16+ sets for chest

[linuxg]

am i doing too much? i do about 16 sets for chest 4(if im dead tired) - 10 reps(first few sets). i do this 2x a week.

ps- my chest is lagging big time. is it too much?

[Carmen0857]

32 sets for chest is way too much IMO.

[ckrumm24]

I used to do that for a little bit.. flat bench, incline, decline, peck deck. I took out decline though and did 12(twice a week) sets instead of the 16. I think 16 is a little overkill and you will boarder over training if you are lifting hard, i'm pretty sure thats what caused my forearm splints a few months ago.

so imo I'd say it could be much but i guess it depends on the intensity. If your going to failure on all those sets its def to much.

[linuxg]

bumping this, i need more opinions people.!

[99luftballons]

Why do people throw so many sets at chest? even on a high volume routine the chest is composed of mainly fast twitch muscle fibres. If your training once a week 9-12 sets should do fine.

[Serpens Aeon]

You're supposed to stimulate hypertrophy and strength adaptation, not beat the muscle into submission.

[Oz Enhanced]

meh if its growing keep at it
but for a lot of pple theyd say its overtraining

what exercises you doing, reps?

[benjamin88]

do u do the same number of sets of bent over rows etc to oppose all the chest work, i doubt you are, but you should, also ur probaly not giving it time to grow

[ckrumm24]

I forgot to mention my sets wern't of 10 like yours i did the pyramid thing doing 10 8 6 4

[rotlex]

Do some serious searching for some decent routines as what you are doing is ridiculous. Here's an example.

I used to believe the more I did, the more I would grow etc. I have found the best progress of my life, by following my recent 5x5 plan, which pretty much hits chest twice per week, 5 sets, 5 reps, flat, standard bench. (No incline, decline, bcline, behind, fly's and 50 types of crossovers, LOL).

That's probably 100X less than I used to do, and my chest has responded better than it has in the past decade.

[linuxg]

thanks for the replies. 5 sets? seem like a waste of time man[ not saying it is] i wouldnt even feel my blood flowing with such a small ammount of sets.

what i do:

incline dumbell 4x
flat bench 4x
fly machine 3-4x
dips 3-4x
decline bench 4x

[Mammoth3]

Originally Posted by Serpens Aeon

You're supposed to stimulate hypertrophy and strength adaptation, not beat the muscle into submission.

thats a quote..where did i hear that from..

[prickleferret]

i throw all kinds of sets at my chest and it isn't overtrained. most chest days i am doing 16 to 20 sets of 4 different exercises. i have responded well. i am gonna try this 5x5 routine though to see if i can shock myself.

[Overload]

I don't see how people can do 16+ sets for a body part with any kind of intensity. If you use heavy weight, and I mean truly heavy weight, with good form in a controlled manner coming as close as you can to failure, there is no way you should be able to do 16+ sets... or better yet, want to. Plus there is no need to IMO.

The 5x5 is a great matrix for chest. 2-3 sets of 2-3 exercises is also fine for chest. If people think that 5x5 is a waste of their time, they need to re-evaluate their intensity.

You're supposed to feel like you had a good workout, not that you were run over by a bus.

[Serpens Aeon]

Originally Posted by Mammoth3

thats a quote..where did i hear that from..

Now that you mention it, it does sound awfully familiar... The last strength training material I went through was "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore, and a handful of articles by Dave Tate. It's probably the former.

[Serpens Aeon]

Originally Posted by linuxg

thanks for the replies. 5 sets? seem like a waste of time man[ not saying it is] i wouldnt even feel my blood flowing with such a small ammount of sets.

what i do:

incline dumbell 4x
flat bench 4x
fly machine 3-4x
dips 3-4x
decline bench 4x

A muscular "pump", as well as delayed onset muscle soreness, are not reliable indicators of hypetrophy or strength increases.

[jason_bh]

Originally Posted by linuxg

thanks for the replies. 5 sets? seem like a waste of time man[ not saying it is] i wouldnt even feel my blood flowing with such a small ammount of sets.

what i do:

incline dumbell 4x
flat bench 4x
fly machine 3-4x
dips 3-4x
decline bench 4x

Keep in mind that you grow OUTSIDE of the gym. If you're using heavy weights (which the 5X5 is) then 5 sets is all that you need. That's twice per week. I am on the 5X5 also, and it has worked great. I have added 25 pounds to my benchpress since starting it.

Sometimes "less is more". Of course it varies from person to person. I used to be like you and think that I needed four different exercises for each body part or I was wasting my time. In reality, I was wasting my time. I feel a lot better about my workouts and progress since I started the 5X5.

But if your workout plan is working for you, then don't change it. Do it until it no longer works and then try something different.

[kethnaab]

instead of asking for opinions, use it for a month or three and see if it works.

*shrugs*

I've used more sets for chest and grown, I've used less sets for chest and grown


of course, I never used a ****head pec deck machine though.

[linuxg]

Originally Posted by jason_bh

But if your workout plan is working for you, then don't change it. Do it until it no longer works and then try something different.

it isnt, at least not how i want it to. but 5 sets... that just doesnt seem like much how can you possibly grow on that?

[Overload]

Originally Posted by linuxg

but 5 sets... that just doesnt seem like much how can you possibly grow on that?

Don't knock it until you tried it. But you need to use high intensity for low volume to work efficiently. That doesn't mean going to failure all the time either.

I've grown on 5 total sets per per bodypart per week. The only type of workouts I do now are abbreviated with just a few sets for each body part. I hardly do direct isolation arm work and my arms keep up with the rest of me just fine. Of course everyone is different but just keep an open mind before saying it can't work when you haven't even tried it.

If you're saying what you're doing now isn't working, then isn't it time to try something different?

[jason_bh]

Originally Posted by linuxg

it isnt, at least not how i want it to. but 5 sets... that just doesnt seem like much how can you possibly grow on that?

I thought the same thing until I tried it. Too often we come into the world of bodybuilding with the preconceived notions that we need X amount of reps per exercise and X amount of sets. Then we need 4 or 5 different exercises on top of that in order to grow. Don't listen to all the fitness magazines out there with the latest craze. Sometimes we need to "decondition" our thinking and think "outside the box." I did that when I started the 5X5 program and have been amazed.

How much back and tricep work are you doing? If you want to improve your bench then maybe you need to work on your secondary muscles such as triceps and lats.

[DCDave]

I used to do 3 sets of 6 different exercises and was told I was overtraining...even though I was growing successfully. I was told there was a danger in injuring myself and overworking my muscles.

I switched to 3 sets of 4 different exercises and have continued growing at the same rate I previously was if not a little more.

Now, my opinion is that more than risk of injury or even overtraining, it's simply wasted time to do so much...it's just not necessary to continue talking when you've said everything that's on your mind.