Please be so kind as to settle this quandary for me. Some bodybuilders say that if you want to be big, you have to lift big. Others say that the weight is secondary to feeling the muscle work and getting a pump. What do you think?
You need to challenge yourself and put out serious effort, but weight itself is simply a means to an end. The weight is not the goal, even though it seems like that’s the way most guys in the gym think. If you are a powerlifter, then obviously your goal is to move as much weight as possible. This is bodybuilding. Nobody gives a shit how much weight you can lift when you’re up onstage and the judges are comparing your physique to the guy next to you. If your legs suck but you can squat 600 pounds and the guy next to you has awesome wheels but never uses more than 315, guess what? Your 600-pound squat means jack shit.