Author Topic: CHEST (Read 3470 times)

triple_h · « **on:** April 16, 2006, 07:47:04 AM »

mates ,
i have enough mass on my chest , but want it to get hard and firm , any tips on training etc?
i train chest 1/wk. 4 exercises- flat bar press 2)incline dumbell press 3)cable cross overs upper and lower.

help!

newdumbell303 · « **Reply #1 on:** April 16, 2006, 08:53:57 AM »

toss the cable exercises, add weighted Dips

pumpster · « **Reply #2 on:** April 16, 2006, 09:54:12 AM »

-Get leaner by inducing a calorie deficit from a combo of reduced diet and/or more physical activity, such as cardio. You have to remove a layer of fat.

-Keep exercises for chest or torso to 9-12 sets max., 3-4 sets per exercise-put greater intensity into less sets by going to failure on most or all sets, especially the last couple of sets for each exercise. 1 minute rest max. between sets.

-Increase training frequency to 2-3 times a week.

-On the last set of each exercise, do a couple of cheats after reaching failure, and tense the muscles at the top of each rep, hold for 2 seconds. In between sets, push your hands together for 3-5 seconds.

-Try alternate exercises or variations of what you're already doing-use dumbbells for flat presses or try weighted pushups. Try dumbbell flys, cable flys or peck deck instead of crossovers.

-Try not locking out at the top of each rep on some workouts, decide if it helps.

-Dips are only one possibility-many find them hard on the shoulders and not particularly effective for chest. Mainly for lower chest; decline flys are another substitute.

triple_pickle · « **Reply #3 on:** April 16, 2006, 10:15:44 AM »

there's never "enough mass" on the chest....

Odinn · « **Reply #4 on:** April 16, 2006, 05:05:26 PM »

Widen your grip on the barbell bench press, and bring your dumbells down as far as you can when you do dumbell presses

candidate2025 · « **Reply #5 on:** April 16, 2006, 05:34:09 PM »

drop the barbell presses. those are very inneficient, and i theyve ben in your routine this whole time, you coudld switch it up and easily start gining muscle with the much better db variety.

triple_h · « **Reply #6 on:** April 17, 2006, 01:18:54 AM »

kool will try dips and dumbells only..
can i train 3 set of tris after chest and 3 sets of bicep exercise after back . keeping in mind that
i train bi+tri on fridays.

my schedule: mon-chest+abs
tue- back+traps
wed-abs /off
thurs-thighs+shoulders
fri-tri+bi.

aim:mass building/

brianX · « **Reply #7 on:** April 17, 2006, 01:58:35 AM »

Barbell benches are far superior to the dumbbell variety.

blondmusclhunk · « **Reply #8 on:** April 18, 2006, 03:18:11 PM »

Remove the fat. Ive gotten great results also by adding in dips with regular chest excercises. I use it at the end of chest about 3 sets nothing major.

pumpster · « **Reply #9 on:** April 18, 2006, 04:34:24 PM »

Quote

Barbell benches are far superior to the dumbbell variety.

The only advantage with a barbell is that it's easier to rack before/after a set. The independent nature of lifting dumbbells affords whatever additional advantages that stabilizer muscles provide to development.

The more natural ROM is far less stressful on the joints, as well-many who find barbell presses innefective & harsh find the dumbbell version better in all respects.

The independent nature also assures more even development-one side cannot compensate by lifting more than 50% of the load.

Always Sore · « **Reply #10 on:** April 19, 2006, 05:26:13 AM »

Quote from: brianX on April 17, 2006, 01:58:35 AM

Barbell benches are far superior to the dumbbell variety.

depends alot on body type and training style.i have very long arms and train alone and find i need more weight in dumbell pressing movements than i can safely get to the starting position to begin, but because i can lower the weight farther than a barbell i tend to feel it more where i should. in my case i tend to have to start heavy with barbells and move to dumbells later in the workout due to this problem even though i tend to get a better feel with dumbells. i have a buddy who is very short and compact and when he trains almost exclusively with dumbells he can move mountains but his barbell bench press is at/about the same level as mine.as with most lifts i think it depends on what you feel in the muscle and the stress level you cause more than what is causing the overload(barbell/dumbell/machines) because you body adapts to stress placed upon it not how the stress is applied.

MidniteRambo · « **Reply #11 on:** April 20, 2006, 10:58:50 AM »

Quote from: brianX on April 17, 2006, 01:58:35 AM

Barbell benches are far superior to the dumbbell variety.

Far superior for ripping a pec....

Jr. Yates · « **Reply #12 on:** April 20, 2006, 11:41:04 AM »

i do agree that more people have torn pecs on flat barbell press but when you think about it, it doesn't really make sense....dumbells allow you to still go fairly heavy but stretch the pec even more than a barbell can. you'd think dumbells would cause more pec tears.

