why does this work?

sf9ersfan8

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hey guys, I have been working out for the last 3 years very consistently and have my diet in check. my problem is my chest isnt getting stronger. I've tried high reps, low reps, switching workouts to shock my chest. I've tried 18 sets to 6 sets, you get the point I've tried everything.... what i am doing now is not working chest per se at all. I have no chest day, I go out to the garage 3,4,5 times a day load a heavy weight up something i can do for 3 reps for bench press and do a set. come back a couple hours later or so and do it again, like i said prolly 4 times a day. well by the end of the week i've gone from 3 reps max to 7. dont know why. it seems to be the only thing that works for me. by the way when i was doing only 6 sets for chest I would be really really sore. sorry for the long post. any help to develop my chest or an explanation for this method would be awesome, thanx bro's.
 

ItsHectic

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Your doing a 5x5 routine splitting the sets out during the day basicly, never heard of it before but if its working continue doing it, it will give you good hyperplasia, then you can try go backto a normal routine after 2-3 months and see if you can put on some good size.

Only advice I can give you is to switch to DB bench.
 
sf9ersfan8

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I did switch to a dumbell based workout for chest for a while and i went up a couple of dumbells for a while and then I plateaued again, so i switched to barbells again and i was even weeker than befor i went to DB's. got back to where i was in a couple of weeks( i wasnt that much weeker) and then nothing again.

my personnel thoughts on why this method is working is maybe because im keeping my chest pumped all day, good blood/nutrient flow.

im probably going to keep with this weird all day 5x5 routine, are you thinking after a few months a regular routine will still keep my strength gains going?
 
Rodja

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Usually range of motion, grip width, and improper form are the culprits. Also, some peoples chest grows better from a fly motion than a press because their clavicles and chest circumference are somewhat large.
 

ItsHectic

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im probably going to keep with this weird all day 5x5 routine, are you thinking after a few months a regular routine will still keep my strength gains going?
Low reps favour hyperplasia(increase in muscle fibers) while higher rep range(8-12) favour hyperstrophy(increase in muscle cell size) more.

The theory is, if you increase the amount of fibers, when you do switch to a normal rep range you should see some good size but not neccesarily as much strength increase as 5x5.


You should look into HST training, I have a feeling you will benefit a lot from it.
 
EasyEJL

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hey guys, I have been working out for the last 3 years very consistently and have my diet in check. my problem is my chest isnt getting stronger. I've tried high reps, low reps, switching workouts to shock my chest. I've tried 18 sets to 6 sets, you get the point I've tried everything.... what i am doing now is not working chest per se at all. I have no chest day, I go out to the garage 3,4,5 times a day load a heavy weight up something i can do for 3 reps for bench press and do a set. come back a couple hours later or so and do it again, like i said prolly 4 times a day. well by the end of the week i've gone from 3 reps max to 7. dont know why. it seems to be the only thing that works for me. by the way when i was doing only 6 sets for chest I would be really really sore. sorry for the long post. any help to develop my chest or an explanation for this method would be awesome, thanx bro's.
it seems like this sort of routine

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ryanm12.htm

not sure why thats the only thing that works for you tho.
 
WannaBeHulk

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Usually range of motion, grip width, and improper form are the culprits. Also, some peoples chest grows better from a fly motion than a press because their clavicles and chest circumference are somewhat large.
^^^ couldnt have said it better myself. hey, if your new approach is working, ride it out for as long as it remains effective. unfortunately, most of us dont have the time or resources to take your approach. i do have a bench set up but i only spend about 2-3 hours at home on weekdays (aside from sleeping) and im guessing you perform your sets throughout the entire day. interestingly enough, my old roommate who was pursuing his masters in exercise science wanted to test this approach for his thesis, so there must be some madness to this method. personally, i find the greatest development for all body parts when incorporating very slow negatives (6-8 seconds). from my understanding, the eccentric part of the exercise has the greatest recruitment potential for type 2B muscle fibers.
 
GI2EG

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You're probably becoming more efficient (stronger) at the movement without much increase in size. Which, in my opinion is a very good thing.

Frequent practice leads to greater neural adaptation more-so than a lot of practice all at once infrequently.

Check out Pavel's theories on greasing the groove, they work.
 
sf9ersfan8

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I looked into the HST training, makes a lot of sense, tested and proven and all. it seems like everyone is doing a bodypart or 2 a day once a week, do you guys use the HST training a lot? I usually only train a muscle group once a week and its worked fairly well. do you think i can use HST on my chest only because it falling behind? cuz i dont have the time to keep up with what i am doing because i am not home that much usually (this weeks been a little odd ).
 
Rodja

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^^^ couldnt have said it better myself. hey, if your new approach is working, ride it out for as long as it remains effective. unfortunately, most of us dont have the time or resources to take your approach. i do have a bench set up but i only spend about 2-3 hours at home on weekdays (aside from sleeping) and im guessing you perform your sets throughout the entire day. interestingly enough, my old roommate who was pursuing his masters in exercise science wanted to test this approach for his thesis, so there must be some madness to this method. personally, i find the greatest development for all body parts when incorporating very slow negatives (6-8 seconds). from my understanding, the eccentric part of the exercise has the greatest recruitment potential for type 2B muscle fibers.
The length of the eccentric phase does not determine the amount of muscle fibers recruited, the load does. Type IIB (or Type IIX) area activated by maximal weights, but a slow eccentric stretches and tears the fibers more, which gives the body a stimulus to repair and grow.
 
sf9ersfan8

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whats weird is my triceps and especially my back are making steady gains. I was thinking maybe i should take a week or 2 off, but i had the whole month of feb. off cuz of a slightly torn ligament in my ankle. you guys think i should take a week off, i have been feeling some lethargy and lack of motivation( motivation may be due to lack of progress tho) and when i get back maybe just put my chest thru an HST style training?
 

ItsHectic

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whats weird is my triceps and especially my back are making steady gains. I was thinking maybe i should take a week or 2 off, but i had the whole month of feb. off cuz of a slightly torn ligament in my ankle. you guys think i should take a week off, i have been feeling some lethargy and lack of motivation( motivation may be due to lack of progress tho) and when i get back maybe just put my chest thru an HST style training?
If its only your pecs giving you trouble and your triceps and back are making steady gains, then just give your pecs a break and come back doing a diffrent excercise.

You might wanna try decline db press.
http://www.myfit.ca/archives/viewanarticle.asp?table=fitness&ID=28&subject=Best Exercises for Muscle Activity
 

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