Vitamin Shoppe has em for like 5 bucks around my parts
Essential Random Gym Thoughts Revisited...
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Vitamin Shoppe has em for like 5 bucks around my parts
Anyone ever have any experience with hitting a particular bodypart several times a week to jumpstart progress?
My chest is lagging behind my back and legs....going to try and do it 3x a week for about 6 weeks. 2 traditional days + a hypertrophy day.
My chest is lagging behind my back and legs....going to try and do it 3x a week for about 6 weeks. 2 traditional days + a hypertrophy day.
Adam3000
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Anyone ever have any experience with hitting a particular bodypart several times a week to jumpstart progress?
My chest is lagging behind my back and legs....going to try and do it 3x a week for about 6 weeks. 2 traditional days + a hypertrophy day.
Lagging chest is an issue for me as well as for many others I'm sure. Genetics seem to play a huge role in speed of chest growth, because I know I do everything "right." The issue is time. Many of us have spent years accidentally working our back and shoulders with everyday manual labor tasks, so they have progressed quicker than our chest which spent that same time period mostly dormant.
In terms of your plan, I personally am a believer in low volume, high frequency for natural lifters because that seems to be supported by science. BUT....I'm not sure that keeping your routine the same and just adding another chest day is the correct answer. I would lean towards the idea of reducing the volume of everything else down to pure maintenance mode. Maybe for legs just a 5x5 squat at a fixed weight with no progressive overload along with some calf work. Maybe for back just a 5x5 pullup and a 5x5 row with no progressive overload, with some bicep work.
Then, do your 2 or 3 days of chest at reasonable volumes (30-60 reps for 3 days, 30-100 reps for 2 days). Keep nutrition on point. And wait.....then keep waiting....then wait some more
This approach might suck, knowing that you aren't improving your back and legs any more. But if you want proportion and symmetry, you are going to have to sacrifice somewhere.
Also, don't forget that pecs always look more proportional the lower your BF%. Once you get into single digits, which as we know is not an easy task, the lower portion of your pecs will start to pop out making them look bigger. This doesn't solve the problem of a concave upper/inner chest though, which can only be solved with overall mass. Which takes lots of time. Years if your genetics aren't really great.
Started back squat pyramid at 330, 2 reps up to 12 at 10 pound decreases.Today when I looked over and saw someone loading 3 plates in the squat rack
When I saw the quarter reps with a spotter
@Spliff thanks for the notes on pyramids. Definitely seeing improvement on bench press and squats working from 2 reps up to 12.
Front squat 220, same method
Best squat session I've ever had.
Your trunk strength is commendable if you can front squat 220
Double over hand deads today. 
405 is cake, got 6 reps before my left hand fatigued but I left some in the tank.
EDIT Just completed another set just like the above, going for two more double overhand
20 total with 405 double overhand.
405 is cake, got 6 reps before my left hand fatigued but I left some in the tank.EDIT Just completed another set just like the above, going for two more double overhand
20 total with 405 double overhand.
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Adam3000
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Got over a bench press fear yesterday
Failed on a rep with no spotter and couldn't get the bar up to the lower safety hooks. Luckily it was just 160 lbs, so I just lowered that shyt to my chest, rolled it down to my crotch, and sat up and rowed it off my legs
Some dude was a few feet away and was like
you need a spotter breh?
I'm like nah, I got this
But deep down I was more like
Failed on a rep with no spotter and couldn't get the bar up to the lower safety hooks. Luckily it was just 160 lbs, so I just lowered that shyt to my chest, rolled it down to my crotch, and sat up and rowed it off my legs
Some dude was a few feet away and was like
you need a spotter breh?I'm like nah, I got this
But deep down I was more like
Don't use the end clips when benching to failure solo. If you flop mid rep you can tilt the weights off the bar. The bar will fly, the weights will drop off loudly, people will look at you - but you will be safe.
Adam3000
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I'm making gains, started out at 95 pounds not long agoYour trunk strength is commendable if you can front squat 220
Well I never bench till failure purposefully, but irrelevant of that there is no way I'm go with no clips. There are always people walking around the benches, I'm not gonna risk the bar flying up and hitting someone in the face. The chest roll worked just fine
Sometimes shyt happens.
If nobody's come to help you - you won't hit anyone in the face.
I'm 155lb benching 200-230lb. The chest roll won't work when that fails on you. I've only needed to do it once in an empty gym.
Adam3000
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How long?
I have only been adding 5 lbs per week no matter how much more I think I can handle, and haven't missed a 5x5 set yet, but I'm worried I'm gonna start missing them as I approach 225. Did you have any setbacks and at what weight?