I will discuss sets and reps later.
Arthur Jones was convinced 'intensity' was the major factor in getting bigger and stronger. I believe he was mistaken which is a shame.
For example, weight lifters get stronger without getting bigger. What does getting stronger mean? If you can do 10 reps with 225 in the
bench press but never lift more weight than that amount then several months later you could do 15 reps with the same weight are you
stronger? No doubt you would be able to do more for a single. But if you never attempted anything over 225 would you be stronger?
There is a correlation between how much weight you can lift and how big your muscles are. There is a direct relationship between the size of your muscles and the tensile strength (force of contraction). Jones and Mentzer were right that the bigger the muscle the stronger the muscle all else being equal. This does not necessarily translate into moving more weight. There factors other than muscle size and strength responsible for moving heavy objects. Skill, technique and CNS efficiency are some.
You often can bench more simple by benching better. The opposite applies as well. Try not benching for six months. Do only Hammer instead. Even if you progress in the Hammer press. You are able to press more weight than when you first started you will find that when you go back to the bench you will bench less. Does this mean you got weaker. You lost muscle by doing other pec movements instead of bench. No, you just got "out of practice" in benching and got better on the Hammer press.
But, make no mistake, if you want to be a competition size bber, you will be moving some pretty heavy weight. And I consider full squats with 315 for 10 as pretty heavy.
