Optimum Sets For Chest

[JoeBrooklyn]

What is the optimum sets for chest if you want mass?
When I was 15 I used to do 20 sets, then came down and did only 16, now I do 12. I have always had a problem building up my chest.

 

[NYiron]

No one can really say with 100% certainty you need to play around with sets/reps/exercises/form and all other variables including nutrition to find what works best for you. Then once you find that combination you stick with it consistency is key but not repetition or monotony. Small modifications to your program as necessary will keep gains moving forward but essentially there is no end all be all set range, rep range, rest period, exercise, form, diet, etc that will yield the best gains. What works for me wont necessarily work for you or the next guy. There are too many variables within the human body including but not limited to fiber type and density, origin/insertion points of muscles, length of limbs, susceptibility to injury, hormone levels and responses to different styles of training, etc. So try things and find what works because no one can answer your question we can only speculate what may work.

 

[hugry4more]

I have same problem with a slow growing chest. Till I really gave flies a shot. Three sets decline 4 sets incline. There growing now like never before. I do DB breast flat, then incline the in to flies. This simple workout is doing wonders. Give it a shot for couple weeks.

 

[hugry4more]

Oh yea I always try to get a bamboo rod or something like it and stretch with it in between sets to create some space in there!

 

[JoeBrooklyn]

Thank you. I have tried everything I can think of. I even tried doing half reps. Now I am working out with a friend and he does 22 sets, 4 sets of flat bench, 4 sets of incline bench, 4 sets of decline dumbell, 4 sets of incline flies and 5 sets of pec deck. I have always done a rep range of 6-10 reps if I was doing a mass routine and 2-6 reps if I was doing a power routine. He incorporates both in the same work out usually doing between 2-12 reps. I did one chest work out with him. I am going to do 3 more to see if it works.

 

[JoeBrooklyn]

hungry4more
Do you do the flies first?

 

[hugry4more]

Well that seems like over kill to be honest. If you don't have a well developed chest your just spinning the hamerster wheel going no where.

The only other simple piece of advice I can give u is you gotta eat to grow. Don't expect to develope mass any where with out your diet locked down. Also you may be like me n my brothers we all just genetically have smaller chests. You may just have to come to terms with that. That doesn't mean you can't have a decent chest it just means proportionally you prob have bigger shoulders arms ect. Just work with what ya got man.

 

[hugry4more]

hungry4more
Do you do the flies first?

NA I do warm ups 4 sets DB flat, then DB incline, then decline DB fly, then incline fly.

4 sets for pressing movements 3 sets for flies. So times I finish it off with a drop set on a machine or push ups if I feel like it..

 

[asooneyeonig]

i remember reading an interview on t-nation.com years ago with charles poliquin. one of the questions was how many sets and reps to build mass. he asnwered that it was a trick question. ill see if i can explain this as simple as he did.

80% of intensity is a good point to build mass. for a new person that has never or hardly ever lifted this could mean they can do 10 reps. and it could be said that 3 sets, or 30 total reps could induce the stimulus for mass.

over the years as the muscle fibers grow and get stronger the reps one can do can change. they may actually go down. for example the same person may only be able to do 3 reps at 80%. say it still takes 30 total reps to stimulate growth at that level it would then take 10 sets.

so to answer how many sets depends on a few variables: training age and work capacity. and it is not so easy to say. what is important is staying in a range that is optimal for growth, eating and sleeping well enough and you will grow. and this will change over time. the good thing is that this shows that at some point everything will work. so have fun working out, push yourself hard enough, eat hard enough, and sleep hard enough and you it will be enough to grow.

 

[Rodja]

There is no optimum. Everything is individualized and based upon goals, experience, training threshold, intensity, etc.

 

[Colbicide]

There is no optimum. Everything is individualized and based upon goals, experience, training threshold, intensity, etc.

I agree 100%. I've been lifting for about 20 years now. Until recently I was doing over 20 sets for chest which has always been my slowest growing bodypart. Within the last 6 months I now shoot for about 14 sets and I've seen some great gains. What helped was that I realized that I needed to train my tri's much harder than I had been doing. I added close grip benchpress to my arm routine. After about 3 weeks of using cgbp's, the weight I was training with for chest increased dramatically and now my chest is growing in ways I've never experienced due to the added weight for incline/flat/and decline presses.

Don't be afraid to try something new or add/subract from your routine. I know it's definitely helped me.

 

[Doss]

I used to do a lot of volume for chest (12-15 sets) but recently I've been trying to up intensity and keep sets below 10 per workout and it's been working for me. Just try and go as heavy as you can!

 

[3clipseGT]

Why not vary it?

For 3 weeks do 9 sets or so, 3 weeks later do 12 then 3 weeks 15 and then back down or a variation of that. This way you hit all aspects of low and high sets.

 

[jumpshot903]

Why not vary it?

For 3 weeks do 9 sets or so, 3 weeks later do 12 then 3 weeks 15 and then back down or a variation of that. This way you hit all aspects of low and high sets.

^This I like to vary my rep scheme a lot, Lately i've been doing a modified version of this

http://www.simplyshredded.com/mega-feature-layne-norton-training-series-full-powerhypertrophy-routine-updated-2011.html

With the early part of the week focusing on power, and then later in the week hypertrophy my results with this have been tremendous. But in a general sense the best way for development is progressive overload just go to failure, and up the weight or reps each week and you'll surely see results.

 

[niZmo]

Pushups? Dips?

 

[VS91588]

I workout each bodypart once a week so I train pretty high volume. On average I'll do about 20 sets for chest. I believe that sometimes you need to shock your muscles. Sometimes I'll add 1 more exercise or I'll rest shorter and do more sets. Keep the muscles guessing. I always do about 4-5 sets for the basic lifts of incline and flat bench and than I'll play around with the sets of dips or fly movements or I'll add a machine press. Have fun with it or else you will get bored.

 

[FitnessXtrm]

I too have the chest as my slowest growing muscle. I've been on a routine now that takes me to about 16-20 sets for chest in which I go to failure every set (around 8-10 reps). It has worked wonders for me. However as was said, it's highly individualized. I expect to plateau eventually and will switch up the routine at that point. The key IMO is to keep going hard and switch it up!

 

[foxpharma]

Long time ago chest was my weak spot. I hit them twice a week, one light day with more reps and one heavy day with low reps. Works incredible good. All other body parts like normal, once week.