I just maxed out on the bench press at 190 pounds. Particularly embarassing because I can't even get up my own bodyweight anymore. So anyway, I was wondering what the best way to gain strength was. Noticed a lot of people here have made serious strides in this area (Manny, LeGrouper, Art V), and I could really use some tips as I've never really gotten all that strong (my peak was just 1 rep of 225 when I weighed 180). Also, I'm not looking for size/definition improvement. Just power. I've read a lot of conflicting methods on various sites, looking to see what's actually worked. Thanks in advance.
I threw up 310 on bench press today @ 24 hour fitness on Richmond. Felt good. I weigh 200 lbs. In the past I've had good results doing bench press 3 times per week, 3 sets of 4 one day, a pyramid of 6-4-2-1 the next time, then 3 sets of 6 the last day. The last couple months I have only been able to lift once a week due to being busy, but that's been good enough for maintenance purposes. I'll defer to Legrouper or Manny or Art for a more structured workout for you. I just lift what I'm feeling on any particular day. Probably not the best way to go about it, but I've had success with it.
Which 24 Hour Fitness on Richmond? I work out at the one at 610 and Richmond every morning from 5:30am - 8:30am.
same one. I go on the weekends usually or Friday afternoons. I had the day off work today so I went this afternoon.
Weights? Cardio? There's no way I could work out 3 hours every day without killing myself(Either though over-exertion or boring myself to death through underexertion for such a long period of time). Anti, I am also a weakling, but I do 4 sets of 10 at about 60-70% of my max on the bench once a week. I suppose this is working(I feel somewhat stronger), but I really don't do much other work on my chest/tri's, so I'm probably not working out properly. You should probably include some skull-crushers, fly's, and pull-downs to achieve a better chest/tri workout.
Anti - I make no claims at being a Personal Trainer but this is a philosophy that I feel works. IMO, part of the reason for the conflicting information is that muscle gain is a very personal thing and (apart from the actual lifting) is driven by such components as age, gender, diet and probably most importantly - genetics. In addition to your height and weight, your genes will determine things like your personal ratio of fast twitch vs slow twitch muscle fiber and how efficiently your body chemistry (particularly your liver) is able to initiate the process of rebuilding the tissues you have destroyed while lifting. (It is also worth noting that from the standpoint of physics, people with longer arms generally can't bench as much as those with shorter arms). I hope I am not stating the obvious but adding strength or muscle or endurance is a function of sets and reps. IOW, if your goal is power lifting, the reps are low and the weight is max. 2 to 4 reps for this goal. If your goal is to pose on stage like a body builder (less brute strength but more defined mass) then the rep range is 6-10. If your goal is entirely endurance, the rep range is 15 or more. Now this is another aspect for the conflicting information you have discovered... Your personal genetic structure may produce max strength with 7 reps while it may take me (with my personal genetic structure) 10 or 11 reps. Again, I hope I am not stating the obvious but what works for you is what works for you. One last comment. In your effort to understand the physiology of muscle development, do not overlook the Theory of Periodization. This will keep you from the pitfalls (actually the plateaus) of overtraining.
By the way, if anyone is looking for a personal trainer in Houston feel free to email me. He will even give you a free session or two. In about months I have put on 25 lbs and increased my bench pressing from 125 to almost 215.
If you are lifting strictly for power, go heavier with fewer reps. That being said, I'm still doing a couple of sets of 8-10 because it seems to help my endurance. I know that is 'Weightlifting 101' advice, but I'm sorta doing the same thing right now. A little background. I've been weightlifting seriously for a few years. I'm 6'0, 195lbs. I work out at the 'Y' and try to get there about 4-5 times per week. Since the bar exam has passed, I've decided to go up on my bench for the heck of it. My previous max was 315lbs back when I was weighing 180lbs. I haven't focused on benches up until recently. Now, after about a month of re-introducing my body to heavier benches, the power is coming back pretty quickly. Yesterday (chest day for me), I started off doing flat benches. First set was 225x10. Then 245x10, 255x7, 275x5, 295x2, 255x6(to failure), 235x6 (to failure), 235x5(""), 225x6(""). I then went lighter on some inclines. I've put on about 8lbs in about 7 weeks because I've been watching my diet more closely....eating more meals, lots of water, a little more protein than I've normally been getting -- you get the idea. So, the hope is to up the max on the bench a little. I've found, for power, doing basic movements utilizing the major muscle groups works best for me. For chest -- benches. For shoulders -- military's. For back -- heavy rows and lats. For arms -- focusing a little more on tricepts than many do seems to help me. For legs -- squats. Another key I've found (again, 'Weightlifting 101') is to change your workout up regularly. The body acclimates alarmingly quickly to routines. Even if it's just number of reps/sets or drop sets, pyramiding, different angles, etc...I see more growth when I vary the workout. Okay, enought rambling at 2:30am. Good luck.
