Chest day! What is too much to gain muscle and strength?

[Geneius365]

I have slowly been getting stronger over the past 6 months and i am wondering is i am over doing it when i work out or not. Im not one to sit around and play cell phone games when I'm there. I am limited to 1.5 hours - 2 hrs per session and i like to get every minute while I'm there. I want to be able to gain and not hurt my progress so i wanted to throw up a thread and get some feedback. Below was my last nights routine. I was at the gym 1 hr 40 minutes. I see some threads where it is 3 sets for 8 reps for chest. Is this TOTAL chest? Or is it 3 sets of say flat bench, decline, and incline? I do all three exercises when i do "chest day".


Start off with a warm up stretching with 20lb DB's
20 push ups with DB's for base.
Flat bench DB press = 70lb DB's for a set of 10, 80lb DB for a set of 10, and 95lb DB's for 8
Decline Bench Bar = 225lbs for 10, 275lbs for only 2 today, and 255 for 7. Usually i can get 4 @ 275 at least and 10 @ 255 but i think the DB presses wore me out..
Incline Bench Bar = 175 for 8, 155 for 9, and 135 for 8 and i was shot..
I do some cable one arm triceps with a rope in-between the benching sets. 25lbs for 10, 30 for 10, 30 for 8 Is this bad? I know my tri's feel it…
Db pull overs while laying sideways on my back, (shoulders only thing touching bench surface) 70 DB for 10 and 80lb DB for 8.
I did some curling in-between ad also pull-ups as well to keep blood going. Last for the chest was standing cable flys. Start off with 50lbs for 12, 60lbs for 12, 70lbs for 10, and i got out 80lbs for 5!
That finished me out for chest then i did 150 sit ups and some kneeling cable pull downs for abs with 175lbs for about 60 reps...


Today i am sore a touch but not too bad. I have to bring a ton of pellets in the basement so i will exercise legs and back today… Never a rest day! LOL




Is this too much???

[Marius_Ursus]

Yes, don't do it.

[Marius_Ursus]

Oh, ****, dude. You're in Catskill? Too cool. My wife's from Greenville. We live in Schoharie County now.

[Smelly bull]

Wow, very few of my workouts last more than an hour. A chest day will look like 5x5 on the flat bench, some weighted dips and maybe dumbbell presses.....throw in some triceps work and I have a workout. But I also work near my one rep max, so it is a little more taxing than it appears.

Is it to much? Try cutting back on the exercise or volume and see what happens.

[POrtergolf]

I have slowly been getting stronger over the past 6 months and i am wondering is i am over doing it when i work out or not. Im not one to sit around and play cell phone games when I'm there. I am limited to 1.5 hours - 2 hrs per session and i like to get every minute while I'm there. I want to be able to gain and not hurt my progress so i wanted to throw up a thread and get some feedback. Below was my last nights routine. I was at the gym 1 hr 40 minutes. I see some threads where it is 3 sets for 8 reps for chest. Is this TOTAL chest? Or is it 3 sets of say flat bench, decline, and incline? I do all three exercises when i do "chest day".


Start off with a warm up stretching with 20lb DB's
20 push ups with DB's for base.
Flat bench DB press = 70lb DB's for a set of 10, 80lb DB for a set of 10, and 95lb DB's for 8
Decline Bench Bar = 225lbs for 10, 275lbs for only 2 today, and 255 for 7. Usually i can get 4 @ 275 at least and 10 @ 255 but i think the DB presses wore me out..
Incline Bench Bar = 175 for 8, 155 for 9, and 135 for 8 and i was shot..
I do some cable one arm triceps with a rope in-between the benching sets. 25lbs for 10, 30 for 10, 30 for 8 Is this bad? I know my tri's feel it…
Db pull overs while laying sideways on my back, (shoulders only thing touching bench surface) 70 DB for 10 and 80lb DB for 8.
I did some curling in-between ad also pull-ups as well to keep blood going. Last for the chest was standing cable flys. Start off with 50lbs for 12, 60lbs for 12, 70lbs for 10, and i got out 80lbs for 5!
That finished me out for chest then i did 150 sit ups and some kneeling cable pull downs for abs with 175lbs for about 60 reps...


Today i am sore a touch but not too bad. I have to bring a ton of pellets in the basement so i will exercise legs and back today… Never a rest day! LOL




Is this too much???

I don't know what is too much, I just wanted to comment and say I wish I was "limited" to 2hrs....

I had chest and bi's today, I will post for comparison.

2 warm ups sets.

