chest question

[RyDawg88]

Hey, my names ryan, im pretty new to this board. I was wondering if on my chest day i should lift incline, flat and decline, or each week switch from incline and flat, to decline and flat? I also heard that ur not supposed to do more than 9 sets for each muscle or ur overtraining, is this true? cuz i feel like im not doing enough if i only do 9 sets. Thanx guys

Ryan

[zillamonster]

I like to mix my routine sometimes, takes some of the boredom out of it. I personally only do 3 to 4 sets of any exercise, start with a lighter weight warmup and them go for the big stuff. I generally do 3-4 sets of 10-12 execises,depending on what muscle group I am working on. We are all a little different, so do what works for you.

Zilla

[BigMike J]

I do all three 12 sets total, and i have had great results ,overtraining depends on the person, what works for one my not work for the other so find out what works for you.

I never do less then 12 sets on any muscle, just switch the variations.

Here is my chest routine

2 sets 20 pushups(warmup)

Flat bench 3x10-12
decline bench 3x10-12
Medium high inlcline 3x10-12

Peckdeck 2x10
incline flys 2x10

I rescently switched my chest routine up because after 1.5 yrs of the same old routine i got bored.

hope this helps

Peace out

[BIG TEXAN]

My chest workout rotates every week as follows
Week A
Falt bench 2 warm up sets of 15 4 sets of 8,8,6,4
Incline bench 4 sets of 6-8 reps
decline bench 4 sets of 6-8 reps
cable cross-overs 4 sets of 8
pec deck 3 sets of 8-12 reps

Week B
flat dumbell press
2 warm up sets of 15 reps 4 sets of 8,8,6,4
incline dumbell press 4 sets of 6-8 reps
decline dumbell press 4 sets of 6-8 reps
cable crossovers 4 sets of 8
pec deck 3 sets of 8-12 reps

It doesn't seem like much of a change but I've noticed a difference.

[Yung Wun]

well welcome to the board brotha

overtraining depends on the person not everyone will overtrain on any given number set,varies person to person.workout based on how u feel.
i think it a wise idea to switch them up
i'm assuming you wanna add size
try not to follow the same workout everytime you hit the weights
remember you have to keep the muscle guessing and not grow a tolerance to the same old thing. so whatever you decide to do just make sure you change the exercises or order.bottom line just keep those muscle guessing every workout

[RyDawg88]

THanx guys, ur all a great help, this board is great.

[xhybridx]

yeah same here my chest routine might seem alot for some. but on flat and decline i do 4 sets up, prolly 12,10,10/8, then max at like 4-5 then 3 more sets down at 8, 10, 10 . helped to increase strength alot! lately ive been hitting the cables at 3 diff angles too. 4 decline 4 straight and then 4 incline

[TheGame826]

i do flat bench first, then i do incline, then i goto decline but i decline i do close grip for the tri's, burns like a mother every time. my bench usualy goes up about 5 or 10 pounds a week.

[Cubber]

I haven't been lifting for that long, but to my understanding, the chest is a simple muscle system. Therefore I do only 3 exercises (eg. flat bench, elevated bench, peck deck), 3 to 4 sets of heavy weight so that I only get 6 or 7 reps. Change the order or exercises around every couple of months.

On the other hand, the back is a much more complex muscle system and needs more exercises than the chest.

Perhaps someone can dispute or confirm my beliefs?