stength gains???

**moush** · 11-10-2003, 10:57 AM

Well i have just started week 4 of my cycle posted below, and I am seeing strength gains.....not as much as I thought though? I definitely see a difference in size and I always feel good. I just hope my strength goes up faster than this! Let me know what I can do for my stength...esp for bench press.

**Bigboy123** · 11-10-2003, 11:07 AM

JUst lift hard, run ur as right, and watch ur diet, keep ur calorie intake high, and lift hard... THE STREGNTH WILL COME...

**arnoldwannab** · 11-10-2003, 11:18 AM

big boy nailed it

**Testify** · 11-10-2003, 11:27 AM

Lift hard - but lift heavy. For strength gains, you have to lift heavy weight. That means low reps. Use weight that you can only lift (with good form) 5-7 times. That will do the trick.

**moush** · 11-10-2003, 12:54 PM

yea thats what i do low reps heavy weight (pyramid style) and I eat clean 6 times a day

**markas214** · 11-10-2003, 01:35 PM

I don't see huge initial srength gains unless I am using dbol or anadrol to jumpstart. Don't worry they will come but may not be as dramatic as wtih orals in the first 4 weeks. Test and deca for me produce slow but quality gains.

**the hulkster** · 11-10-2003, 01:55 PM

I say fuck the bench press it is way over rated, I like to hold that 400 lb bench over my head just like everyone else but I still hate" HOW MUCH YA BENCH" it's almost funny to me. A huge percentage of guys base all their progress on bench press. I would love it if some guy came up to me and asked how much do you squat or how much can you hang clean, that is where it's at. But to help you and try to encourage you to reach your goal I would have to say stay strict, Go heavy, low reps, and work the shit our of your tri's that will make your bench go up faster than anything, Good luck, and remember don't lift for numbers just so you can feel comfortable about your bench press but lift for your own personall satisfaction. If that comes from putting up a lot of weight so be it. Have fun.

Whatcha gonna do brother............

**simplyjakked** · 11-10-2003, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by Testify

Lift hard - but lift heavy. For strength gains, you have to lift heavy weight. That means low reps. Use weight that you can only lift (with good form) 5-7 times. That will do the trick.

5-7 is low reps? anyway it kinda depends on what you want strength or power type results. if you only care what you can bench use a power lifting workout which is low reps 1-3 and a good 3-5 min rest inbetween sets. this will increase your numbers!

**PurePower** · 11-10-2003, 11:00 PM

bro the key to a big bench is triceps.....you have to work them heavy as hell......Also keep your elbows in close to your side when going down with the bar and also on the way up......I have seen people on crazy ammounts of drugs and cant lift shit(its not what kind of drugs its how you train)..........Also do not OVERTRAIN there is no way you should be going heavy every week just to impress your workout partners.......

**groverman1** · 11-11-2003, 08:31 AM

I disagree PurePower, my tri's are freakin huge, by far my best bodypart and my bench is lower than it should be for my size. Hell I can bench more on the incline than flat, now that's weird.

**arnoldwannab** · 11-11-2003, 08:42 AM

Originally Posted by groverman1

I disagree PurePower, my tri's are freakin huge, by far my best bodypart and my bench is lower than it should be for my size. Hell I can bench more on the incline than flat, now that's weird.

no thats not weird at all!!! i am the same exact way. my tries are way huge but my flat bench sucks. Incline i can put up the weight...whats up with this.

**the hulkster** · 11-11-2003, 09:56 AM

the size of your tri's doesn't necessarily mean they are strong, that could have a lot to do with genetics, etc. and the reason you may be good at incline is because you have strong shoulders and upper pecs.

Whatcha gonna do brother........

**moush** · 11-11-2003, 09:56 AM

I am the same way my incline seems to be much stronger than my flat but when you look at the weight flat takes the gold. I dont know what the deal is. By the way, i do not base my lifting on bench but i do need to improve it!! My strength gains on back, shoulders, traps, legs, bi's n tri's are just amazing, but my bench is slow for some reason??!!??