Talk to one of the personal trainers about a program based on a percentage of your max. I don't have the numbers in front of me but basically it's benching 6 times (days) and the 7th you max again, it may be something like: 10 reps @ 50% of max 8 reps @ 65% of max, etc, etc It is used by most college strength programs and it does work. Best thing is there is no guess work on your part, rather it's a program that says, ok you maxed at 200 pounds here is what you are doing for the next 3 1/2 weeks. PS- There are variations to add bulk or strength, just depending on the reps. If you can't find a program let me know and I can share mine, just don't want to dig it up now.
Don't sell yourself short, Anti. Doing 1 rep of 225 when you were 180 is a solid accomplishment and shows that you have the ability to do well in lifting. As GATER and jlaw already mentioned, to develop power on the bench, you focus on low reps with high weight and to develop endurance on the bench, you focus on high reps with less weight. A couple of other general things before I delve into what I do: 1) Very important about eating - I probably hold myself back somewhat with my poor diet (hardly any fruits and vegetables and all kinds of junk food), however, this point is eating before you lift. Just like with swimming, running, and any other exercise, you don't want to eat something and then lift like an hour later. I always try to eat a little snack around 9 in the morning and then I start lifting around 11:30. I think it has to do with lactic acid buildup in your muscles, but the longer you wait to lift after you eat, the more you will be able to do. Ideally, you should be starving as you are doing your workout. 2) Probably the one thing that has helped me more than any is having regular people I work out with. Normally, it is 2 other guys I work out with (one is 2 years younger than me and the other is a marvel - dude is 53 ). We are constantly pushing each other and let's face it - guys are competitive. When you see someone doing more reps than you, it pushes you, I think, to do the most you can. It also is good to have some workout partners because they can spot you. NEVER bench (at least barbells) without a spotter! You are asking for trouble if you ignore that advice - trust me, I have found that out the hard way and more than once, too. 3) Finally, you have to be dedicated, I think, if you really want results. You can't go into this thinking that you are going to work out really hard for a couple of days and then just drop it for weeks at a time. You will have plenty of days where you are sore or tired and not wanting to work out. Hey, we have all been there before, but you press on anyway because you have an ultimate goal in mind. And you can't ever waver from that goal. Now, if you are really hurting, then by all means, take a couple of days off as sometimes that helps you come back even stronger. But if you feel fine, I wouldn't skip workouts. Okay, now for my workout routine. I work out 4 days a week (Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays) and normally spend an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes with my workouts. The exercises that I do on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays rotate each week but I focus on 1) Chest 2) Arms (Biceps and Triceps) 3) Back and Shoulders Fridays are always light and I use them for abs and legs (calves and thighs). I used to do things differently such as doing chest, shoulders, and triceps on Tuesdays and Fridays and back, biceps, and abs on Mondays and Thursdays. But it is ESSENTIAL that you change up exercises and routines every so often. Your body will get used to what you are doing and eventually things will get "stale". It helps rejuvenate you if you change things up. Chest workouts usually consist of 2 of these 3 exercises - flat bench press, decline bench press, and incline bench press. I can decline more than flat and I am woefully weak on the incline (but most people are). Normally, we will do three sets not counting a warm-up. Example for the decline could go like this: 139 lbs X 20 reps (warm-up) 189 lbs X 12 reps (to fail) 229 lbs X 6 to 7 reps (to fail) 249 lbs X 2 to 3 reps (to fail) Now, if we have done inclines or flat bench first instead of declines, we would probably stick a set of 209 in there and drop the 249. It all depends on the feel at that time. Some days you will feel better than others - that is normal. Arms workouts will go like this: start off with a triceps "superset" which is 3 different exercises in one - nosebreakers (doing tricep curls to your forehead), pullovers (hard one to explain in words, easier to show, lol), and close grip bench press. We will do 3 sets of the supersets going up in weight each time. By that last set, the pullovers are God awful, but normally do 10 reps of each of the 3. In between sets of the superset, we will do either barbell curls or standing alternating dumbbell curls. The barbell curls hurt my wrists sometimes, so I would prefer to do the dumbbells, but it depends on how I feel that day. Barbell curls will be 3 sets and normally go like this: 75 lbs X 16 reps (to fail) 85 lbs X 12 reps (to fail) 95 lbs X 8 to 10 reps (to fail) The goal is not to cheat too much but to do the exercise where you are still getting some benefit. On dumbbell curls, normally do this: 40 lbs (in each hand) X 15 reps 45 lbs X 10 reps 50 lbs X 10 reps After finishing the superset and curls, it is onto normally dips, which is a great exercise for triceps and also works chest in a secondary way. Once again, in between sets for dips, we will do another biceps exercise whether it is an isolated curl exercise or off the Universal machine or standing alternating dumbbell curls (done if barbell curls were done) or something else. Great thing about biceps exercises is that there are a million of them that you can do. This is the workout I did yesterday and my left arm is still sore. Back and shoulders workouts usually consist of pull-ups (3 sets) where I will do about 11 or 12 the first time, struggle to get 10, and then do maybe 8 on the last