how many sets on the bench press? - Exercise & Fitness Message Board

Zebadee · 02-02-2007, 10:01 AM

is it better to do 7 sets of 8 reps on 40kg or 3 sets of 40kg then 2 sets of 45kg, both of which are 8 reps??

I want a really big chest and take protein as well.

Naxis · 02-02-2007, 12:10 PM

If you can do 7 sets of 8 reps each you're not lifting heavy enough. You're not really asking the right question. You should be lifting heavy enough that you can barely complete 8-10 reps and certainly not be able to do as many in the last set as you did in the first (unless you're specifically doing volume training which is typically closer to 10 sets). Also, if you're doing the 3 then 2 sets, if you can do 8 of the lower weight AND THEN 8 of the higher weight, the first sets aren't very useful. Overload is what will cause muscle growth. Really fatigue them.

missingyou · 02-02-2007, 03:23 PM

if you can do more then 6 reps easily its time to move up the weight. You should try something like 4 sets of incline then 4 sets of flat bench. Alternate which exercise you start off with(each week). Switching between barbells and dumbells every other week is a good idea as well.

For example you do 4 sets of incline barbell then 4 sets of dumbell presses(flat). Next week you do 4 sets barbell presses(flat) then 4 sets of incline dumbells.

Zebadee · 02-03-2007, 03:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naxis

If you can do 7 sets of 8 reps each you're not lifting heavy enough. You're not really asking the right question. You should be lifting heavy enough that you can barely complete 8-10 reps and certainly not be able to do as many in the last set as you did in the first (unless you're specifically doing volume training which is typically closer to 10 sets). Also, if you're doing the 3 then 2 sets, if you can do 8 of the lower weight AND THEN 8 of the higher weight, the first sets aren't very useful. Overload is what will cause muscle growth. Really fatigue them.

I see people start off at 30kg on each sides then increase slowly onto 50kg by the end of their workout, why do they do that if it's useless?

So how much do you advise me to do, I can't do more than 22.5kg on each side as I'm still under 17 and am steadily putting more on?

Naxis · 02-03-2007, 03:24 PM

Same number of reps for each set? Then I don't know why they would do that. If they do 15 reps at 30kg, then 12 reps at 35kg, 10 reps at 40kg etc, then that makes more sense. The chances of overloading are much higher. Also, without knowing exactly what they're trying to achieve it's hard to say why else they might be doing that (and for the record I see a lot of people do useless, inefficient and dangerous things in the gym).
I can't advise you on exact weight, but if you keep your reps on the low side and make sure that you're really struggling on the last reps of each set, you'll be fine.