How hard is hard training supposed to be? After all these years I'm still lost

I've been lifting since 2010. I'm 6`1 208lbs.
My 1rms are:

Bench: 315
OHP: 195
Deadlift: 440
Squat: 280

So I've been doing this for a while. Not optimally, as you can tell. And that's because all of this time I've been kind of lost about how to train. The only way I've ever done it is reverse pyramid, but recently my strength gains have stalled and I figured this is the time to troubleshoot.

Questions:

When someone tells me to do , say, 3 x 12, if on my first set I use a weight I can fail at 12 for, on the 2nd set I can only do 9 or so, and on the 3rd set it is around 7.

This is with a rest time of 60-90 seconds. I don't like to rest more.
So what's the deal here? Should I lower the weight and do something where I only fail on the 3rd set? The other sets then just feel like warmups, and that bums me out. I've been training to failure on every set ever since my first day at the gym.

This is why I've always done reverse pyramids, I just start with my heaviest weight, do my 1rm ( I start every exercise on every workout with a 1rm attempt), and then I lower it to something I can do around 6 reps with, then lower it for another 6 reps, then lower it for 2-3 more sets of 8-10.

For bench it is something like:
1 x 315
6 x 265
6 x 235
12 x 210
12 x 185


But anyway, sorry I digressed. I just want to know when someone tells me to do 3 x 12 or 4x12, should I rest longer so I can fail at the same weight every time, or should I use a weight that allows me to do all 3 sets at 12 and the first two sets feel light?

I think you guys understand how neurotic we can get if we feel we aren't training hard enough.

Thanks for your input!

>Deadlift: 440
Post bod

bitch you better be doing a proper warm-up before doing your 1rm

>Implying theres a correlation between DL and size

I'd like to say that I warm up thoroughly but the truth is I warm up for 3 minutes max.

And I busted my left rotator cuff doing heavy cleans in march, took me months to recover and I lost quite a bit of strength, so I should know better but I'm incorrigible and I'll just keep injuring myself. Also have arthrosis on my c2-c3-c4 from deadlifting my maxes while looking forward. My trainer at the time told me not to do it, and my orthopedist blew a gasket when he saw the damage, my vertebrae were fucking worn out like they'd been sanded

but guys can you help me with my inital doubt!

Is that a good diddly? That's my goal for the next year and I've only been lifting about a year.

My body is nothing too impressive. Deadlifts just gave me perfect posture and made my forearms thick and my traps fucking huge, but that's more genetics than anything I think. Always had big traps, they tie in very low, like Brock Lesnar ( not as big as that fucker, just the tie-in)

Bench higher then squat....ur doin it wrong

Just dont care about my legs. Squats are also the only thing I do for legs, together with deadlift. The only reason I even squat is because it's fun and hype and hurts like a motherfucker. It's good for the mind. Most exercises you stop when you're tired or fail, but squats start hurting halfway to the end and from then on it's all willpower

>that fat pussy
fuck i wanna lick it

this is great but would someone be so kind as to answer my original noob question?

Thanks gang

do 5/3/1

I need more volume than that. Im strong but not big enough

440 deadlift at 208? Not bad but it's nothing to write home about desu.

uh, guys, can anyone answer my question?

when i get a new program and it says 3x12, are all 3 sets to failure at 12? if so, i need to rest 3 minutes or more even. if not, the first sets feel kinda light. like i could do 15 or more is that effective? thank you

3x12 should be a weight that you can do 3x12 at and take a 1-1.5 minute rest between\

You should drop the weight to something that's challenging on all 3 sets

>~2xbw DL achieved over 7 years

Really not needing a body pic for that one m8

ddepression means i train hard about 4 months a year, shittily about 4 months a year, and sulk suicidally for another 4 months

it's been a slow grind

No judgment, mate, it's just nothing people need to demand your body for

>when i get a new program and it says 3x12, are all 3 sets to failure at 12?
The fact of the matter is that if you take a set to failure, then it takes at least 3 minutes to be able to repeat that performance. More if you're lifting man weights.
So if a program prescribes 3x12 with e.g. 90 seconds of rest, you know the first two sets can't be all out. You pick a weight that's heavy enough to make the final set a challenge.

Now, you can choose to take as much rest as you need between all sets, but you'll never accumulate a lot of volume that way, because frankly after 5-6 sets you'll be so spent mentally that it's time to go home. Super high volume routines such as PPLPPLx are a different kind of hard than going balls out on individual sets. It's more about clocking as much quality work as you can in as little time as possible.

thanks pal

Ive always been uncomfortable ending a set before failure

over the years in training we tend to develop neuroses... did i eat enough today? did i get enough protein today? omg i havent eaten enough im catabolyze the muscle i worked so hard fot!

same at the gym: did i lift hard enough? heavy enough? enough sets?

it's hard to stop a set before failure when the neurosis kicks in. especially when you hear stuff like arnold saying that it's the last few painful reps that make you grow. Or bodybuilders saying just how hard you have to train, to break the pain barrier etc....
and then what, you do 2 sets of 12 and end them feeling kind of fresh with still fuel in the tank, that feels wrong, the neurosis kicks in all over again you know