# Training Chest....



## H U N T E R (Nov 12, 2012)

Struggling to get any mass on my chest so Ive been wondering if training it twice a week would give me any benefits? I was talking to a PT in my gym but I now no longer rely on their info due to past experiences.

On a monday I hit my chest and tris and I was looking to maybe hit my chest as a solo work out without triceps on a friday? Have sat and sunday off and then chest n tris on monday?

Anyone any ideas if this is worth while or not.


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## Gym-pig (Jun 25, 2008)

What exercises /reps/training to failure / assisted ?

Need more info !


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## jamiedilk (Jul 6, 2010)

gotta to try everything to see what is best for you. are you eating enough to gain? whats ur diet like ??


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

If you aren't training it twice a week, then you should.

If you aren't adding weight to the bar, you should.

day1

3 x 5 BB Bench or decline

4 x 8-10 DB incline

day 2

3 x 5 DB Incline or flat bench

4 x 8-10 BB decline, flat incline (different to first exercise)

If you do this adding weight each week with a good , you will get there. Chuck in some dips and flies on one of the days if it makes you feel better, but the above with do most of the work


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## hometrainer (Apr 9, 2003)

how are you training chest at the moment ? if your strugling with once a week trainig trying to the same thing twice won't work IMHO i had a hard time training my chest untill i switched from barbell to dumbells and dropped incline presses .


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## mattc1991 (Jan 2, 2012)

H U N T E R said:


> Struggling to get any mass on my chest so Ive been wondering if training it twice a week would give me any benefits? I was talking to a PT in my gym but I now no longer rely on their info due to past experiences.
> 
> On a monday I hit my chest and tris and I was looking to maybe hit my chest as a solo work out without triceps on a friday? Have sat and sunday off and then chest n tris on monday?
> 
> Anyone any ideas if this is worth while or not.


Going to take a stab in the dark, do you have big front delts and possibly big triceps


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## H U N T E R (Nov 12, 2012)

Incline DB press 3x8/10

Flat DB press 3x8/10

Flat cable flyes 3x8/10

Cable flyes from below 3x8/10

Cable flyes from above 3x8/10

Then assisted dips 3x8/10


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## H U N T E R (Nov 12, 2012)

After each week I might try add on like 2kg to my DB presses ive started training with a mate from work so might entise me to lift a bitt heavier as I have a spot


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## cudsyaj (Jul 5, 2011)

Try Monday and Thursday perhaps.

Monday do a 5x5 style (Google 5x5) and go as heavy as you can.

Thursday do 5x 10-12 and work really hard on your "pump"

So strength on Monday & pump on Thursday.


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## Smoog (Dec 29, 2012)

simonthepieman said:


> If you aren't training it twice a week, then you should.
> 
> If you aren't adding weight to the bar, you should.


and 'If you're not eating more, you should'


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## danefox (Oct 18, 2013)

Ry routine is as follows:

M Chest & Arms

T Back & Shoulders

W Legs

Th Chest & Arms

F Back & Shoulders

I usually follw this for around two months, the switch and do Back & shoulders the day before Chest and Arms. Genetically, I have good legs, so I can get by with training them only once per week.

I figured with the above routine, I have at least two days of rest between body parts. I know you get some overlap on arms when doing back and shoulders, hence why I switch every two months. That way, arms are fresh for chest half the time, and fresh for back and shoulders the other half of the time.

Just switch things up for awhile, and see if it works for you. Everyone will respond differently to different training routines.


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## GolfDelta (Jan 5, 2010)

You tried pre exhausting with cable flyes,dumbell flyes,flye machine before any pressing movements?Works for me.


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## H U N T E R (Nov 12, 2012)

Smoog said:


> and 'If you're not eating more, you should'


I will try these mate.. also as for eating more I cant seem to get an appetite back like I used to have :/


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## H U N T E R (Nov 12, 2012)

GolfDelta said:


> You tried pre exhausting with cable flyes,dumbell flyes,flye machine before any pressing movements?Works for me.


As in start with cables and then move onto my DB pressing when my cheat has been worked?


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## joeyh1485 (Mar 2, 2008)

GolfDelta said:


> You tried pre exhausting with cable flyes,dumbell flyes,flye machine before any pressing movements?Works for me.


