Thanks for the help, Houndoomsday and yee! I think I'm going to try throwing in some more high rep exercise into my usual workouts, as well as trying out that 5-10 sets of 4-8 reps format. I usually go for 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps, usually in descending order, which I assume is good, but I think the more sets/less reps would be a better way to build on my muscle.
Also, on the jogging thing, no offense taken lol. I'm a bigger guy, no doubt about it, and I already have some not so good knees. This year I'm actually coming back from a meniscus injury, and with this coming season came an extra 20 pounds. I used to run a lot because of wrestling season, so I've been trying to get back into it. In my area, I have access to multiple parks with really nice jogging trails, ranging from concrete to dirt roads to sand, the latter which I prefer. What is weird is that the more challenging trails are concrete, and I'm advised not to run on hard surfaces from my school's athletic trainer, so those are out of the question until I feel like I'm at 100% again (which I have been for a while, tbh. It just seems that the trainers and doctors think I need to give it some more time.). I do have access to a swimming pool of my own in my back yard, but it's been raining heavily, so I haven't been able to swim often. I actually did swim this morning, and you're right that it's a fantastic workout, even if I don't have all that much room to do lengths or laps or what have you. Also I'm with you on bike machines; through the bulk of my initial recovery, I had to use one for about 45 min - 1h a day for weeks. Yeah, they're boring as shit lol.
Also, on the jogging thing, no offense taken lol. I'm a bigger guy, no doubt about it, and I already have some not so good knees. This year I'm actually coming back from a meniscus injury, and with this coming season came an extra 20 pounds. I used to run a lot because of wrestling season, so I've been trying to get back into it. In my area, I have access to multiple parks with really nice jogging trails, ranging from concrete to dirt roads to sand, the latter which I prefer. What is weird is that the more challenging trails are concrete, and I'm advised not to run on hard surfaces from my school's athletic trainer, so those are out of the question until I feel like I'm at 100% again (which I have been for a while, tbh. It just seems that the trainers and doctors think I need to give it some more time.). I do have access to a swimming pool of my own in my back yard, but it's been raining heavily, so I haven't been able to swim often. I actually did swim this morning, and you're right that it's a fantastic workout, even if I don't have all that much room to do lengths or laps or what have you. Also I'm with you on bike machines; through the bulk of my initial recovery, I had to use one for about 45 min - 1h a day for weeks. Yeah, they're boring as shit lol.