Experienced Body Builders Read This!

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Hello all.

after a long time lurking around the forum and reading as much as possible i have finally summed up the courage to post my first thread so here goes.
i have a problem with my pecs. i have been working out mainly for hypertrophy over the last 8 months. i read alot of articles on training and have made good overall size gains esopecially around the back, shoulders and arms but i seem to have hit a plateu with my pecs. my back and shoulders are getting big so now they look kinda like they are slouching when compared to my small chest. This gives me a bad posture and overall astehics.

my chest program is like this and has now been done for about 4 months even though i know this is not along time i am not getting anywhere near the same results as with the rest of my body. up until then i was doing rufly the same exercises but with rep ranges between 44-30 per given exercise.

Flat bench press. 7,6,6,6. 35kg
flat bench dumbell flyers. 7,6,6,6. 25kg
incline bench press. 7,6,6,6. 22,5kg
incline bench dumbell flyers. 7,6,6,6. 25kg
dips. 10,10,10.
this is done 2 times a week the same day as shoulders and triceps. this overall routine takes about 1 hour and 20 mins. is this too long?

i want to hear what your take is on this routine and what i can do to improve it when the goal is getting as much mass on there as possible. i would also like to know the theory/theorys behind your anwsers. Thank you for your time.

pheonix1

2

Read the articles on here.

Sounds like you need to gain some weight, looking at the amount you are lifting. Let me get this sraight you are only bench pressing 35kg?

4 months following the exact same chest workout? Theres your problem. Increase the weight, or changes the exercises. Something needs to be done. 4 months is too long not to be increasing the weight or reps used.

3

[quote]irishpowerhouse wrote:
Read the articles on here.

Sounds like you need to gain some weight, looking at the amount you are lifting. Let me get this sraight you are only bench pressing 35kg?

4 months following the exact same chest workout? Theres your problem. Increase the weight, or changes the exercises. Something needs to be done. 4 months is too long not to be increasing the weight or reps used. [/quote]

I agree with what he says.

I also recommend adding push ups, weight to your dips, and switching the order of your chest exercises.

4

I imagine thats 35kg per arm powerhouse.

Why is everything in roughly the same rep range?
Mix up the rep range.
Mix up the exercises.
Don’t do two very similar motions in the same workout.
If your chest is weak I would recommend pre and post fatigue sets.
Something like this…
Flat bench flys 3x15
Decline bench press 4x8
Cable flys 3x10
And then whatever the fuck you want.

That said, it looks like you’ve got to do some reading here before you design you’re own programs. Best find some stock program and stick with it

5

[quote]irishpowerhouse wrote:
Read the articles on here.

Sounds like you need to gain some weight, looking at the amount you are lifting. Let me get this sraight you are only bench pressing 35kg?

4 months following the exact same chest workout? Theres your problem. Increase the weight, or changes the exercises. Something needs to be done. 4 months is too long not to be increasing the weight or reps used. [/quote]

thnx for the reply.
i weigh 83kg and am 1,87 meters.
yeah i know its not alot. its been 4 months using same exercise but with adding weight as i got stronger. dont know if that makes any difference to how good/bad the program is?

6

[quote]bodylkeabattleax wrote:
irishpowerhouse wrote:
Read the articles on here.

Sounds like you need to gain some weight, looking at the amount you are lifting. Let me get this sraight you are only bench pressing 35kg?

4 months following the exact same chest workout? Theres your problem. Increase the weight, or changes the exercises. Something needs to be done. 4 months is too long not to be increasing the weight or reps used.

I agree with what he says.

I also recommend adding push ups, weight to your dips, and switching the order of your chest exercises. [/quote]

The thing is i dont really know how to decide wich exercise to do in wich order. maybe i am just too much of a newbie then seeing as how at the end of the chest workout i can only just do the dips unweigthed. can you link to an article with some theory about this maybe?

7

[quote]duffyj2 wrote:
I imagine thats 35kg per arm powerhouse.

Why is everything in roughly the same rep range?
Mix up the rep range.
Mix up the exercises.
Don’t do two very similar motions in the same workout.
If your chest is weak I would recommend pre and post fatigue sets.
Something like this…
Flat bench flys 3x15
Decline bench press 4x8
Cable flys 3x10
And then whatever the fuck you want.

That said, it looks like you’ve got to do some reading here before you design you’re own programs. Best find some stock program and stick with it
[/quote]
no its 35 kg bench press in total 7,6,6,6 with 1 minute rest between sets.
rep range has been chosen due to waterburys article on this site where he talks about best rep range for hypertrophy.
the program is one i got from a gregg plitt instructional video on you tube. i just thought it made good sense first training the thickness and then width of the peck in the correct order. is this wrong?

8

Btw thnnx for all the replys. hope to hear some more good advice from people out there.

9

I see… then you definately need to just choose a stock program and bulk up. Just work your way through Waterbury’s stuff. Don’t try anything labelled “advanced”. Do not modify anything unless you have a serious problem with the exercise concerned. And do not start a thread called “experienced bodybuilders read this” when you are benching 35kg (in that rep range).

10

Training for 8 months and you are only benching 35kg? I think you have found your problem…

11

you need some D bol lol

oh and eat a sandwhich

12

[quote]phoenix1 wrote:
Hello all.

after a long time lurking around the forum and reading as much as possible i have finally summed up the courage to post my first thread so here goes.
i have a problem with my pecs. i have been working out mainly for hypertrophy over the last 8 months. i read alot of articles on training and have made good overall size gains esopecially around the back, shoulders and arms but i seem to have hit a plateu with my pecs. my back and shoulders are getting big so now they look kinda like they are slouching when compared to my small chest. This gives me a bad posture and overall astehics.

my chest program is like this and has now been done for about 4 months even though i know this is not along time i am not getting anywhere near the same results as with the rest of my body. up until then i was doing rufly the same exercises but with rep ranges between 44-30 per given exercise.

