Yesterday I worked out with 10lb dumbbells and now I feel that burning sensation in my arms. I have heard that this means it's time to get heavier weights. I do reps of 60 to feel the burn, and I believe this is a waste of time.
What weight should I use and how many repetitions and sets should I do? What does the burning mean, and how should I feel when I do the workout correctly with dumbbells of the correct weight?
If you want to become stronger and/or bigger (muscle-wice) you do not need to do 60 reps. 6-12 reps per set is about right.
Burn feeling means little.
If you are a beginner , you might find http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/ program usefull.
A lot of body builders uses an excelent technique to build muscles, i use that too and got great results. So, you apply the first rule of 6-12 Reps. When you get to between 8 and 10 rep, you should be nearly falling on the lifting, yeah! Thats a FAILURE, you have to reach that failure, because you exhaust your fibers, but no all of them!, so you go 2-4 reps after the failure, doesnt matter if you cant do the whole motion , if you got the half of it, you count it! So, go to the failure and then you count 4 more reps after the failure! And with that my friend, you will recruit the other fibers that we didnt work at the "easy" part of the exercise!
Advice, why should you watch body builders training/routines/ techniques?? They live "fitness/Weight training" 24 hours/ 7 days per week! So they will give you, really good advices, and techniques, study them! Nutrition/Training/Routine, but put a filter on that! Apply everything you want to try or learn, with a supervision of a professional!
The burn is actually a good thing and you should always strive for the burn. If you're not feeling the burn then you're either lifting too light or heavy. 60 reps might be not the best rep scheme IMO.
The best rep range for biceps is around 8-15 reps depending on your goal. 8 for mass building and the higher reps for definition.
I once attended a trade show for Health and Fitness as an exhibitor. I had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Olympia Lee Haney. We briefly spoke about training. The one comment that stayed with me the most was Lee's assertion that the number of reps is not nearly as important as trying to recruit the most muscle fibers during each rep. He suggested squeezing the muscle for a count of 3 for each rep. Yup, when Mr. Olympia gives advice, those things tend to stick with you.
