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2005/05/29, 02:36 AM
When I do lower body, abs, shoulders, back and triceps I get that good ol' pumped and sore feeling that let's me know I've done some seriously hard work. However when it comes to chest and biceps it seems I can't get what I feel is a good level of fatigue regardless of how hard I push it. To try and kick it into overdrive I went crazy last night with my routine and did the following to see if it would increase my fatigue/soreness levels.
Flat bench press - 4 sets
Incline bench press - 4 sets
Decline bench press - 4 sets
Incline flys - 4 sets
Decline flys - 4 sets
Regular flat flys - 4 sets
Failure reached on the last three sets of each exercise (16,12,10,8).
Standing dumbell curl - 4 sets
Concetration curl - 4 sets
lying bench curl - 4 sets
21's - 1 set
Failure reached on the last two sets (16,12,10,8) except for the 21's which just about killed me halfway through! This seems excessive to me but I still don't feel "pumped" like I do with my other body parts.
Is the above routine too excessive/not enough working one time a week or should I stick with it?
I would truly appreciate any input regarding how I can isolate these areas which I feel are lagging behind.
On a side note, the back muscles must respond really quickly because I now have the V when viewed from behind which I've always wanted. Triceps coming along quite nicely as well. Still trying to figure out how to get the elusive six pack even though my diet has been clean for almost four months.
Thanks for reading and hope to learn from your valuable input!
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2005/05/29, 07:39 AM
personally i would say you are overtraining your chest.. limit it to about 12- 15 sets. personally im trying incline bench, decline bench, flat flyes and standing cable crossovers (for lower inner pec development) and im finally achieving the chest ive wanted.
are you looking to build or tone? i would drop your reps.. 12 at most if you are toning and 8 at most if you are building.. i think training in the 12+ rep range is a reason for no pump as you arent going hard enough. also, be sure to make sure your technique is sound (ie not swinging your body on dumbell curls, taking your butt off the bench on incline bench press, etc.) so you arent recruiting other muscle groups.
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2005/05/29, 09:00 AM
I would concentrate on 3 compound moves. Such as flat bench of any type(barbell, dumbbell), incline and decline. Forget all the other bodybuilding moves for now, and concentrate on getting stronger on these three. This will work the entire chest area, and then eat and rest. 3-4 sets of each will do the trick, should thoroughly exhaust the chest. The idea is to work the muscle, not annihlate it!
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If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything....
bb1fit@freetrainers.com
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2005/05/29, 03:00 PM
Thanks for the responses!
I am currently looking to add lean muscle mass. As far as intesity I use enough weight to allow me to barely finish the first set with perfect form and then fail on the remaining sets on the last rep. Should I lower the weight to allow me to complete each set? I somehow thought I had to push until I couldn't do anymore.
Up until yesterday I had only been doing 3 exercises a week for my chest and 2 for my biceps. The reason I went ballistic yesterday was I hoped it would cause more of a pump like I experience in my other body parts. This morning no soreness or pump so I guess it didn't work anyway. Do you think I hurt anything or set myself back because of yesterdays' fiasco?
I guess I am just bummed because my chest and biceps seem to be lagging while everything else is coming along at a pretty good pace.
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2005/05/29, 03:25 PM
i wouldnt lower the weight.. u are doing the correct technique by failing after you are done your set. i would opt for nothing over 10, maybe even 8 reps per set if you are looking to add mass. i dont think you would have done anything counterproductive with that workout, just bounce back and hammer it hard the next chest/bi day :big_smile:
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2005/05/29, 03:53 PM
How often do you work chest?
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If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything....
bb1fit@freetrainers.com
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2005/05/29, 04:24 PM
Thanks Bropie!
Bb1fit,
I work each muscle group 1 time a week as prescribed in my FT program. I have considered going to twice a week but from everything I've read that would be too much.
Any thoughts?
By the way congrats on your recent competition success!
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2005/05/29, 04:38 PM
i would say if you train it hard enough, once a week will be fine.. twice a week would risk overtraining
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2005/05/29, 05:58 PM
move your tricep day to shoulders.......if your doing it on chest day. For the 1st movement for tris....do either close grip bench or dips
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" The only true eye, is your minds eye"- plato
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2005/05/29, 08:36 PM
Bigandrew,
My triceps fall on the same day as my back routine. Chest and biceps are on the same day.
Would you still recommend moving triceps to my shoulder day or stick with my current regimen?
Monday - lower body
Wednsday - Shoulders
Thursday - back and triceps
Saturday - chest and biceps
Ab days fall on Mon, Wed, and Fri.
Thanks again for the input
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