Some days, weights feel like a lot more or less

n88tr · 03-18-2008, 01:00 AM

I got in a decent bi and chest workout today. I was able to set a new personal best with DB chest press, 2x 45 lbers, but when I tried to do Pec-Dec with my max of 170 I could only get 5 reps out of my usual 8. I looked at the machine and my settings were the same, cables were in place, etc but I don't know why it felt like I was moving 200 lbs.

Any idea why sometimes weight feels like a lot more or less on some days? I did a great warm up and was all mentally ready for my heavy sets but it was too much. I didn't back down, I got 2 more in before I lowered the weight to 130 so I could fully concentrate.

**ibanezman88** · 03-18-2008, 01:02 AM

sometimes weights feel heavier/ligher
it depends sometimes on how hard you push yourself on the exersises before

chill out. you're not going to be lifting the same weight every day.

n88tr · 03-18-2008, 01:29 AM

Yeah, I guess so, it's just a little weird is all.

It just unnerves me like how I can do seated cable rows with a V bar at the college gym I can only do a max of 100 lbs with perfect form whereas at the YMCA at home [gotta renew my membership this spring break] I can do 200 lbs on the same machine and I wish I could add on more weights like a plate or something. I hate big differences like that.

**ibanezman88** · 03-18-2008, 01:39 AM

don't get too into how much weight you're using
it's good to remember for the next time but try to feel the muscle contracting and do slow and controled reps.

**Thomas_Rivera** · 03-18-2008, 02:14 AM

If you set personal records early on during an excercises, I think you should expect other excercises afterwards to suffer somewhat.

**islander** · 03-18-2008, 04:05 AM

ya ive wondered about this too. sometimes i think other muscles around the ones im trying to work are to tired to give it the full support it needs or sometime i get super adrenaline and im so pumped i cant lifting anything i gotta go calm down for a few minutes but usally cant lift near what i should. or what really fucked me up was at my gym i jump on the tread mill and crank it up to 13 but i went to this other gym and started to crank it up and just about flew off the machine cuase it was in kilometers not miles or vise versa and only needed to be set at 7! ..mabey one your gyms plates were in pounds and the other in kilos. 2.2 pounds in a kilo so that about half..

**ZackKnight** · 03-18-2008, 06:32 AM

It's more about how well you fatigue the muscles and how hard you hit other exercises. Here's a good example. You know how you do compound movements like bench and tricep pushdowns for mass and overall size? and then how we do stuff like rope pulldowns with a slight turn to hit the lateral head of the triceps brachii for more definition? There's no way you can lift as heavy for the rope pulldowns cuz of the bench and such, but it's more about definition than size at that point. Now if you fatigued your triceps a lot before that point on bench one day and not so much the next, then your weight on the rope pulldowns will fluctuate. So don't worry about it guys and gal, you'll all be fine :)

ognickyk · 03-18-2008, 07:39 AM

well, i like to use the pec-deck to shape up my muscles rather than to make them larger, so im assuming you do the same thing as well, which means it at the end of your workout, which means your prolly just tired =D

n88tr · 03-18-2008, 09:15 AM

I didn't know the Pec-Dec was for definition.

I thought no matter what exercise with machines or free weights as long as you went heavy size would develop, but I thought with higher reps and less weightss, thats when definition happens. Just my idea, could be totally wrong.

andy rimmer · 03-18-2008, 09:52 AM

mite of been because u didnt have enough food in your system before working out, i like to get around 4-5 meals in me before training time, just a thought

Hercules_the_strongest · 03-18-2008, 10:47 AM

Its normal dude. You gave all the energy you had to complete the sets of DB bench press so its normal youre too tired to complete the Pec-Dec sets. I suggest you drink carbs in the gym because they boost you up.

**ZackKnight** · 03-18-2008, 12:09 PM

dude, if you go heavy on anything there's always a chance of size increase. and definition doesn't come from high reps with less weight, it comes from your diet most of all. I mean you could have high reps and heavy weight and do german volume training and get good definition and mass, but basically definition comes from your diet.