Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

Chest Workouts

2K views 31 replies 12 participants last post by  tyvanwie 
#1 ·
What are the gym rats of JF doing for chest workouts? I am just getting back into the gym, so I am a bit of a noob I suppose. Im trying a few different workouts to see what I likr best. I did chest last night as follows.

Ran a mile to get my heart rate up.

Dumbell press:
Two light sets of ten for warm up
Then kind of a pyramid...10, 10, 8, 8, 6 increasing weight as I go.
Down to medium weight for five sets of ten.

Inclined bench(bar)
Five sets of ten increasing weight for each set

Machine fly/pushup supersets burnout
5 sets of 12

Thanks for the help guys.
 
#3 ·
The flat bench press is still king. Go heavy with a spotter 4 sets of 6-8 reps. I get good results from the dumb bell press as well because allows me to lower the weight even further. Incline dumb bell presses are a good to include to round things off. What ever you do, EAT. Diet is easily as important as the work out. This cannot be over emphasized. I know guys that work out like mad men and can lift heavy but never really gain size because their diet is lacking. Nutrition is huge and should not be ignored.
 
#4 ·
Try reverse grip on a flat bench to really get full recruitment of your upper chest.

A hex press is also good to target your inner pecs.

Mix up your presses and flyes every few weeks.

I usually end it on the pec deck. 4-5 sets increasing weight to super heavy still high rep. Then on the last set do a drop set taking your pecs past failure.

Remember: train harder, you'll pass out before you die.
 
#5 ·
EugeneTheTJ said:
Try reverse grip on a flat bench to really get full recruitment of your upper chest.

A hex press is also good to target your inner pecs.

Mix up your presses and flyes every few weeks.

I usually end it on the pec deck. 4-5 sets increasing weight to super heavy still high rep. Then on the last set do a drop set taking your pecs past failure.

Remember: train harder, you'll pass out before you die.
excellent idea on the reverse grip. I gotta rotate this in on my next chest day.
 
#6 ·
Flat bench is always one of my favorites, cable fly's I like for a finishing exercise. I'm a big fan of reverse grip as well, but I'd recommend waiting until you've been in the gym a while longer. They work really well to bust through stagnant periods and can really crank on a well used chest. But they're also easy to do wrong and hurt yourself, not a newbie friendly exercise imo.

I've never been a fan of pyramids or anything like that, I just like to lift and I like going heavy. My usual workup is the 2 week 3 set complete. That is whatever your working weight is stays where it is until you can do 3 full sets 2 weeks in a row. If you end up failing on the last rep on the 2nd week, you start over again the next. And when you do fail immediately strip 10 off each side and try to finish the set. If you fail again, strip another 10. In any event you always finish the sets and your chest will be screaming by the end.

Once you can go 3 full sets (8 or 10 reps your choice) for 2 weeks running, add 10lbs to each side and start again. That 20 pounds will affect you a lot more than you think it will.

I use that method and have for years, it keeps things moving forward without going stagnant. At me peak I ended doing full sets at over 300lbs. Not bad for a 160lb guy. I determined this was about the max my structure could do without causing some joint/bone issues.
 
#8 ·
As a side note, when you're working do the work. Don't be one of those *******es that has a 10,000lb max, but only moves the bar 1/4" and counts it. As a gym guy I'd rather see you do good reps at 100lbs than see you being a tard at 500lbs. Ego doesn't help you get weight off your chest, suck it up and work to the big weights.
 
#11 ·
I do all 3 benches starting with flat. Warm up with 135lbs. Then I do a set of 225lbs, go up to 245lbs, then a set dedicated to a heavy weight. I then drop set. I do decline nxt starting with 225lbs and go up on weight doing less reps. Then I do incline with the same principle. Then I get some flys in usually 4 sets with either cables or dumbells. The workout works for me.
 
#17 ·
I work mid-nights, so early morning workouts are a thing of the past. Currently, I do cardio when I wake up (2pm) then hit the weights (7pm) before I head into work. It works fine, Having a hard time keeping the fat off though, pretty sure it has some thing to do with my work/sleep pattern.
 
#18 ·
My workouts were pretty simple for a while, all focused on strength rather than mass.

Bench
Dead lift
Squats
Power cleans
Bicep curls

Did my entire workout with the same bar, worked pretty well. I ended up gaining a lot of mass, which was nice, but not what I was shooting for.
 
#26 ·
There is nothing that feels better than after punishing your chest than to lay on a flat bench and doing light weight flys to stretch everything out good. I get the same feeling on the cables by just grabbing the handles and leaning forward not moving the stack. Maybe just me but have your chest muscles are full of blood and so tight that you can't put your arms together in front of you it just feels good to stretch them out.
 
#28 ·
Epic fail of a lift session today. Today was a heavy day and I was pathetic. Tried to bench 290 and that wasn't happening. Last wk it was fine. It may have a lot to due with running off of 5hrs of sleep I got last night and 4hrs the day before.
 
#32 ·
Kodiak17 said:
I have to agree with the comments on pushing yourself to complete failure... I seem to gain a lot more from doing that. Usually with a good spotter of course :)
X2. Even if you reach failure, have your spotter help you press then you slowly control the negative for a couple reps. It will destroy whatever's left. The negative is where most of the gains are.

Sent from my iForum using JeepPhone
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top