Working sets
5 Sets Incline DB (5 set was drop set)
4 Sets Flat BB Bench (first time I have used the BB in 8-9 months)
4-Sets Incline fly
4 Sets Incline Hammer Strength (4 set was drop set)

Bi's
4 Set Hammer Curls
4 Sets Straight Bar Curl
4 Sets E-Z Curl preacher curl (last 2 sets were drop sets)
2 Sets Cross Body Hammer Curl
4 Sets one are cable curl (last set was drop sets)

I work in the 8-12 rep range

This took me 1h 10m and I got trapped for 5 minutes by a gym talker.

[pastorgbc]

I have slowly been getting stronger over the past 6 months and i am wondering is i am over doing it when i work out or not. Im not one to sit around and play cell phone games when I'm there. I am limited to 1.5 hours - 2 hrs per session and i like to get every minute while I'm there. I want to be able to gain and not hurt my progress so i wanted to throw up a thread and get some feedback. Below was my last nights routine. I was at the gym 1 hr 40 minutes. I see some threads where it is 3 sets for 8 reps for chest. Is this TOTAL chest? Or is it 3 sets of say flat bench, decline, and incline? I do all three exercises when i do "chest day".


Start off with a warm up stretching with 20lb DB's
20 push ups with DB's for base.
Flat bench DB press = 70lb DB's for a set of 10, 80lb DB for a set of 10, and 95lb DB's for 8
Decline Bench Bar = 225lbs for 10, 275lbs for only 2 today, and 255 for 7. Usually i can get 4 @ 275 at least and 10 @ 255 but i think the DB presses wore me out..
Incline Bench Bar = 175 for 8, 155 for 9, and 135 for 8 and i was shot..
I do some cable one arm triceps with a rope in-between the benching sets. 25lbs for 10, 30 for 10, 30 for 8 Is this bad? I know my tri's feel it…
Db pull overs while laying sideways on my back, (shoulders only thing touching bench surface) 70 DB for 10 and 80lb DB for 8.
I did some curling in-between ad also pull-ups as well to keep blood going. Last for the chest was standing cable flys. Start off with 50lbs for 12, 60lbs for 12, 70lbs for 10, and i got out 80lbs for 5!
That finished me out for chest then i did 150 sit ups and some kneeling cable pull downs for abs with 175lbs for about 60 reps...


Today i am sore a touch but not too bad. I have to bring a ton of pellets in the basement so i will exercise legs and back today… Never a rest day! LOL




Is this too much???

You are not doing too much. In fact, for being in the gym for over an hour and a half, it does not look like you are doing much at all.

You are moving some nice weight. If I were you, I would reduce the tome you are taking between sets and add a few more sets at the top end of your weight limits. I would also consider moving the pullovers to your back day. I do pullovers crossbench style as you do, and if you keep your butt low and stationary, it really focuses on the serratus/lat insertion as opposed to anything having to do with the pecs.

Given your strength, I would seriously consider adding weighted dips. I would do them after the inclines, just prior to the crossovers. I would guess this would really add to your strength and size.

Ray

[DuracellBunny]

One question: are you making progress?

If the answer is yes, then no, you aren't doing too much.

[steveh5200]

One question: are you making progress?

If the answer is yes, then no, you aren't doing too much.

What he said. Though that seems like a long time in the gym. 1hr to 1hr 10min tops here.

[Corbi]

Definitely not too much but as Pastor pointed out it shouldn't take more than an hr or so to knock out what you have listed.

[Geneius365]

Oh, ****, dude. You're in Catskill? Too cool. My wife's from Greenville. We live in Schoharie County now.

Yes sir. Bought a house here 8 years ago. Scary county huh. Is there even a gym up there? LOL. I drive up there to fish all the time!

You are not doing too much. In fact, for being in the gym for over an hour and a half, it does not look like you are doing much at all.

You are moving some nice weight. If I were you, I would reduce the tome you are taking between sets and add a few more sets at the top end of your weight limits. I would also consider moving the pullovers to your back day. I do pullovers crossbench style as you do, and if you keep your butt low and stationary, it really focuses on the serratus/lat insertion as opposed to anything having to do with the pecs.

Given your strength, I would seriously consider adding weighted dips. I would do them after the inclines, just prior to the crossovers. I would guess this would really add to your strength and size.

Ray

Thanks for the advice Ray. I actually didn't add all of what I did in between sets but I don't sit for more then two minutes before I'm doing something else. I had a 10 min treadmill to start it off and also a 20 min to finish. I think I hit the weights for about an hour solid and the rest was sit ups and treadmill. Gonna change pull overs to back day to save the arms for chest!!

