DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Workout Advice Needed

Oh and by the way...his triceps should be sore! He's been doing it wrong now he's gotta pay the price!

And remember this is the guy who's favorite exercise is skull crushers so my triceps are not the weak point in my bench.

And that reminds me to Gone...start doing skull crushers if you're not already doing them. It'll help your bench tremendously...especially driving through the sticking point just off your chest.

JC.

Just my opinion.....

1. I work out but I don't go 6 days a week. I give my body more than one day to recover. And if you are coupling cardio with weight training, one day of rest isn't enough in my opinion. Some people do recommend taking a week off after about a couple months of regimented training. It makes sense and gives your body a vacation so to speak.

2. Everybody plateaus. I think the timing varies. Usually it can happen after someone loses a bunch of weight at first, expects the trends to continue, and then it stops--> whether with strength gain or weight loss. But keep on it.

3. Not sure exactly your workout regimen, but try switching up the workouts you do- both in exercise type, amount of sets/repetitions, and weight. Muscle memory can lead to plateauing. Switch it up. Shock your muscles with something it's never had before. Let your muscles/body get sore again. For example if you are doing bicep curls- 3 sets/10 reps @ 45lbs, try 6 set/20 reps @ 30lbs. I think sometimes if someone increases strength a bunch, they don't want to be seen downgrading to another weight at the gym with people watching. But in the end, its a smart thing to do. I'm not sure if you do this type of weight training, but I'm sure you get the gist.

In terms of food:

1. Make sure you eat b-fast. Get the metabolism going early. One of the most underrated meals of the day. Make it a good one.

2. Eat more, smaller meals. (It's very cliche...but stick to it.) Personally, I don't concern myself all that much w/ caloric intake. More or less focus on limited carbs, bad fat; increase protein after working out. My rule of thumb, when my stomach is growling, there is nothing wrong with putting something little in it...your system will remain active and that's important.

3. This one is kinda funny-- someone once told me if you eat really well, try eating a large pizza once a month to shock the body. Then go back to normal eating habits. I never have subscribed to this but it kinda goes in line with the muscle memory thing. Apparently "The Rock" does this. He's rather in shape.

4. Alcohol is the biggest deterrent to achieving the results people want. It's a part of life for a lot of people but can slow down results no matter how much someone works out.

But you mentioned your 47, and as you get older, hormone production is not as prevalent as it once was. They played a part as they broke down fat, helped create muscle and participated in your recovery after working out. Some people to take supplements to increase that production if so compelled. I am not as against stuff like that as others may be, but you need to be careful to what is out there. Most of it is BS.

I'm nearly 32 and I've noticed my regular approach in my lifestyle and workout regimen needs to be altered some. I'm not in my 20s anymore, unfortunately.

Wow from the looks of that video, I made myself look like a fool, lol. I literally had my elbows to my side. Well, I'm gone try really light tomorrow and see what come of it.

There are a lot of methods that are ultimately ok. My friend swears by getting his feet completely off the floor, legs bent but hips, thighs perpendicular to his body. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

I'm just saying for a guy lifting one plate I don't think he should be driving up through his hips on the lift. He should be properly anchored. Rigidly anchored but I don't want to see him driving through the hips, lifting his back off the bench and lifting like an idiot.

Gone...I don't want to overcorrect you. I saw the video and that guy is within the acceptable range with his elbows although I'd say he's approaching the outer edge in the corrected part. I bring my elbows in more than that. But I keep them at about 30 degrees and about three inches off my chest on both sides.

I wish I was there in the gym with you it'd be a whole lot easier than writing it all out like this lol.

Even if you had them tucked completely into your chest you didn't make yourself look like an idiot. You probably just hit areas more like a close grip bench press hitting your triceps harder and the interior pecs harder.

I did 5-6 sets of 10 with 65 pounds. I adjusted my grip and now it feels comfortable. Yall mentioned about you shouldn't go straight up and down which I been doing so I changed it and definitely feel the difference.

That's great!

Bench press is one of the most fun exercises because it's possible to move up in weight pretty fast with correct technique.

By the way the best way to check yourself on an exercise is to go down to 70% of your normal and do a 100 reps in immediate succession. Keep doing reps in sets of the same exercise until you've done a 100 reps. And then the next day and especially the day after that where are you sore? That was one of Arnold's favorite techniques.

Lastly...I subscribed to Muscle & Fitness for 10 years or so and learned much of what I know from that magazine. Might be worth considering a subscription.

And my favorite book...the bible on lifting in my mind...The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Amazon Link

It is my go to source for all my weight lifting needs.

Good luck on your journey!

Here's my chest workout if you're interested.

Bench Press
15x135...followed by a shoulder and pec stretch.
10x185
10x205
7or8x225

Incline Bench
3x10x155

Decline Bench
3x10x185

Pec Dec
3x10x185

Low Cable Chest Flys
3x15x40 - really strict concentration on pec with light weight

Plate Presses
3x12x10lb plate - with palms open to each other press a 10lb plate as hard as you can and extend it from your pecs until your arms are straight in front of you. This is compounded with 20 pushups immediately after each set. You get a real good feeling of proprioception with this exercise.

Bench Press - 21s (see above post of mine in this thread on 21s)
3x21(7x7x7)x135 - The finisher. You should be looking like an idiot who couldn't lift 100lbs let alone 135 at the very end of the 3rd set.

And there it is. That's my favorite chest routine.