Too much volume for chest?

[Snatch518]

16 sets? Is that number special or something?

I am not going to start any flames but I wonder how people come up with these training ideas. I think its from the bodybuilding mags or are they supplement catalogs disgised as magazines. By the way I benched over 400 in competition last week so I might know something about training chest, but if you want to do 16 sets go ahead but I still think that training each part 2x a week with 20+ sets for lagging parts is the way to go.

Are you on steroids? If yes, you can afford to train like that. My chest is probably one of the best developed parts on my body. Just because you can bench 400 doesn't automatically make you an expert on training chest. What works for you might not work for somebody else and you are probably genetically gifted. My gains have been pretty good. I've been puttin on a good steady 1.5-2 pounds a week.

 

[he-man]

I think everyone is different. Your training split is pretty much just like mine. I do five sets for my first chest exercise which is either flat or incline and the last three sets is the heaviest weight that i can complete 5-6 reps with then the following chest excersises are only 4 set with the last two being the heaviest weight I can move for 6 reps. My chest has responded great with this. I do either 3 or 4 tri exercises with 3 sets each. What ever you do stick to it for at least a few months and see how you respond. If it does'nt end up working out for you vary your routine until you find something that your body responds to.

 

[Vortexx]

I think that 16 sets for large bodyparts and 12 for small muscles is a nice middleground between truly HIT and high volume training for people seeking hypertrophy without using roids. doing 20+ sets works very WELL if you are chemically assisted (enhanced recoverysystem) but i feel that if you are drugfree (what is drugfree anyway now that people use creatine, pro-hormones etc?) you should do 20+ sets for a lagging bodypart for about 4 weeks shocktraining, than switch back to 16 sets.

People seeking strength rather than increase in lean bodymass are probably better off using 12 sets for larger bodyparts and 8 sets for small bodyparts.: I.E: strength workout:

8 sets biceps:
4 * 5 barbell curl
4 * 8 scott curl

12 sets chest
4 * 3 flat or incline benchpress
4 * 5 incline dumbell press
4 * 8 decline dumbell press

 

[The Shadow]

I think you should do more sets on the bigger body part since it is fresh and the smaller one is not. After you do all the chest excerrcises your tris are shot so why do the same amount of sets with them....

Agreed - that is why for the majority of the year I support a one body part per day routine

 

[Grizzly]

I think that the key problem here is that you went to failure on every set...

B True

Why do you say that? I go to failure on most every set and I have no problems.

 

[gymtime]

Why do you say that? I go to failure on most every set and I have no problems.

I think that he means you don't want to go balls-out on early sets, so that you still have some gas in the tank for that all-important last heavy set.

Snatch - I think your chest workout is fine, especially because I do the exact same one currently. As for intensity, first set should be a challenge, but not to failure. Second set s/b one or two reps before failure, last set is balls-out. I think if you go to failure every set, you don't get the most out the overall workout.

Also, for the tricep stuff, I agree with LS. Keep the smaller muscle groups to two excercises, no more than 7-8 sets. And don't do close grip bench on a chest day, you won't get much out of it. Stick to the more isolation-type excercises like extensions and skulls.

 

[wiseguy7]

Someone mentioned a routine that Arnold did I don't think anyone should be following a routine like Arnold's. Any routine that comes out of a magazine shouldn't be followed by a natural bodybuilder some of pros could stare at a set of dumbbells and grow.

 

[b fold the truth]

Why do you say that? I go to failure on most every set and I have no problems.

If I went to failure on every set that I did, I would be totally broken down. There is also a difference between not being able to get another rep and going through failure too. Too much CNS breakdown...

B True