This

I'd stick to training it once a week mate, pre exhaust with strict flyers or pecdec then move on to heave decline bench (I prefer db's for this) then low incline press job done, no point in training morethan once a week trash it when your there grow when your not 

Failing that watch "a week in the dungeon" excellent video imo

Last but not least Google fst-7 I've had some luck with this also


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

If you are natty, then anything less that twice a week is ****ing in the wind


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## eezy1 (Dec 14, 2010)

patience grasshopper


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## bigchickenlover (Jul 16, 2013)

One word..................... DECA!!


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## TwoCanVanDamn (Jun 22, 2012)

simonthepieman said:


> If you are natty, then anything less that twice a week is ****ing in the wind


Terrible advice. I presume your joking?


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

TwoCanVanDamn said:


> Terrible advice. I presume your joking?


How is it terrible advice?


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## BoxerJay (Jan 11, 2011)

Throw in a set of wide pressups at the end of each set, can really help burn them out.


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## TwoCanVanDamn (Jun 22, 2012)

simonthepieman said:


> How is it terrible advice?


"if your natty, than anything less than twice a week is p1ssing in the wind".

That makes no sense. If he was on cycle than maybe I could see where you were coming from, although I would still disagree due to the fact everybody's ability to recover from workouts is different.

So if anything less than twice a week whilst natty is pointless how many times a week would you recommend training chest if he was on cycle? 3 or 4? :lol:


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

TwoCanVanDamn said:


> "if your natty, than anything less than twice a week is p1ssing in the wind".
> 
> That makes no sense. If he was on cycle than maybe I could see where you were coming from, although I would still disagree due to the fact everybody's ability to recover from workouts is different.
> 
> So if anything less than twice a week whilst natty is pointless how many times a week would you recommend training chest if he was on cycle? 3 or 4? :lol:


Errrr no. You're talking **** now.

In a natty, hypertrophy peaks within 24 hours, is mostly done in 48 hours and completely stops by 72 hours.

Where as assisted lifters have growth cycles of anything ranging from 5-10 days based on a multitude of factors. On steroid the body has a high response to the volume too. Meaning the single body part split is more useful here

High volume is rarely as rewarding as moderate volume and higher frequency in natties because of the bio mechanical make up of bodies.

Maybe you should drop your smart mouth and look into the science and facts on how the body actually works


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## G-man99 (Jul 15, 2008)

BoxerJay said:


> Throw in a set of wide pressups at the end of each set, can really help burn them out.


How is the burn going to assist in growth though??


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## Tom90 (Jan 29, 2010)

Since this thread is about growing muscles, this isn't really a digression. @simonthepieman love to hear your thoughts on Leucine and mTOR, not specifically the relationship between the two, but in general.

Also wonder if @marknorthumbria would care to chime in.

Read a few medical studies on it tonight, I think I have the gist of it, but a lot of the words don't make sense to me..


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## TwoCanVanDamn (Jun 22, 2012)

simonthepieman said:


> *Errrr no. You're talking **** now*.
> 
> In a natty, hypertrophy peaks within 24 hours, is mostly done in 48 hours and completely stops by 72 hours.
> 
> ...


Calm down son, don't go getting yourself all worked up now!

Anyway, can you explain to me how plenty of people who are natty and assisted have built very good chests training it once a week?

How many times a week do you train your chest out of interest?


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

TwoCanVanDamn said:


> Calm down son, don't go getting yourself all worked up now!
> 
> Anyway, can you explain to me how plenty of people who are natty and assisted have built very good chests training it once a week?
> 
> How many times a week do you train your chest out of interest?


I've explained the assisted part. With regards to the natties (and maybe the assisted too) would have got there faster if they were smarter


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## TwoCanVanDamn (Jun 22, 2012)

simonthepieman said:


> I've explained the assisted part. With regards to the natties (and maybe the assisted too) would have got there faster if they were smarter


How many times a week do you train each body part?

serious question


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## BoxerJay (Jan 11, 2011)

G-man99 said:


> How is the burn going to assist in growth though??


I don't mean the burn specifically, I mean cause some extra breakdown after a set of whatever chest exercise he's doing.