MidniteRambo · « **Reply #13 on:** April 20, 2006, 11:56:31 AM »

Quote from: Jr. Yates on April 20, 2006, 11:41:04 AM

i do agree that more people have torn pecs on flat barbell press but when you think about it, it doesn't really make sense....dumbells allow you to still go fairly heavy but stretch the pec even more than a barbell can. you'd think dumbells would cause more pec tears.

I agree that it's illogical but it seems to be the case . . . I think it has something to do with the fact that the barbell forces the pec into an unnatural flattened position on the concentric portion of the exercise because the wrists are not allowed to turn slightly.

kicker · « **Reply #14 on:** April 20, 2006, 08:29:12 PM »

Quote from: triple_h on April 16, 2006, 07:47:04 AM

mates ,
i have enough mass on my chest , but want it to get hard and firm , any tips on training etc?
i train chest 1/wk. 4 exercises- flat bar press 2)incline dumbell press 3)cable cross overs upper and lower.

help!

Try replacing cable crossovers with incline dumbbell flyes, 3 set of 8-10.

You may also want to switch up between flat dumbbell bench presses and barbell inclines, and vice versa.

benchthis · « **Reply #15 on:** April 20, 2006, 10:23:57 PM »

u got a good routine maybe its not what u do in the gym maybe its what u eat and how u recover

headhuntersix · « **Reply #16 on:** April 20, 2006, 11:09:00 PM »

This is my first post so go easy. I figured I'd reply to this one because everybody was interested in helping this guy on the thread.

As far as the dips go. I always viewed these as age dependent. How old are you dude. if your still growing then that advice is great. Make sure you tilt so your isolating the chest. If your older, I don't know how much you will get from them. Younger guys really benefit from expanding the rib cag on these. I know I was able to.. I would also pound the incline bench whether its dumb bells or flat bench. Figure out what you want to do and then stick to it for 6-8 weeks and see how it goes. As many of the guys mentioned diet will figure in on what your aiming to do.

Inclines will pressure your delts so if they start to hurt you may want to stop. I really never have a problem but I've gone through several partners who have developed problems because I love the inclines. Hope it works out.

analcandy · « **Reply #17 on:** April 21, 2006, 12:22:27 PM »

i'd say, do high reps with less weights, to tone the muscles, if you consider having enough muscle mass alrdy.

triple_h · « **Reply #18 on:** April 22, 2006, 01:02:10 AM »

Quote from: analcandy on April 21, 2006, 12:22:27 PM

i'd say, do high reps with less weights, to tone the muscles, if you consider having enough muscle mass alrdy.

does high rep with less weight work?
how many of u agree?

Always Sore · « **Reply #19 on:** April 22, 2006, 06:42:03 AM »

Quote from: triple_h on April 22, 2006, 01:02:10 AM

does high rep with less weight work?
how many of u agree?

there is no such thing as "tone the muscle" it does not work that way. either you are working hard enough to cause tears and breakdowns to the muscle so thru rest and nutrition it build back bigger or you are losing fat around the muscle causing it to become more pronounced and more defined.its not like a body shop for a car where you can take some off here and shave down there and put putty here, its your body and the body only works one way.

more calories then burned=surplus(fat/muscle)
less calories than burned=deficit(weight loss fat/muscle)
equal in as burned =no change

pumpster · « **Reply #20 on:** April 22, 2006, 07:10:09 AM »

As I've said, the main thing is calories in/out in regards to getting lean.

However, the question on rep range is still hard to answer. While it's true that calories and diet are the most important, higher reps do have a couple of smaller but tangible advantages, IMO:

-As far as the mind-muscle connection, you're not getting that with low reps with high weight. That connection's key to refinement, IMO.

-The chances of getting injuried are lower with high reps, especially while dieting.

-Slightly more calories are burned with higher reps and higher sets.

-Even an HIT proponent like Casey Viator believes that higher reps and more sets has advantages for refinement.

JPM · « **Reply #21 on:** April 22, 2006, 09:34:29 AM »

Might try reducing the carb's to 100 grams a day and watch for results. Going down to 40 to 60 grams a day may offer even more fat lost while keeping the muscle mass. Too low of a daily calorie supply (not meeting your body needs for energy output, maintence & repair) can cause muscle loss. 3,000 calories a day is the mean average for the normal trainee. Lowering the carbs while keeping the calories up, at least to the maintence/repair level, can insure that the valueable muscle mass that we all work so hard for, is kepted.

There is just as much a mind-body connection when doing 2-3 reps of a heavy lift (squats, DL's, BP,etc) than there is while doing moderate 12-18 rep exercises. You could not do those heavy, hard reps without a superior mind-body connection to start with. Using heavy weights (the correct way) does not offer more avenues to serious injury. Good Luck.