Great reply!  Best advice I ever got in the lifting game was similar.  I asked the gym owner (former pro bodybuilder) what his opinion was on doing heavy weight deadlifts.  He basically said "well, they are great, except that one time out of 1000 where your form slips and you blow out your back and lose a month or even a year of training". In general I think his advice is spot on.  More reps and more sets will get you just as ripped and sometimes will even make you work harder and put up more total poundage.