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

TwoCanVanDamn said:


> How many times a week do you train each body part?
> 
> serious question


Twice in 8-10 days approx. probably closer to 10 at the moment


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## TwoCanVanDamn (Jun 22, 2012)

simonthepieman said:


> Twice in 8-10 days approx. probably closer to 10 at the moment


Ok, so why aren't you massive? Have you only just switched to this method of training or something?


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

TwoCanVanDamn said:


> Ok, so why aren't you massive? Have you only just switched to this method of training or something?


I have no ambition to be massive. I kinda think I'm bigger than I want to be now


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## andyhuggins (Nov 21, 2008)

simonthepieman said:


> Errrr no. You're talking **** now.
> 
> In a natty, hypertrophy peaks within 24 hours, is mostly done in 48 hours and completely stops by 72 hours.
> 
> ...


Err from your journal mate you are using aas?


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## TwoCanVanDamn (Jun 22, 2012)

simonthepieman said:


> I have no ambition to be massive. I kinda think I'm bigger than I want to be now


Fair enough. Training each body part once a week is hardly p1ssing in the wind though.


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

I've also been natty up until very recently


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## andyhuggins (Nov 21, 2008)

So why claim you are natty?


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

TwoCanVanDamn said:


> Fair enough. Training each body part once a week is hardly p1ssing in the wind though.


Maybe ****ing in wind was hyperbole and you fairly pulled me up on it.

Twice a week is definitely better for strength and strength applied the correct way equates to size.

Whilst not ripped, all the lads at westside barbell have some decent size on them


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

andyhuggins said:


> So why claim you are natty?


Where did I claim to be natty?


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## andyhuggins (Nov 21, 2008)

simonthepieman said:


> Errrr no. You're talking **** now.
> 
> *In a natty, hypertrophy peaks within 24 hours, is mostly done in 48 hours and completely stops by 72 hours. *
> 
> ...


Here.


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## TwoCanVanDamn (Jun 22, 2012)

andyhuggins said:


> Here.


I think he meant natty's in general mate. Not himself


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

andyhuggins said:


> Here.


Hmmmmmm, are you ok there?

I make no reference to myself at all and am clearly talking about a nondescript 3rd party.


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## andyhuggins (Nov 21, 2008)

OOPS really sorry guys. I apologise, Had a bad week and things just got hold of me. If i caused any offence I apologise again.


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## ConP (Aug 18, 2013)

Yes train it 2-3 times per week.

Take your current working volume and split it over 3 workouts then go from there.

So if you currently perform 9 working sets once per week try 3 working sets 3 times per week.


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

andyhuggins said:


> OOPS really sorry guys. I apologise, Had a bad week and things just got hold of me. If i caused any offence I apologise again.


No worries.

Have a casein shake and go sleep it off :lol:

Night all


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## andyhuggins (Nov 21, 2008)

simonthepieman said:


> No worries.
> 
> Have a casein shake and go sleep it off :lol:
> 
> Night all


Thanks I will mate


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## GeordieSteve (May 23, 2010)

I'm going to stick my neck out and say lower the sets and up the intensity... say:

Flat bench, 2 x 10 reps, 1 x 6 reps

Incline bench, 2 x 10 reps, 1 x 6 reps

Dips unassisted to failure x 3

Cable flys 2 sets of 21s to burn it out


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## gavzilla (Feb 7, 2010)

Have a read of mike mentzor style training and Arnold's style of training that will help but you won't know what's best for your body till

You experiment to see what works best for you.


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## Robbie789 (Sep 6, 2012)

ConP said:


> Yes train it 2-3 times per week.
> 
> Take your current working volume and split it over 3 workouts then go from there.
> 
> So if you currently perform 9 working sets once per week try 3 working sets 3 times per week.


Do you apply this method to assisted clients you train? (Who's goal is to build mass)


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## supermancss (Dec 2, 2008)

use a bar instead of dumbells?

do slower negative reps then power on the up part.

i do light 'pump' set of 15-20 then each set 10-15 increasing in weight. Last set is 75% my max (i get around 6-8reps) then 1 more set at 50% 1rm and go for max effort.

cable flies, wide pressups, dips ( chest up not leaning over) then usually one exercise repeated again that i fancy a light weight


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## H U N T E R (Nov 12, 2012)

Thanks for the input lads it means alot. Haven't been on this recently hense no replies. I will take on board wat everyone has said and try each thing out. Only time will tell I guess. Again thanks men!!


