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phil
04-06-11, 6:26 pm
i went to the gym last night in hopes of getting a good chest workout in, and began my routine with a normal flat bench press. started light with the bar for a stretch and then put on a plate per side for five reps or so ... did this weight for maybe two warm up sets of five reps, and then added a quarter to each side ... well i only pressed this three times and could've possibly got another one or two but became pissed and reracked the weight ... i took about a month or so long break from going to the gym due to lack of motivation and i want to get back into it ... last time i did chest before last night was about a week to week and a half ago and i had pressed 195 x 5 x 2 which i was pretty happy with ...
when i went to the gym on a regular basis i had worked up to 225 x 4 but seemed to have plateaued or at least had really slow progression and almost no size progression ...
i left the gym last night discouraged and pissed off without even completing one exercise ... any suggestions or helpful guidance would be appreciated ... thanks everyone

prowrestler
04-06-11, 6:57 pm
1) grow a pair. if you have that little drive maybe you shouldn't be weight training

2) common sense. you take a long break off...do not expect to be as strong as you use to be

3) realise this is a long investment. slow but consistent progress will add hundreds of pounds to the bar, and less pain to your joints.

4) more warm up sets. you go from 135 to working weight right away...you are notready for that. do the empty bar for a couple sets of 20 reps to get warm. then prep your body with 4 warm up sets between 5-2 reps each. come about 85-90% to your working weight for the day. when you grab the real weight, it will not feel heavy and boost your confidence


set yourself a plan, follow it to the T and stay the course.

phil
04-06-11, 7:57 pm
thank you ... i just hate the fact i lost strength and size but it is a given. i am 5'9" and used to weigh around 205 lbs and i am sitting at about 195 lbs now after a month of neglecting to train ...

Mickey
04-06-11, 8:08 pm
you have to make yourself want it. what i do for motivation is look at the pros in magazines and get on here and read about our bros setting prs in lifts and body measurements; always makes me want to get back into the gym.

Carrnage
04-06-11, 8:40 pm
thank you ... i just hate the fact i lost strength and size but it is a given. i am 5'9" and used to weigh around 205 lbs and i am sitting at about 195 lbs now after a month of neglecting to train ...

dont worry about strength

strength will come

stop pyramiding up to your heaviest set.....do a few warm up sets, then pick a weight thats moderate, then different techniques every week, for example like this

week 1 moderate weight (for you that would be 135), do 10x10 with only 30 secs of rest between sets)
week 2 supersets and giant sets only using a moderate amount of weight
week 3 super heavy, (for you that would be 175-190) rep out to failure, rest for only 10 breaths, rep out again, rest another 10 breaths rep out again, this is called a rest pause technique AKA DC, BOSSHOG
week 4 REST for the week!! Or atleast 4-5 days straight....why? Your nervous system "may possibly" be wrecked by this time, to avoid plateaus this is key to rest!

Oh and by moderate weight, its relative, so in your "mindset" consider it as heavy ass weight, or else youl end up training with the intensity of prowrestlers 100lb girlfriend!! (hahah)

And you said you were benching 195 for 5 and 225 for 4? Thats awesome, but dont train with low reps like that every week, youl get no where, stick to a minimum of 6-10 reps, 10-20 reps works great aswell! There has been recent studies stating that 15-30 reps activate protein synthesis and release crucial hormones that relate to building muscle size. So dont be afraid to up the reps.

Dont be afraid of using 135 for your whole chest workout, yeah so the fuck what if someone looks at how much your doing, gobble up all the knowledge we are throwing at you on this forum and within a year you will be a monster in the gym and manhandling women in bed!

Oh and for motivation, like prowrestler said...GROW A PAIR!!! and stop looking around the gym what everyone else is doing, that will ruin your mental focus aka "tunnal vision", and watch Zhasni Bodybuilding motivational videos on youtube before and after every workout!

Jay
04-07-11, 3:41 am
Its not about the numbers.. Its about the progression. You shouldnt have left and quit. You had a long lay off and you just need to take the time to get back into it. Develop a routine. Work on nutrition. Supplement if needed. Be persistant, constant, and dont give up. I dont go to the gym for anyone else but myself, or the amount of weight I can lift to impress people there. Your not going to press 225 tommorrow. But if you are patient and train like you want it, you will get it.........

zubda345
04-07-11, 7:44 am
2) common sense. you take a long break off...do not expect to be as strong as you use to be.

Totally agreed!! Whenever u take a long rest u lose strength!!

Aggression
04-07-11, 8:05 am
1) grow a pair. if you have that little drive maybe you shouldn't be weight training

2) common sense. you take a long break off...do not expect to be as strong as you use to be

3) realize this is a long investment. slow but consistent progress will add hundreds of pounds to the bar, and less pain to your joints.

4) more warm up sets. you go from 135 to working weight right away...you are notready for that. do the empty bar for a couple sets of 20 reps to get warm. then prep your body with 4 warm up sets between 5-2 reps each. come about 85-90% to your working weight for the day. when you grab the real weight, it will not feel heavy and boost your confidence


set yourself a plan, follow it to the T and stay the course.

Bingo. I agree, 100%.

BoneSaw
04-12-11, 5:53 am
phil, dont sweat it, you will be right back to where you were. muscle memory is an amazing thing. You just gotta push through it when you come back, not just get discouraged. not being able to do what you could have previously should have motivated you to do more, not discourage you, and waste a whole night of possible training. suck it up, get back in there and prove it to yourself, and if not bust your ass until you can get it, or even more. if everyone quit when they had a set back or hit a plateau there would be a world full of skinny ass motherfuckers walking around.