bench

[jadakris31]

2 things...
my friend, who i am stronger then has been doing all his body parts more then once a week .. like
day
1 workout #1
2 workout #2
3 off
4 workout #3
5 workout #1
6 off
7 workout #2

and so on... and his bench especially is going up quick

i do everything once a week in a 4 day split, i am getting gains but not nearly as much-- ( i have a better diet so that cant be it)
so should i just stick with what im doing or perhaps do chest more then once a week

and second i am not geetting any gains anymore with dumbell bench press. so should i just stick with barbell for a few weeks then try again or should i stick with it... right now i alternate both dumbell and barbell for both flat and incline

 

[P-funk]

How long has he been working out for?? How long have you been working out for?? Strength gains come rapidly to beginers no matter what they do.

 

[Mudge]

Is he doing 3 sets a day for bench, 5, 50, or what? I try to look at volume as a whole. HST does the body 3x a week, but you take your routine and essentially cut it in thirds, so its not any higher volume.

Here is an old thread on HST, its a good routine breaker if nothing else, IMO - check the full page1 for stuff/links.

http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9008&highlight=HST+yay+or+nay

 

[jadakris31]

im sure he works out with more sets, so i do less but more intensly so i dont overtrain,,, we've been lifting for the same time and i am stronger then him with every other muscle group, even chest but not with flat barbell bench --

 

[jadakris31]

sorry i didnt give more detail...

hes doing between 12 and 16 sets a workout for chest.. and his shoudlers and tri's are no where near as strong as mine... and even when he does lift chest he doesnt go out all out like i do... but with dumbells he can do like 15 maybe even 20lbs less then me, but when it comes to the bar bench its a different story--- just wondering if anyone has an idea why this is happening... and maybe some suggestions how to do bench better.. maybe my feet are properly placed or something?my workouts for chest shoulders and tri's are as follows

chest and tris (day 1)
4 sets of flat (dumbell or bar)
4 sets of inline (dumbell or bar (never the same))
2 sets of decline or dips or machine bench
3 sets of cable crosses

3 sets of skull crushers
3 sets of (dumbell behind head)
2 sets of pulldowns


shoulders and bis (day 4)
4 sets of shoulder press (bar or dumbells)
3 sets of lateral raises
3 sets of upright rows

 

[Mudge]

If his bench is consitently going up 10+ pounds a week, and the guy is doing crazy volume compared to you yet no intensity in the gym? I'd ask him what his cycle is costing him, hint hint. Volume itself does not make up for intensity, the body can be stubborn on or off drugs, which is why people push to get the body to budge.

But if his numbers are going up consistently and have been for months, I smell a probable user. Does he laugh at you and your progress, like he has a secret?

 

[DaDaMan1010]

i agree with mudge look at his character too!

 

[jadakris31]

i think i over exaggerated it.. hes not gaining 10 pounds a week at all.. sorry if i made it sound like that, -- lets say jun 1 he could do 155 5 times, max at like 180 ... now july 1 does 165 5 times and maxes like 200 ....

i dont really care about him and his gfains as much as my own... are there any secrets to increase your bench press or just keep on keeping on

 

[Mudge]

I was just giving an example

When I was getting more into it in high school, 5 pounds a week was normal. My freshman year I believe I benched 150 or 160 to start, so his gains are not abnormal at all.

If your eating "half decently" like you should be, you should have no problem if the routine is good. Since age reflects somewhat your natural hormone levels, I am going to guess you are both in your prime time for gains, if you eat and train "right."

The big gotcha is it takes awhile to get everything rolling smoothly with the training and diet. Make sure you aren't cutting out back movements etc too as an example, some people early on only want to do chest and biceps and leaving out other things, and bench pressing is a compound movement. My bench went up simply switching to pullups vs pulldowns.