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## Casper13 (Sep 20, 2013)

simonthepieman said:


> Twice in 8-10 days approx. probably closer to 10 at the moment


Can you explain your traininng days? do you do 3 day split? like perhaps

push, legs, pull, day off then repeat?


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

Casper13 said:


> Can you explain your traininng days? do you do 3 day split? like perhaps
> 
> push, legs, pull, day off then repeat?


Pretty much. Although I am doing a slight variation of that to focus on some weak points and train around some injuries


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## Heath (Mar 3, 2011)

danefox said:


> Ry routine is as follows:
> 
> M Chest & Arms
> 
> ...


Actually I'm a big fan of that split because it's very flexible but pinning the sessions to set days kind of defeats its main benefit IMO.


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

I think working to a 7 day cycle is one the weird OCD things that holds people back


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## Heath (Mar 3, 2011)

simonthepieman said:


> I think working to a 7 day cycle is one the weird OCD things that holds people back


Seen it lead to people missing 1 session so waiting until Monday to start over :lol:


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

The Monday bench queue on international chest day is amusing too


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## ConP (Aug 18, 2013)

robdobbie said:


> Do you apply this method to assisted clients you train? (Who's goal is to build mass)


Some times not always.


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## H U N T E R (Nov 12, 2012)

simonthepieman said:


> The Monday bench queue on international chest day is amusing too


I try my best to train chest on a Tuesday to avoid this lol


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## danefox (Oct 18, 2013)

Heath said:


> Actually I'm a big fan of that split because it's very flexible but pinning the sessions to set days kind of defeats its main benefit IMO.


I use set day, just because I workout on my lunch hour. So I only have Mon through Fri to work out.


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## theBEAST2002 (Oct 16, 2011)

Declined bench press,

Incline db press,

Incline db flies

Normal cable flies,

The biggest thing your probably over looking is try to feel the muscle working i.e. the chest. Drop the weight and try very strict form and see how that works. Powerful positive, squeeze then slow and controlled on the negitive.


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## 25081 (Nov 24, 2011)

No one has mentioned form yet! I had this problem and my chest just wasn't growing, then one day I went to the gym with a friend who noticed I wasn't going low enough when benching. I lowered the weight and then starting going deeper so the BB touched my chest. All of a sudden, my chest starts growing! I've only ever trained it once a week too:

Flat BB 5x5

Inc DB 3x8

Weighted dips 3x8

Close grip bench 3x8

Cable flyes 2x15


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## H U N T E R (Nov 12, 2012)

theBEAST2002 said:


> Declined bench press,
> 
> Incline db press,
> 
> ...


This is actually quite a good point I usually feel it in my arms and front delts where as if im training back I can actually feel my back muscles moving and working I think im goina lower the weight and slow it right dowm thanks mate


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

just realised I am going to be doing chest today and it made me think of this thread :lol:


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## k3z (Oct 17, 2007)

simonthepieman said:


> Errrr no. You're talking **** now.
> 
> In a natty, hypertrophy peaks within 24 hours, is mostly done in 48 hours and completely stops by 72 hours.
> 
> ...


So the advice to keep everything the same on cycle and off cycle isn't exactly good advice?

I trained fasted (with bcaa's) 3 times per week natural using push/pull/legs focusing the compounds 4 sets of 4-7 and isolations 3 x 10-12 and didn't really get anywhere in terms of size - strength increases week by week were very small (1 extra rep etc). If I were to change that to 3 times per week doing a full body would that have been more effective?

Likewise, im using anavar at the moment and training the same 3x per week push/pull/legs with the same rep ranges, only thing I have changed is carb intake and overall calorie intake whilst taking these tabs.

Would you now suggest a 5 day bodypart split whilst on cycle? ive never tried this method as I don't want to spend so much time in the gym - 3-4days maximum always appealed more for obvious reasons (no intentions of competing etc)


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

k3z said:


> So the advice to keep everything the same on cycle and off cycle isn't exactly good advice?
> 
> I trained fasted (with bcaa's) 3 times per week natural using push/pull/legs focusing the compounds 4 sets of 4-7 and isolations 3 x 10-12 and didn't really get anywhere in terms of size - strength increases week by week were very small (1 extra rep etc). If I were to change that to 3 times per week doing a full body would that have been more effective?
> 
> ...