one. And these pull-ups are the ones where your palm faces away from you. In between sets, I will do a shoulder press with dumbbells of 10 reps and use 40 lbs, 45 lbs, and 50 lbs. Then another back exercise like rowing off the universal machine followed by upright rowing or a deltoid pull off the universal machine. Once again, there are a million different exercises that you can do for back and shoulders. You might want to look at finding an experienced lifter to show you some exercises that you can do in starting out. Legs and abs usually are squats and lunges (with dumbbells up to 30 lbs for each arm) along with calf raises (with weight) and toe raises (using a machine) plus sit-ups/crunches, side bends, and leg lifts. Once again, Fridays are light compared to the rest of the week. When I first started lifting seriously, it was the end of January 2002. I didn't even do a barbell bench press! I did dumbbells for like 3 months before going to the barbell bench press. Anti, you might want to consider doing that just so you can get your technique and form down. Don't make the mistake that I see many make in that they think the more weight they can do, the better. I know that these people are trying to impress, but if you use bad form with heavy weight, you are asking for trouble. You will be lucky if you don't tear a muscle doing that and if you do, then you will be out for awhile, losing everything that you had gained so far. Also, don't get discouraged if you don't see results right away. It took me several months before I saw results with my arms. My chest is still coming along okay but it has taken a lot longer than I had hoped for. It is all genetics - one of the guys I work out with has a huge chest and very broad shoulders, but he is envious of me because of the definition in my arms. Meanwhile, I am envious of his chest development (he has maxed out at 300 lbs before, but I can beat him on the biceps stuff). Taking supplements? I have never done that and don't plan on starting now. I know many people who do but that is not for me. I will say this - if you think about taking creatine or something like that, PLEASE check with people who are knowledgeable about that stuff and not some dude who works at the local GNC store whose goal is to sell you that stuff. I weighed 180 lbs and you have seen me, Anti. I am a tall guy with a slender build (I am close to 6'3"). Since lifting, I have gone up to 193 lbs and my max has gone from about 145 lbs to 245 lbs. I was hoping to be at 250 by now but with my long arms, I don't have the best body type to be a great "bench presser" but as long as I can stay toned, then I guess I will be happy. However, the competitive nature in me wants to keep going on up, but it has been tough sledding as you will eventually sorta "hit a wall" in your maxes. Then after a couple of months, it will go back up again but once again, genetics plays a big role in that plus probably diet. (frown for me because I am too set in my ways to change my diet ). Anyway, good luck and I wish you well for making a great decision on this. If you can stick with it, you will be amazed at the gains you make and how much better you will feel about yourself.
I do 2.5-3 hours of nonstop cardio a day. I'm the guy who's hogging one of the EFX machines from 5:30am - 8:00 or 8:30am every morning, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Then on weekends I go running at Memorial Park afterwards. Can't run daily anymore due to hectic work schedule.
These guys sound like they have a very specific routine that may be better than what I was doing (I haven't lifted in a couple of year since an injury lifting - thinking I was young again.) But as a rule of thumb: If you want looks, lift many a small amount of weight many times. I knew a guy that looked impressive but I was shocked to see him struggle with amounts that shouldn't have been a problem. His routine was small weights many times (30-50 times) If you want strength, work out with something that really presses you on that last rep 10 times - (ie 3 sets of 10 with something that really pushes you). Once you get to where you can do 11 or 12 reps 2 or 3 times, add 10 more pounds. Do this every other day. This was my routine. Don't get discouraged by watching others and don't worry about them watching you. Weightlifting is between you and the iron. Keep at it and you will see results.
I've been having great success after about a month of hard training and good whole food (with low saturated fat) dieting. Per LeGroup's advice in my supplement thread a few months back, I've scrapped my Atkins diet and moved to a more balanced diet with good carbs such as white rice etc. Also I've added fruits and veggies to my diet, not to mention laying off the alcohol (don't ask ). I have also switched from Whey protien powder to GNC's Mega MRP's. 30 minutes before I work out, I drink a GNC Mega MRP with high protien milk (instead of water). Then I workout hard for about an hour. Then I drink a shake that has: 1 banana 1 carnation instant breakfast (vanilla with high protien milk) 1 tbs of peanut butter Just in the last 3 or 4 weeks, I've almost outgrown my home gym. Manny will be happy to know that I've done it without using any supplements. I might have to join a real gym now. People are starting to comment on how different I look. That's the greatest feeling in the world, especially if it's a chick. My question is, since I will probably join a gym very soon, is it OK to work out late at night? Like right before you go to bed?
Hate to burst your bubble but white rice is not one of the good carbs. If your referring to brown or whole grain rice, then those are good carbs.
BTW, I still like the Colgan book. Great info on all aspects... http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...104-6579735-7947167?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Some people can sleep, most can't if you work out hard before bed (especially cardio). I fried running late (before bed) and I couldn't sleep. One of these guys can give you a better reason but I know it can make it hard to get to sleep.
