Core Lifts

xtremetris · 31-Oct-07, 03:54 PM

So you guys are saying i can get a big upper body and lower body by doing these three exercises..

Bench press 4 sets of 12-10-8-6

Rows 4 sets of 12-10-8-6

Squats 4 sets of 12-10-8-6

(Of course not all in one day but you get what i mean)

Along with consuming my body weight in protein a day, i bought GNC protein shakes so that helps.

Along with those shake sim consuming 196g a day lol

**Todd** · 31-Oct-07, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xtremetris

So you guys are saying i can get a big upper body and lower body by doing these three exercises..

Bench press 4 sets of 12-10-8-6

Rows 4 sets of 12-10-8-6

Squats 4 sets of 12-10-8-6

(Of course not all in one day but you get what i mean)

Along with consuming my body weight in protein a day, i bought GNC protein shakes so that helps.

Along with those shake sim consuming 196g a day lol

Yah, you will definitely see gains by doing those 3 exercises...but you should also throw in something direct for shoulders, calves, triceps and biceps...

You have to also realize that in order to get COMPLETE development for each of those muscle groups...other exercises may be needed.

For instance...bench press is great on it's own...but if you find your upper pecs are lagging behind the rest of your pectoral complex, then you should add in an incline press.

Likewise for back...rows are great on their own, but they may not hit ALL of the muscles within the back complex...ie: traps, lower back...and therefore dead lifts, shrugs, etc may be a great addition to an already excellent exercise.

See what I mean?

Those core exercises you stated should be the CORE of your workouts...but you may also need a few other exercises to ensure all parts of the muscle complex gets developed thoroughly.

Hope that helps ya some.

xtremetris · 31-Oct-07, 04:17 PM

I got it. but my main question is

Will 4 sets of 12-10-8-6 Bench Press be enough for the chest? or do i HAVE to throw Dumbell Press in.. etc..

**Todd** · 31-Oct-07, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xtremetris

I got it. but my main question is

Will 4 sets of 12-10-8-6 Bench Press be enough for the chest? or do i HAVE to throw Dumbell Press in.. etc..

Well, I will tell you this...doing barbell presses and d-bell presses in the same workout is sorta redundant if you ask me...I would choose one or the other, stick with that for awhile, and then maybe switch things up down the road.

For instance...my current chest routine looks like this...

Barbell Flat Bench Press - 3 sets after warm-ups

Incline Barbell Press - 3 sets

Weighted Dips - 2 sets

1 or 2 months from now, I may switch things up and do the following for chest...

Incline D-bell press - 3 sets

Vertical Cable Press - 3 sets

Weighted Dips - 2 sets

Hope that gives you an idea...

xtremetris · 31-Oct-07, 04:43 PM

Yeah i understand about switching things up but like i mean will 4 sets of Bench press alone until i need to change it up be enough for my chest to grow lol :P

F_Mac · 31-Oct-07, 04:54 PM

I think it's safe to say (and i'm sure Todd will likely agree) that for someone at your level you need to focus on just getting stronger, the size will follow.

When you get to be a huge freak like Todd you can worry about evening out certain body parts.

So yes..........center your workouts around those exercises. You could also throw in deadlifts and standing military press as well.

xtremetris · 31-Oct-07, 04:55 PM

Im more for size than strength anyday, id rather look like i can bench 300 then actually do it, Benching 300 is usless nothing impressive to me all strength training does is get you damaged which is what happened to me, thats how i strained my neck and couldnt bench deadlift or row for like 3 months and now im back into it and i dont want to mess anything up. I want size!

F_Mac · 31-Oct-07, 05:05 PM

For size with no strength look up Synthol.

If you want size that is actually real muscle and not just a bunch of sarcoplasmic goo caused by nutrient loading and intracellular fluid then you need to strength train.

If you managed to injure yourself at your level you were obviously doing something wrong.

xtremetris · 31-Oct-07, 05:06 PM

I had a sh*tty spot thank you and i dont think theres anythign wrong with doing 8-10 reps, thats what builds size... not strength very well.

F_Mac · 31-Oct-07, 05:17 PM

I never said you couldn't get bigger doing high reps. What I did say was that you won't get nearly the results as if you were to train for strength first. Once you actually get stronger, hypertrophy work will do a lot more for you than it will at your current stage.

Oh but I forgot........you can already pull 3x your bodyweight for reps as evidenced by that video you're going to be putting up any day now...........my bad. You are obviously plenty strong already.

I'll stop helping now

xtremetris · 31-Oct-07, 05:20 PM

Oh you guys and busting my bawls. Anyways now what reps do yuo consider strength reps? 6-8?

**Todd** · 31-Oct-07, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by F-Mac

I think it's safe to say (and i'm sure Todd will likely agree) that for someone at your level you need to focus on just getting stronger, the size will follow.

When you get to be a huge freak like Todd you can worry about evening out certain body parts.

So yes..........center your workouts around those exercises. You could also throw in deadlifts and standing military press as well.

Yep, exactly....well put!

**Todd** · 31-Oct-07, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xtremetris

Oh you guys and busting my bawls. Anyways now what reps do yuo consider strength reps? 6-8?

If you're looking to get bigger size on you as well as up your strength, then pick a reasonable rep range...

for example:

10-12 reps..or...
8-12 reps...or...
6-10 reps... whatever..

the important thing is that you keep a workout log and record what you do each workout..as in record your weight, reps and sets for each working set for each exercise...and then try and beat those reps the next workout session.

So, for example...say you pick a rep range of 6-10 reps and you're going to do bench press.

You pick a weight that you feel you can handle well within the 6-10 rep range..so say you put up 200 lbs for 8 reps for bench press. Record that.

Then, on your next chest session, you strive to beat that 8 reps...try to get 9 or 10 reps. Say you only get 9 the next time...that is ok, because you actually did more than last time. One more rep is still good progress. So record that in your log.

Then your next chest workout comes along and you get 10 solid reps. You've just now hit the top of your rep range and it is time to put MORE weight on the bar for your next chest workout.

So, next session comes along and you put on an extra 5 pounds. That's 205 your lifting, and lets say you get 7 reps with that new weight. That's cool...just record that and you try and get 1-2 more reps with that same weight in your next workout session for chest. See how you progress??

It's little by little...but over the course of weeks, and months, you will have gained both size and strength...as long as you do everything else right (eat enough clean calories to support your efforts in the gym, get enough rest, etc).

Simple as that...now you just gotta go do it!

xtremetris · 31-Oct-07, 09:09 PM

so 6 8 or 10 reps is good for strength right?

**maverick** · 31-Oct-07, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xtremetris

Benching 300 is usless nothing impressive to me all strength training does is get you damaged which is what happened to me

Quote:

Originally Posted by xtremetris

I had a sh*tty spot thank you.

So is it fair to say that it was the poor spot and not strength training that is the cause of the "damage"? Thought so. Don't made broad, sweeping (and inaccurate) generalizations; it annoys people.