So many variables at play. What are your lifting/body stats


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## Mogy (Oct 21, 2013)

simonthepieman said:


> If you are natty, then anything less that twice a week is ****ing in the wind


I'm natty, my chest gains are pretty good ATM. I train chest intensively once a week.

Jus sayin.


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

Mogy said:


> I'm natty, my chest gains are pretty good ATM. I train chest intensively once a week.
> 
> Jus sayin.


I'm sure you are.

Have you ever tried training twice a week?


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## Mogy (Oct 21, 2013)

simonthepieman said:


> I'm sure you are.
> 
> Have you ever tried training twice a week?


Your first comment sounds sarcastic? If so, feel free to look at my posts, I wouldn't be asking about 'a first cycle' just for fun now, would I  ? Always difficult to discern sarcasm online though, so no worries if I'm mistaken.

Yes, I used to train it twice a week, I got stronger but after recently switching my routine up to hitting each muscle really hard once a week I've found increased rate of strength and weight gain. Everyone is different though..


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## Gym-pig (Jun 25, 2008)

As an experiment yesterday after reading Ben Pakulski I did 20-25 rep sets of incline .

I kept constant tension with a 3 left and a 4 sec negative .

Really felt it in the chest - got so into it I forgot how many sets I did . Interestingly I found I needed a full 2 minutes to recover for the next set . Normally I leave 60 secs

Also did flyes in a similar style

Today the pecs are so sore !

I know soreness does not automatically mean growth but to me it does show a benefit in doing different rep ranges

( I was aiming for 30 reps initially but got to 25 with half my normal max for a set of 10


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

Mogy said:


> Your first comment sounds sarcastic? If so, feel free to look at my posts, I wouldn't be asking about 'a first cycle' just for fun now, would I  ? Always difficult to discern sarcasm online though, so no worries if I'm mistaken.
> 
> Yes, I used to train it twice a week, I got stronger but after recently switching my routing up to hitting each muscle really hard once a week I've found increased rate of strength and weight gain. Everyone is different though..


No sarcasm. I have no reason to doubt you aren't gaining well.

Nothing works great forever. When you are on a winner milk it dry  then find the next progression

I'm 5 weeks in to my first cycle and just had an epic chest session. Good luck with it


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## Mattye8 (Jun 21, 2011)

V bar dips weighted awesome exercise


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## k3z (Oct 17, 2007)

simonthepieman said:


> So many variables at play. What are your lifting/body stats


Bench: 95kg x 6

Squat: 120kg x 5

Deadlift: 115kg x 7

5"8

160lb

BF: couldn't say, never tested it. At a guess: 12-14%?

AVI is my most recent pic before I began anavar 2 weeks ago. Im just wanting to get the most out of my training and cycle without busting a nut 5 times per week in the gym. Granted I've never tried the "annihilate each muscle group 1 day per week" body split kind of routine, and perhaps I should.

I did once train upper/lower twice per week but found recovery wasn't fast enough and progress was slow.

Cheers


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## H U N T E R (Nov 12, 2012)

GolfDelta said:


> You tried pre exhausting with cable flyes,dumbell flyes,flye machine before any pressing movements?Works for me.


Gave this a bash for the first time yesterday morning. Done my 3 sets of flyes then my incline press flat press and dips. Can certainly feel some moderate DOMS in my chest area, I dont usually get this is my chest so maybe this is the answer. My pressing weights wer dropped to give me good rep range and pretty good form. I think im going to keep training chest this way and see if I xan progress. Maybe even a few before or after shots just to see if theres much change. Thanks mate


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

DOMS are more of an indicator of doing some thing new rather than better.

It doesn't mean it's not done good for you, but it can be misleading sometimes.


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## Gym-pig (Jun 25, 2008)

simonthepieman said:


> DOMS are more of an indicator of doing some thing new rather than better.
> 
> It doesn't mean it's not done good for you, but it can be misleading sometimes.


I think the latest research is that DOMS is irritation to the nerves . These come desensonised quickly and so future workouts which are the same may not cause DOMS .

As you say doing something new will probably cause DOMS (irritation)

It is not really therefore an indication of growth


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