**D3m3nt3d** · 11-11-2003, 10:05 AM

point blank, my tri's are strong as hell, my bench is not. To increase your strength you can try partials, lifting approximately 110% of your usual strength but only doing half repetitions, do this for 3 weeks or so and you should see an increase in bench. For a max out I have read that you can pull down on the bar and hold for 5 seconds placing stress on your lats, after holding for 5 seconds, rest for 5 seconds then pick the weight up.

**arnoldwannab** · 11-11-2003, 12:47 PM

When I usually bench I went about shoulder width apart. After every chest workout I would only feel it in my delts and very little in my chest. A few weeks ago I put my hands further out (past the marker on the 45 lb bar) and man what a difference! I slowly bring the bar to my chest and push and for the first time i dont feel it in my shoulders, its all chest baby add some pre exhaustion before that and you're chest will be crying. try this for 3 or 4 weeks and see if your bench goes up any

**D3m3nt3d** · 11-11-2003, 12:51 PM

Originally Posted by arnoldwannab

When I usually bench I went about shoulder width apart. After every chest workout I would only feel it in my delts and very little in my chest. A few weeks ago I put my hands further out (past the marker on the 45 lb bar) and man what a difference! I slowly bring the bar to my chest and push and for the first time i dont feel it in my shoulders, its all chest baby add some pre exhaustion before that and you're chest will be crying. try this for 3 or 4 weeks and see if your bench goes up any

Pre exhaustion is also a good way to add both strength and mass to your chest...good advice

**moush** · 11-11-2003, 05:09 PM

Well i already have a wider than shoulder width grip....wut do you mean by pre exhaustion?? Wut exercises can i do to pre exhaust it?? Flyes first?

**the hulkster** · 11-11-2003, 07:17 PM

Yes fly's would be a good suggestion. Good point with the grip width that definetely plays a role on the bench press, by having a more narrow grip you are putting your frontal delts and tri's as the primary muscle in the movement, but by widening your grip you are allowing your chest do do more work and obviuosly the pecs are a much better muscle to use as the primary mover. This discussion may just be an example of neuromuscular strength, for example i know guys that are bigger than me but I can blow them out of the water in pure strength tests. Try a combination of all the theories and that would prolly be your best bet. Pre-exhaust, widen your grip(gradually), and work the tri's your chest will get bigger, your arms will get bigger and your strength should go up. Good thread fellas.

Whatcha gonna do........

**moush** · 11-11-2003, 08:58 PM

Thanks for the help guys!! Im gonna try these new methods and see if they work......ill keep u guys updated

**fitsimmons** · 11-11-2003, 10:37 PM

my first cycle i hardly gained any strength. on test prop...
But the next cycle on test ethantte my strength went up strong.

**clockworks** · 11-12-2003, 12:00 AM

i'm on week 6 of test prop + tren . i got mild strength gains. nothing like i expected. usually when steroids is mentioned, you hear stuff like "repping my old maxes". definantly not the case for me. i've gained over 15 lbs, and my body looks physically different. but i'm not getting strength gains like i expected...

-- clocky

**PurePower** · 11-12-2003, 12:25 AM

im telling you the key to a strong bench is triceps.....im a freaking world class strength athlete(powerlifting).its not how big they are either its how strong they are......You may also want to try getting a bigger arch and also let the bar drift tward your head when going up..Do not just push the bar straight up....also get a big breath of air before you go and take your time between reps and rember to get your air on every rep

**Ntpadude** · 11-12-2003, 02:27 AM

Originally Posted by clockworks

i'm on week 6 of test prop + tren . i got mild strength gains. nothing like i expected. usually when steroids is mentioned, you hear stuff like "repping my old maxes". definantly not the case for me. i've gained over 15 lbs, and my body looks physically different. but i'm not getting strength gains like i expected...

