Losing Body Fat, But Not Gaining Muscle Mass - Advice?

> Can you explain a bit more about this 8/6/4 pyramid, I've not heard the term
> before, but that might just be because I'm fairly new to weight training.
> I've looked on the net, and I assume its something likehttp://www.strengthcats.com/pyramidpower.htmwhich says you should do: 8
> reps on 50% max weight, 6 on 65%, 4 on 75%, (then 2 on 85% and 1 on 95% if
> you can)? Or do you use a different percentage for each level?


The logic that site gave for a pyramid is similar to what I do, but I
don't follow the same routine by any means.

I used to consider percentages, but gave up when I realized that I
could easily increase the weight by 20lbs between each set. So, I
stopped using percentages, and just assumed an increase of 20lbs
between each set, instead. This means that my set of 8 is a little
heavier than when I used a percentage, but it works for me.

To determine the weight for my set of 8, I spend one workout period
just finding my max weight (also called a 1RM, or 1-rep-max) (Note, I
don't do anything else this day except for finding the max; this is
usually a week-long process, so I can find the max on all of my big
routines, like bench, squats, etc). From there, I simply substract
70lbs.

For instance, my 1RM is currently 275lbs (which I think is equivalent
to 125kg). So, my bench routine is:

8 x 205 lbs
6 x 225 lbs
4 x 245 lbs

Going by the percentages, this workout would have been a lot weaker!
Instead of pressing 205 for 8 reps, I would have only pressed 135.
That's hardly even a warm-up, in comparison! Then, I would have
pressed 165 for 6 reps, 205 for 4 reps, and 235 for 2 reps. It seems
like I would have gotten more tired, but without lifting as much
weight.

My goal is to use this weight for 3 workout periods, then the 4th
workout period I will increase everything by 10 lbs. Sometimes I can't
do this, though; if, by the 3rd workout period, I can't press 245 for
4 reps pretty easily, then I'll wait another week. I've never
increased weight in less than 3 workout periods, though.

FWIW, I believe that I picked up this routine as a way of breaking
through a plateau, but I've always used it for general gain and found
it to be reliable.

As a newbie, it's very important that you do NOT "max out" too often.
I will find my max weight about every 2 or 3 months. When I was in
high school, I made the mistake of maxing out every couple of weeks,
but it's important to realize that this does very little to build
muscle, and does more damage to tendons and stabilizers than anything
else.

- Jason
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