DB Chest

[500BenchClub]

Hey all, im currently in my off season (Track and Field) This is my last month of lifting on my own before my coach starts to make my workouts for me. He suggested that I do 3-4x10-12 for the rest of the summer to strengthen and condition everything up. My question is...do you think it would be good to switch my barbell benching for flat and incline to DB's for the rest of the month? Or do you think I may lose too much strength? I am a clean 530lb. bench presser and I don't want to lose too much strength that I worked so hard for. Also do you reccomend working out each body part once/week or twice? I heard I should do each twice.

Thanks all

[itsallmental]

never quit the barbell bro, im not in the 500 club but im coming soon. im past 405 and i tried to go dumbell only for a month, if i remember correctly it was last year. and when i came back to the barbell **** was horrible, my muscles had adapted to dumbell only routine and my form was shakey.i had dropped from a 375 bench to a 350 bench that month.

[500BenchClub]

Ok...tell me what you think of this:

Monday - bench, incline db, 2 tricep exercises
Tuesday - squat, leg press, calf
Wednesday - Back, Biceps
Thursday - incline, db flat bench, 2 shoulder exercises
Friday - front squat, leg extension, leg curl
Saturday - back, Biceps

I am supposed to do 3-4x10-12, most likely I will go 4x10...what percentage do you think I should use for 10 reps? my max right now at the end of a workout is either 4554x3 or 500x1

Thanks much

[cokdiesl]

never quit the barbell bro, im not in the 500 club but im coming soon. im past 405 and i tried to go dumbell only for a month, if i remember correctly it was last year. and when i came back to the barbell **** was horrible, my muscles had adapted to dumbell only routine and my form was shakey.i had dropped from a 375 bench to a 350 bench that month.

wow now you're scaring me..i just got my bench up over the 300 mark and now i get reallybad elbow pains so i switched to DB'S for the next couple of weeks b/c the pain isnt as intense.. i really hope i dont lose that much strength there when i come back..the journey there was rough

[Olympic_Caliber]

never quit the barbell bro, im not in the 500 club but im coming soon. im past 405 and i tried to go dumbell only for a month, if i remember correctly it was last year. and when i came back to the barbell **** was horrible, my muscles had adapted to dumbell only routine and my form was shakey.i had dropped from a 375 bench to a 350 bench that month.

hell yea **** a dumbell, barbell is where it's at unless you can do just as much on the dumbell as on the barbell.

[Bound for Muscle]

i found that after going dumbbell bench only for about 3 months i lost ALOT of strength and also felt that my chest was not as full as it used to be

since returning to barbell i have noticed my strength increase back to the previous levels and the fullness return

[itsallmental]

ehhhhhh, i usually only work chest and tris twice a week.not back and legs, but w/e works for you bro.heres a tip though. if your trying to isolate your chest, and i find this works well for me. split your chest days to upper chest day and chest day.

on mondays you'll do flat work, and on thursdays you do upper chest work.do you do weighted dips? on mondays i dont even touch a dumbell. its more of a powerlifting routine. on thursdays though, i do incline db's.

[500BenchClub]

cool, ill try splitting upper and lower next week. U know what the percentages are for sets/reps? I am doing 4x10 and I have a 500lb max right now.

Thanks

[itsallmental]

im not good with the percentage bull**** bro, to tell you the truth. if your doing 4 sets of 10(which i havnt done in years)i would start out with something you could do for around 20 reps, then increase poundage, so that on your 4th set, your struggling with your 8th or 9th rep.

[Hypertrophy]

10 reps correlate w/ 75% of 1RM. Fatigue will become a factor. Your frequency will depend on volume. Right now your coach is advising you to do higher volume, lower intesnsity training. As you progress to a peaking point, this will be reversed. Extremely high intensity and very low volume. The higher volume training prepares your body for the more intense training in your coaches periodization.

[63190]

I was gonna say 70-75% of 1RM. I like to do 1x15@45% of 1RM, then 4x12-10@70-75%of 1RM.

[Hypertrophy]

Hey Bro, whats up w/ your T-Bar rows post?

