@@beerdrinker2001its actually beneficial to skip chest day once or twice every few months. Then when u get back at it, ur chest will think its starting a new workout again and grow more
As a former powerlifter myself I say your right..sometimes we get so caught up in super heavy weight that we don't really get the work in we need doing fewer reps..it helps with injuries also cause I'm in my 50's now so my body can't handle heavy everytime I lift anymore
In my 50's and rarely ever go less than 5 reps on anything anymore. Usually 8-12 or even 15-20 as Jay said. And it keeps me injury free. The muscles feel full and strong. That's all I need. My kids think I'm strong. And that's all that matters. 😂
@@pelaaja8097It's pretty well known in the fitness world about some of the bad exercises and advice Arnold gave. Don't know why you even said his name
@pelaaja8097 he helps us more in the modern era than any other. He contributes so much of this solid stuff. Ronnie doesn't teach us directly much. Arnold hasn't taught us in 20 yrs. Jay is the 🐐 of social media bodybuilding, which is extremely important. Dorian is also very helpful
Nice to see that high volume worked for you. I am thinking about trying this approach. Right now my max is 205 and my goal is 220. For me to hit 15-20 reps right now I would need about 135 on the bar. So should I focus a lot of my training on sets of 135?
I'd do 80% of 1 rm and do the reps and if u cant do 1 more I'd just pause until I can do another rep and repeat until I hit 20 reps dont loser the weight
The 3 to 6 rep range lifting sub maximal loads its by far the most optimal way to bream through plateaus. Adding in training techniques such as pause training, rest pause, priper accessory work to bring up weak points and accomodating resistance all help. Splitting your training into mesos also helps so maybe do a few mesos to focus on hypertrophy. Then go back to general strengrh based mesos in theb 3-6 rep range. Maybe at the peak of every general strength based meso test your 1RM before deloading. Rinse and repeat and you will keep making progress. Sure its diminishing returns but youll still progress. The problem is when you are advanced the progress comes so slow that it seems like not making any progress at all. If your 5 rep max on squats is 405lbs. It may take you like weeks or months to make that a 6 rep max. An extra rep at that level is literally adding another 405lbs of volume. This is why you have yo become more patient the more advanced you are. Train hard and train smart and remember 8-12 reps is always key
Thanks so much Jay!!! Absolutely 💯 % appreciate it cause #1 I may be at that sticking point soon after some serious gains and #2 I’ve never heard anyone else other than Arnold speak on this subject. Arnold states that he knew that whenever he went into the gym that his muscles would try to get used to whatever he gave in a workout. Arnold said that your muscle memory plays against you for your muscle gains. See it tries to get used to whatever you give it. Arnold said his muscles were like saying I know your whole game plan! I know how many reps you were going to do how many sets you were going to do on whatever exercises. I’ve got you beat , it says! Arnold so then said, fine! I’ll tell you what I’ll do! I’m going to walk into the gym and start straight right off lifting the heaviest weight and see if it’s used to that!
Periodization is key to weight training in general, no matter the discipline. Sound advice that helps move someone from a raw beginner to an intermediate
I love your advice Jay. You’ve reached the pinnacle of your sport but you don’t preach…you advise based on your experience. I always look forward to hearing your advice…please keep it coming and know that it is hugely appreciated 👍🏻😊
Exactly what I do with all exercises, about every 3rd week. Instead of going for my usual max weights, I do an intensive maximum sets workout with only 50% of the plates on the barbell or dumbells. It totally burns your muscles where you usually just would get stuck on heavier plates with no burn at all at failure. Then... take about 3-4 days rest and then go back to the 'regular' max weight sets. Woppaa... there you go: easily more weight then before! :-)
Ive been doing 15-20 for the last 6 months and i see a world of change. Every once in a while i go for like 4-6 and it surprises me how much the 15-20 translates.
Awsome advice.Right now have trouble doing heavy weight on bench from shoulder pain.So have been doing higher reps strick form .Strong believer in some days you just can't put up the weight you want, but slow down do lighter with more reps and sets you are still getting a good workout in.
This is spot on. I tried this and increased my 1 rep max by 20kg!! Going back to basics gives your muscles time to heal and strengthen. Definitely using the same recovery technique on other muscle groups in the future
Facts. I do something similar. I just work a weight til i hit nice 10reps. The. Add tiniest plates in the gym, it drops me back down to 7/8 reps. Then i woke that until i get to 10 again. Rinse repeat. People seem to be allergic to the little plates!
People tend to lift to fast and not get the time under tension. Lower what your lifting by 30% and do 3-4 sets of 12 slow reps. The pump will be undenialble. Add in a heavy lift once a week
The best way to increase your bench press is high volume push ups 500-100 every day or every other day with rest days for 3-6 months & the numbers on the bench will increase
I know theres a lot of people focused on hypertrophy here, but i tend to focus on powerlifting, so my routine is focused around lower reps, but i still keep my working weight to around 90% effort, which keeps CNS fatigue down. When im ready to hit a PR and max out, i give myself a week or two of lightening up a bit before pushing for the new weight.
Thanks bro, I do a pyramid set starting at my 1 rep max, drop the weight until I am lifting almost the bar but for a lot of repetitions and then perform bench a second time that week just performing a 5 x 8 set to failure set! Hopefully this is giving my chest sufficient volume and confusion while still testing and increasing my maximum strength!
fyi hitting chest 3 times a week is mainly for juicers which they almost never explain. If you're a natural working out 6 days a week you're just busting your balls off and will burn out. Follow Mike Mentzers protocol if you're natty. 7-10 days inbetween same muscle workouts provides huge gains as long as it is high intensity.
@noahfitness3974 I literally watch 5'3 manlets benching 315 natty at my gym. I can barely do 275 and I'm 6'1 lol. Shorter people can lift more on average because of shorter limbs/ROM. Usually tall people have good deadlifts but it's because they can make a wide base and already have more muscle. Not much you can do to cheat a squat or bench ROM and it still count. Now if you're 6'6 but built as wide as a refrigerator- then you're talking about a build that defies this rule just because of the sheer volume of muscle on the frame.
AND follow that up with 2 weeks for repping you new max: new max 2-3 times, 3 sets. If you find you can do 1 extra at any point, push it through. If you find you repoing 5-6 times, find a new max and repeat. Then go back to a lighter weight, wash, rinse and repeat.
I agree with you Mr Cutler . Back in the day I would use the 5x5 method on bench press for 4 weeks followed by 4 weeks of 6 sets of 20, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6 reps respectively and I kid you not I was able to bench press 405 in my early 20's and I only weighed around 185 lbs .
I did what Jay said when i used to lift about 6 years ago. The Bench Press was my worst lift by far. I increased my numbers by pretty much following the advice he gave here. 16 reps.
This advice is why Russian powerlifting records still hold up today. They focused more on volume than weight. Volume is always better than weight for most athletes. Weight benefits those who needs explosiveness paired with good cardio like a boxer or baseball player
