Tip of the day

Novitec said:
Use the the muscle youre training to move the weight don't just move the weight. If that means lifting lighter then lift lighter. Slow controlled negatives, contract the muscle then explode...EVERY REP. If you cant meet the desired rep range before cheating the weight is too heavy.

Oh and progressive overload. You want to build that is the ONLY way you'll do it. More reps or more weight or slower reps increasing TUT.

Stop flat BB pressing.
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Why would I ever stop flat bench press? Its my favourite. Lol
 
Novitec said:
Such an unnatural movement, causes injury, far better exercises to target the pecs. But if your chest is at the same level as your back looks like it is and you haven't gotten hurt then don't stop I guess lol.
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I used to get a lot of shoulder injuries that i blamed in the bench, but then I stopped all overhead presses in 2018 and havent had an issue since, and i bench in the mid 400’s sometimes twice a week. The overhead is a killer. But i was doing three plate military press, and 140 dumbbells. But indont even go light anymore. Just isolation delt movements and my shoulders look same.
I dont do much incline BB anymore though, stick to dumbbells for that lately.
 
Cheapshot said:
I stopped bringing the bar to my chest on flat bench. my arms must be long or something, but it unloads my chest and activates my rear delts that last couple inches. I prefer decline now because Im way stronger and just feels more natural.
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Im a bit different there. Declines and dips wreck my shoulders for some reason.
 
ABMonkey said:
Strongly disagree. I believe the most growth and progression happens in those failure sets. Otherwise ends up with a classic case of spinning your wheels every workout IMO.
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well the science shows that getting within 1-3 reps of failure has the same growth stimulus for hypertrophy as true failure.

Balls to the walls failure is taxing, not just for the muscle but your nervous system. Which means the next sets and exercises will suffer.

Going CLOSE to failure will allow you to perform heavier weight across more exercises with more total work or total volume.

It's usually the young guys I see that are pissing themselves trying to squeeze out another rep - yet they barely grow.
 
OldDirtyDog said:
well the science shows that getting within 1-3 reps of failure has the same growth stimulus for hypertrophy as true failure.

Balls to the walls failure is taxing, not just for the muscle but your nervous system. Which means the next sets and exercises will suffer.

Going CLOSE to failure will allow you to perform heavier weight across more exercises with more total work or total volume.

It's usually the young guys I see that are pissing themselves trying to squeeze out another rep - yet they barely grow.
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I dont know man, i look at guys like Dorian Yates and Markus Ruhl That always went beyond failure with forced reps and negatives.
But then there are guys like Jay Cutler and his sets of 12, so could go both ways.
I was in my 30’s when started, and always go all out, and i got fairy big and strong going down to triples and singles to finish, barley getting that last rep, then i look at guys that i have seen in there since I started going easier, and they look the same as they did back then.
Depends on the approach I think. If a guy goes in and does all sets of three, probably wont grow quick, but for me i pyramid up, and sometimes back down. Fail at 10, then 8 and so on. As the weight goes up the reps go down
 
OldDirtyDog said:
well the science shows that getting within 1-3 reps of failure has the same growth stimulus for hypertrophy as true failure.

Balls to the walls failure is taxing, not just for the muscle but your nervous system. Which means the next sets and exercises will suffer.

Going CLOSE to failure will allow you to perform heavier weight across more exercises with more total work or total volume.

It's usually the young guys I see that are pissing themselves trying to squeeze out another rep - yet they barely grow.
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Man science is cool and all but you show me one guy in the Olympia line up that doesn't take at least one set/one exercise to failure.

Even Meadow's whos training style is pretty much the opposite of low volume has plenty sets to failure (RPE 10) written into his programs.

Also you keep talking about "total volume"? Who cares how much volume you do? Surely the quality of your set/s & intensity you bring to those are way more important than just counting your 4 sets of 8-12.
 
ABMonkey said:
Man science is cool and all but you show me one guy in the Olympia line up that doesn't take at least one set/one exercise to failure.

Even Meadow's whos training style is pretty much the opposite of low volume has plenty sets to failure (RPE 10) written into his programs.

Also you keep talking about "total volume"? Who cares how much volume you do? Surely the quality of your set/s & intensity you bring to those are way more important than just counting your 4 sets of 8-12.
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Exactly this! Every set they do is to failure. And then add in intensifiers on top of that (rest/pause, cluster set, drop sets).

Going to failure only works if your program is designed correctly with recovery in mind!

If you’re training with intensity like this, and recovering and eating enough you will grow!

Most guys you see training to “failure” and aren’t growing clearly aren’t sleeping enough, eating enough or taking enough time off from the gym!


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As I am now in my 50's, my body simply can't tolerate bench press and overhead press as I used to. I incorporate machines much more now. Not that I exclude the bar, I am much more strategic about it.

Oddly enough my greatest development didn't come from lifting my heaviest. It came from executing the exercise absolutely perfectly. I also have stopped counting reps. It's all feel now. I pyramid up in weight or climb the ladder, but I do find that the connection is much different at higher loads.

I believe if you've trained long enough you know how your body responds. I don't get overly complicated with my routines. The only thing that really changes are the seasonal cycles I run the from a strength phase I'm running now until February. A cutting phase from February to May. Then a maintenance phase from May until October.

Notice I said strength and not a bulking phase? One big mistake I made early on was eating too much and relying on the "classic" bulking steroids. Sure I got bigger. But I didn't look better.

Of course this is all subjective and personal, but I'm trying to play for the long game.
 
ABMonkey said:
Man science is cool and all but you show me one guy in the Olympia line up that doesn't take at least one set/one exercise to failure.

Even Meadow's whos training style is pretty much the opposite of low volume has plenty sets to failure (RPE 10) written into his programs.

Also you keep talking about "total volume"? Who cares how much volume you do? Surely the quality of your set/s & intensity you bring to those are way more important than just counting your 4 sets of 8-12.
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Dorian is the goat IMO - and clearly failure and beyond worked well for him. Jay Cutler did pretty damn good with volume training though as have many others. Both ways work...

For me personally, nothing has improved strength and size more than switching to volume vs intensity.
 
If all you ever do is take 3 minute or two minute breaks between sets , switch to 30second to 1 minute breaks for a month .
Watch how sore you get and how hard your muscles get


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