Flat bench press. 7,6,6,6. 35kg
flat bench dumbell flyers. 7,6,6,6. 25kg
incline bench press. 7,6,6,6. 22,5kg
incline bench dumbell flyers. 7,6,6,6. 25kg
dips. 10,10,10.
this is done 2 times a week the same day as shoulders and triceps. this overall routine takes about 1 hour and 20 mins. is this too long?

i want to hear what your take is on this routine and what i can do to improve it when the goal is getting as much mass on there as possible. i would also like to know the theory/theorys behind your anwsers. Thank you for your time.

pheonix1
[/quote]

First, what does the rest of your program look like? Do you do as much volume for your tri’s and shoulders on the same day as all of those sets for your chest? Do you do this many sets for your quads, hamstrings, and calves? Do you workout all of your muscle groups twice a week like this?

Secondly, when CW says that 25-50 is the number of repetitions to shoot for, he’s talking about per bodypart per session. Not per exercise. You are doing 130 reps per body part per session.

Not that I necessarily completely agree with CW’s suggestions in all cases, but if that is why you are structuring your workouts the way you are, you are way overshooting the mark and are likely overtraining your chest (which would explain why it isn’t growing).

Personally I’d suggest dropping the super high volume, M&F like chest workouts and just focus on building up your strength on a few key exercises. Or, heck I’d honestly suggest just doing a basic 5x5 program, WS4SB or “Starting Strength”. Any basic program where the focus is on building a solid base of strength, progression, and the basic movements.

13

You shouldn’t have bad posture if your back and shoulders are larger in proportion to your chest. If anything, your posture should be great.

If your flies are almost the same weight as your flat bench, something is wrong. You need to start liftin much heavier if you want to make some good progress. And bring the volume down too.

14

[quote]tw0scoops2 wrote:
You shouldn’t have bad posture if your back and shoulders are larger in proportion to your chest. If anything, your posture should be great.

If your flies are almost the same weight as your flat bench, something is wrong. You need to start liftin much heavier if you want to make some good progress. And bring the volume down too.[/quote]

I had this quite badly when I started off. I imagine the problem is that his lower traps are weak in comparison with his upper traps.

15

k gotta admit that i havent read everything (skipped the last posts) but if you’re benching 35kg - in total - then i’d say you just have to eat A LOT and try to steadily increase your weight.

once you’ve gained some more kg’s you will become stronger and stronger and the result will be that your pecs will start to grow.

oh and be patient :slight_smile:

summing up - eat big → get big :slight_smile:

16

You’re doing too much, I would reduce the program to 3 exercises and 9-12 sets, focusing on bringing the loads up, squeezing the muscle and prefatigue it (start with some flyes).

17

Thnx for all the comments they are much appreciated.
it seems that i have made the mistake to think that i needed to be doing 12 exercises per session at a wolume of 25 reps a peice thus hitting all the different muscles and supposingly becoming huge.
this is obvously not the case but i hope thta with this new program i will be back on track.

i have designed a new program using the atricle thib wrote on the subject it goes like this:

goal: hypertrophy.
rest: 60-90 seconds.

Monday:Chest/Back
bench press. 10-12 reps 3-4 sets
db incline press. 8-10 reps 3-4 sets
cable cross. 8-10 reps 3-4 sets

bent over barbell row. 10-12 reps 3-4 sets
lat pull down 8-10 reps 3-4 sets
high pulley cross row 8-10 reps 3-4 sets

wensday:Biceps/triceps
standing barbell curl 10-12 reps 3-4 sets
reversed barbell curl 8-10 reps 3-4 sets
cable curl 8-10 reps 3-4 sets

close grip bench press 10-12 reps 3-4 sets
french press 8-10 reps 3-4 sets
cable pull downs. 8-10 reps 3-4 sets

thursday:quads/hams/abs
olympic back squat 10-12 reps 3-4 sets
lunge 8-10 reps 3-4 sets
leg extension 8-10 reps 3-4 sets

snatch grip deadlift 10-12 reps 3-4 sets
googmornings 8-10 reps 3-4 sets

weigthed situps ?

saturday:Anterior and lateral delts/Rear delts

military press 10-12 reps 3-4 sets
arnold press 8-10 reps 3-4 sets
lat raise 8-10 reps 3-4 sets

t bar row 10-12 reps 3-4 sets
seated rope to neck 8-10 reps 3-4 sets
low pulley cross row 8-10 reps 3-4 sets

i have chosen the exercises in the order thib perscribed. i have chosen some of the ones i have already been doing so i dont have to start over with my traning so to speak.

i you all could give me some feed back on the program it would be much appericiated.
i could also use some help with my abs routine.

18

May i ask WHY your doing 3 sets of 10 reps thats as old as well OLD.
try 10 sets of 3 for 3-4 weeks that will get your bench moving.

19

This is my OLD program the new one is the one ABOVE.
this is just to give you all some sort of idea about what i was doing before

my split was like this:

chest/Anterior, lateral, Rear delts/triceps
5 chest exercises
3 delt exercises
3 triceps exercises

back/biceps
6 back
3 biceps

leg/abs/cardio
3 legs
4 abs

all doing reps 7,6,6,6.

what positive things if any did i gain with this program?

20

Heres an ab excercise from hell:

Lie down on bench with a dumbell like your doing a db chest press BUT use only ONE hand.
Your body has to take up the slack.