[63190]

Hey Bro, whats up w/ your T-Bar rows post?

Which bro are you talking to, Hypertrophy?

[saboudian]

Hey all, im currently in my off season (Track and Field) This is my last month of lifting on my own before my coach starts to make my workouts for me. He suggested that I do 3-4x10-12 for the rest of the summer to strengthen and condition everything up. My question is...do you think it would be good to switch my barbell benching for flat and incline to DB's for the rest of the month? Or do you think I may lose too much strength? I am a clean 530lb. bench presser and I don't want to lose too much strength that I worked so hard for. Also do you reccomend working out each body part once/week or twice? I heard I should do each twice.

Thanks all

The fact that you have gotten your bench to 500+ with that split is very impressive. With that being said, you should be on a PLing system. Go to elitefts.com and read the articles on WSB, then read the sports specific Q&A.

[500BenchClub]

Actually, that is not the system I used all the time. I have done many different workouts over the past 3 years including training with some strongman and highland games competitors. My workouts are never the same...they change from day to day. I am thinking about trying powerlifting sometime...but right now I am focused on my throwing in college.

[saboudian]

I am thinking about trying powerlifting sometime...but right now I am focused on my throwing in college.

Thats a very interesting sentence. Your thinking seems to imply that PLing will not complement your throwing training. If your goal is to throw as far as possible, wouldn't it make sense to choose a training system whose main purpose is to make you as strong as possible, wouldn't this make you throw farther? I would strongly urge you to do some more reading, because your training philosophy is way off, at least give the sports specific q&a a run down.

[500BenchClub]

Powerlifting is for powerlifters. I don't lift to be a lifter, I lift to be a thrower. Lifting to be a thrower has apparently helped my strength because I have a raw bench max of 530 at 20 years old, without the use of drugs. I also have done 660 on the squat parallel with just a belt. Some powerlifting will apply well to throwing...like speed bench and box squats. But overall the best lifts for me are the Jerk, Clean, and Snatch, those are full body explosive exercises that are very similiar in execution to the throw. Believe it or not the bench press is not that great a deal to the release of the shot put if you know how to use your technique. But I strengthen every angle just for the extra boost it will give me. I may do powerlifting sometime in the future, but for now, I just want to throw far.

Peace

[saboudian]

Powerlifting is for powerlifters. I don't lift to be a lifter, I lift to be a thrower. Lifting to be a thrower has apparently helped my strength because I have a raw bench max of 530 at 20 years old, without the use of drugs. I also have done 660 on the squat parallel with just a belt. Some powerlifting will apply well to throwing...like speed bench and box squats. But overall the best lifts for me are the Jerk, Clean, and Snatch, those are full body explosive exercises that are very similiar in execution to the throw. Believe it or not the bench press is not that great a deal to the release of the shot put if you know how to use your technique. But I strengthen every angle just for the extra boost it will give me. I may do powerlifting sometime in the future, but for now, I just want to throw far.

Peace

Open up your mind, you're losing out. You owe to yourself to at least give that site a look, even if you don't think you will learn anything, if you stop trying, you will never learn anything again ever.

Here's an interesting quote from an article that can be equally applied to throwing.

"The other day I got off the phone with a friend of mine who coaches college football. I told him that I had recently consulted with Dave Tate about applying the Westside principles for a college football player. He asked if these ideas were applicable for athletes, since Westside is a powerlifting gym. I responded by asking him what was wrong with having explosive athletes with a strong posterior chain, setting and breaking records every week, keeping a high intensity level in the gym and competition amongst players. Training with these methods do have a carryover to athletics, especially football, as I learned during my college football career. "

"The bottom line is to ask if I thought that using the Westside Methods made me a better football player. Without a doubt I got faster, stronger and was much more confidant on the field. And when combined with a proper speed and agility program, I believe that using them can and will lead to better football players. I think there is a lot of hesitation to fully commit to such a different program. Too many times people are scared to step outside of what they think they know and take a chance. But what chance are you really taking? It is a proven program with outstanding results; so don't be scared to succeed. Quit asking "What If?" and get in the weight room. "