One question: are you making progress?

If the answer is yes, then no, you aren't doing too much.

Yes steady progress but I was just curious if I was doing to much to hinder progress!

What he said. Though that seems like a long time in the gym. 1hr to 1hr 10min tops here.

That's about right with out cardio for me.

[DuracellBunny]

Yes steady progress but I was just curious if I was doing to much to hinder progress!

Nobody can answer that. Bodybuilding doesn't work like rock/paper/scissors, there isn't a this > that, it's all subjective. People can give you anecdotal evidence of what works for them and what they have witnessed, but they can't say in black and white terms what the perfect thing is for you. You will have to experiment; hence why I asked if you were making progress, as progress is the only empirical evidence you get.

I do push twice a week at 90 minutes a time and some people will say that is too much, but it works for me.

[EjnarKolinkar]

Yes steady progress but I was just curious if I was doing to much to hinder progress!

That has more to do with how you are feeling, if your lifts are progressing, and if you are getting good results in terms of muscle gains.

How are all those going man? Is the program new or have you been running it a while? What were you doing before and how did it work?



I'm like a 2 year old with the questions I know......

[hmmmm16417]

my last chest day consisted of the following:

incl. BB press
155x12
175x10
205x8
225x6

leg ext/crunch on bench
4x25

flat BB press:
225x12
235x10
235x8
250x6

cable crunch:
75lb x 25
75 x 25
75 x 25
75 x 25

decl. BB press:
185 x 12
200 x 10
215 x 8
230 x 6

flat bench fly:
30 x 12
30 x 12
30 x 12
30 x 12

usually takes me about an hour and a half. I typically surf the forum between sets LOL

I do it in sequenc of:
incline press set & crunch leg ext
flat press & cable crunch
decline press & fly


is it too much?? maybe.... but I'm seeing results and am still progressing in weight....so I will keep doing it until I plateau

[Geneius365]

That has more to do with how you are feeling, if your lifts are progressing, and if you are getting good results in terms of muscle gains.

How are all those going man? Is the program new or have you been running it a while? What were you doing before and how did it work?



I'm like a 2 year old with the questions I know......

I joined the gym last February. For the first month or two it was a struggle. Always felt sore after a session but i was determined to shed weight so i stuck to it. Like three months in, i got severe tendentious in my left fore arm area that has stuck with me till this day. I did a killer arm day that killed me, literally… Like two or three months ago i had an MRI but nothing was torn. Diagnosis, severe deep muscle tendentious. I had then doc give me a cortisone shot, took a week off and it still hurt when i do curls. I changed up my grip and i don't really push it now when it starts to hurt. I feel this has killed my work out gains in how they should be but i still push thru it daily. So yes, i am making steady progress. But not how i should be due to the injury. When i started i could bench 225 once. Now i can do 225 for 10 -12 when I'm fresh. So yea i think what I'm doing is working but i just wanted to see some feed back from others. Before last febuary the only thing i did was the 12oz curls with green bottles and eat like crap! LOL Thus the 232lbs i started at. LOL


Thanks for the feedback fellas. I appreciate it! - Gene

[Jtbny]

Not sure it's too much or too little as that's subjective. Crazy that after not lifting you could walk into the gym and do a single at 225 and can bang out 225 for 10. I know people who have been lifting for years who can possibly get 10 @225.

Was going to suggest finding a program at this point and sticking to it for some time but what you seem to be doing is working so keep doing it I guess.

[Geneius365]

Not sure it's too much or too little as that's subjective. Crazy that after not lifting you could walk into the gym and do a single at 225 and can bang out 225 for 10. I know people who have been lifting for years who can possibly get 10 @225.

Was going to suggest finding a program at this point and sticking to it for some time but what you seem to be doing is working so keep doing it I guess.

I use to work out pretty hard back when i was 18-about 21 years old then i stopped until last Feb. I have been always been able to throw up 225 since then. I want to be able to throw up three plates in the worst way. I may be able to but haven't tried. On the decline bench i can squeak out one rep. Its my personal best to date. A quote in my yearbook (1995) was to bench 300. 18 years later, i can finally say i did it. Major accomplishment for me.

[Tmax55]

If you want to throw up three plates I would suggest dropping your rep range and lifting heavier. Try a 3x3 or a 5x2 workout.

