scheme anymore.
By the time you reach that point, you will have already identified the weight that you should be working out with.
Keep in mind that the this is not about lifting the heaviest weight you can lift off the rack.
This is about lifting the heaviest weight that will allow you to (just barely) complete your reps and sets.