-- clocky

Yea I am not going thru weight increases like I expected.. WHen I first started cycle, I jumped up a weight for every exercise, but I have not been able to go beyond that. I however have been able to increase sets... I used to do 4 sets of 15 reps each, 15 is usually at the point of exhaustion, sometimes I cannot get the 14th or 15th rep on 4th set so I think my weights are good, but I have now expanded to 6 or 7 sets and I noticed it gave me better muscle growth response. I am now working out about 1.5 to 2 hours for each work out, without steroids its basically a no-no to workout more then an hour because you bring on catabolic effects and cortisol, well with steroids you can break the 1 hour limit and not worry about catabolizing your muscle from too much working out.

**moush** · 11-12-2003, 10:39 AM

Pure Power thanks for the advice...im gonna take that to the gym next time and see how my results differ

**clockworks** · 11-12-2003, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by Ntpadude

Yea I am not going thru weight increases like I expected.. WHen I first started cycle, I jumped up a weight for every exercise, but I have not been able to go beyond that. I however have been able to increase sets... I used to do 4 sets of 15 reps each, 15 is usually at the point of exhaustion, sometimes I cannot get the 14th or 15th rep on 4th set so I think my weights are good, but I have now expanded to 6 or 7 sets and I noticed it gave me better muscle growth response. I am now working out about 1.5 to 2 hours for each work out, without steroids its basically a no-no to workout more then an hour because you bring on catabolic effects and cortisol, well with steroids you can break the 1 hour limit and not worry about catabolizing your muscle from too much working out.

oh yeah, me too. i can do more sets also...=) forgot about that, got too wrapped up on strength gains...=/

-- clocky

**PurePower** · 11-12-2003, 03:52 PM

Originally Posted by moush

Pure Power thanks for the advice...im gonna take that to the gym next time and see how my results differ

no prob bro, if you need anything else about training pm me......but if it is about AAS ask other bros on here. There are people on here far more knowledgeable about AAS than me. But training is a different story :-)

**the hulkster** · 11-12-2003, 07:35 PM

Pushing the bar back and arching will put on about 20 lbs alone on your bench itself, it takes a while to learn how to do it right so don't expect to differ that much untill you learn. I also think breathing is very important in power lifting, I always breath out real hard when I am on my extension movement it seems to help. I think you have the map, so go find what you want. get huge and have fun brother........

Whatcha gonna do brother......

**groverman1** · 11-12-2003, 10:49 PM

Hell I'll try it PurePower but I have tried it all. I think my mid and lower pecs are genetically weak.

**clockworks** · 11-12-2003, 11:43 PM

Originally Posted by the hulkster

Pushing the bar back and arching will put on about 20 lbs alone on your bench itself, it takes a while to learn how to do it right so don't expect to differ that much untill you learn.

yeah, thats called cheating...=) it effectively turns the exercise into a different exercise...specifically called "decline bench press". its especially bad when your ass actually raises off the bench.

its the same deal when you see people doing barbell shoulder press, but their ass is like 2 feet away from the back of the chair and their back is arched further than my bitch's when she's riding me. it effectively turns the exercise into "incline bench press".

you're only cheating yourself...

-- clocky

**arnoldwannab** · 11-13-2003, 10:49 AM

its the same deal when you see people doing barbell shoulder press, but their ass is like 2 feet away from the back of the chair and their back is arched further than my bitch's when she's riding me.

**PurePower** · 11-13-2003, 06:43 PM

Originally Posted by clockworks

yeah, thats called cheating...=) it effectively turns the exercise into a different exercise...specifically called "decline bench press". its especially bad when your ass actually raises off the bench.

its the same deal when you see people doing barbell shoulder press, but their ass is like 2 feet away from the back of the chair and their back is arched further than my bitch's when she's riding me. it effectively turns the exercise into "incline bench press".

you're only cheating yourself...

-- clocky

Bro its not cheating i have a 55 inch chest(not fat) and it has been working just fine for me. If you arch your back and push the heals of your feet under your ass, the its almost impossible to lift your ass. And no it does not turn it into a different exercise, if you perform a decline bench properly the bar should be moving almost twards your feet not your head.