I'm going to be changing my incline to 5x2 soon, which I need to do to get my strength up. My goal is to lift 315 for five reps on incline by the end of this year and I am changing from 5 sets of 8-10 reps, to 5 sets of 5 reps, to 5 sets of 2 reps, and then back every two months (so it takes four months of doing different rep ranges before returning to the starting one), because I need both more strength and endurance to get where I want to be. Just got done with the 5x5, went from attempting 225 to attempting 265 in two months.

[Geneius365]

I will switch to this next chest day for sure. A buddy of mine got stuck on 225 for 6 for like 6 months and couldn't go past the 6 reps. An older Gent suggested he do the same. I haven't seen him in a while but when i do, I'm gone ask him if the higher weights help get him past the 6 reps or not. Im def gonna try this for a couple of weeks to see where i stand. Thanks man!

[Corbi]

Yes, don't do it.

Top notch advice....insert rolling eyes smilie here.

Not sure it's too much or too little as that's subjective. Crazy that after not lifting you could walk into the gym and do a single at 225 and can bang out 225 for 10. I know people who have been lifting for years who can possibly get 10 @225.

I can't do 10 reps at #225, I can do singles at #245 and #225x3 is about where i'm stuck for now.

[Karl_Hungus]

Wow, very few of my workouts last more than an hour. A chest day will look like 5x5 on the flat bench, some weighted dips and maybe dumbbell presses.....throw in some triceps work and I have a workout. But I also work near my one rep max, so it is a little more taxing than it appears.

Is it to much? Try cutting back on the exercise or volume and see what happens.

^^This. I think a better question OP, is not whether spending that much time on one bodypart is hindering your gains, but rather, is it doing anything that a shorter routine would not.

What about your other body parts? Are you putting forth the same effort for back and legs that you are for chest?

[Geneius365]

^^This. I think a better question OP, is not whether spending that much time on one bodypart is hindering your gains, but rather, is it doing anything that a shorter routine would not.

What about your other body parts? Are you putting forth the same effort for back and legs that you are for chest?

For legs, no I'm not. For back day, for sure. Also shoulder day. I do pretty much the same time and effort. Something is messed up in my left knee that deters me from a leg day. I sure do run a couple miles at a clip but when I put weigh, it hurts me. I just don't want to blow my knee out. I al slowly introducing weighted leg exercised but defiantly not what you guys are doing. Squats are out of the question. And I'm pretty lucky cause my legs are pretty deez for not werking them. I guess the running works. I'll try to post a video of my 225 bench so y'all don't think I'm BS ing. It's like a zoo in the afternoons but if I get in at 5am for chest most def a video.

[invictus68]

I do a full body workout. Chest is bench a total of 4 sets 2 light 2 heavy. Each body part is that way. takes about 1 hour 15 minutes. Each body part gets hit 3 times a week. wednesday is a bit different a light day with no more the n 2 sets per body part at about 65 percent of max. With a different routine. I like it better then the splits

[Marius_Ursus]

Yes sir. Bought a house here 8 years ago. Scary county huh. Is there even a gym up there? LOL. I drive up there to fish all the time!

There's a gym on the SUNY campus, and a couple of really small training facilities in Cobleskill, and actually two in Middleburgh! LOL

We do have good fishing around the county, but there's good fishing in Green County, too. Ever been to Partridge Run in south Albany County? Lots of bass in there...sunnies, too, but a lot of them have worms.

[Marius_Ursus]

Top notch advice....insert rolling eyes smilie here.

**** you corbhead. Turn on your ****ing sarcasm meter or gtfo.

[Geneius365]

There's a gym on the SUNY campus, and a couple of really small training facilities in Cobleskill, and actually two in Middleburgh! LOL

We do have good fishing around the county, but there's good fishing in Green County, too. Ever been to Partridge Run in south Albany County? Lots of bass in there...sunnies, too, but a lot of them have worms.

Im gonna look up Partridge Run online to see where it is. Here are a couple from the last three weeks. My 5 year old son is a champ.

[Marius_Ursus]

Im gonna look up Partridge Run online to see where it is. Here are a couple from the last three weeks. My 5 year old son is a champ.

Beautiful!

[stephenlouis]

Reading these replies I can see I am not doing near enough! Time to pick it up.

[Geneius365]

Reading these replies I can see I am not doing near enough! Time to pick it up.

Do it up man. The only one stopping you is you!!!!

[Marius_Ursus]

Im gonna look up Partridge Run online to see where it is. Here are a couple from the last three weeks. My 5 year old son is a champ.

By the way, if you like fly flishing, check out the crick in the Town Park in Westerlo. There's a really good trout run in the spring.