[Bench_All_Day]

Yesterday on the bench i warmed up and after got into my workset of 165. I got 6 reps and racked it. on the second set i used the same weight and was struggling on the third and got 4. on the last set i got 2. what should i do to increase my muscle endurance except lower the weight

[G O R T]

Originally Posted by Bench_All_Day

what should i do to increase my muscle endurance except lower the weight

NOTHING

Seriously, drop down to around 135 and do at least 8 sets with exactly one minute between racking the weight and picking it back up.

Stop when you fail to get 8 reps.

Progress in cycles:
8 sets of 8
8 sets of 9
8 sets of 10
9 sets of 10
Bump weight 10lb and start over


In 3 months you will be doing 8x8x165 and you should be bigger if you eat.

[bbdude]

yeah, u can only lower the weight and get a lot of energy from food and creatine...

[billy d]

since i dont really max out anymore thats kinda how i guage my strength now. is by what amount of weight can i press 4-5 sets of 10. the other day during my back workout i threw in 5 sets of bench presses with 10 reps of 225 on ...and it was gravyyyy :)

but to actually answer the question, i agree to drop the weight. i know a couple people in my gym who have some kind of ego issue, they just wont drop the weight and do it right. 4- reps sets with miserable form, like with shoulder presses...somehow arching their back so much i could park a buick under them.

[Bench_All_Day]

thanks for the advice...also i currently do not go to a gym and am on a push pull split and the only exercise i do is flat bb bench twice a week about 5-8 reps for 3-4 sets...is this enough work for my chest or should i increase the reps and/or sets...i am also gonna lower the weight

[bbdude]

only flat bb press?? u should do incline press and at least 1 fly exercise...
flat bb = mass construction on middle and lower pec
incline press = mass construction on upper pec
flies = definition and shaping... (no, u cant reshape a muscle)

[Bench_All_Day]

bump

[Thomas_Rivera]

It sounds like you might have just needed more energy through food. It happened to me before on a excercise, I managed to get 7 reps of a fairly heavy weight for me, and I could only get 4 for the next two sets.

Realistically if you want to do more sets at a lower weight you'll have to increase your strength.

Say I can do 5 reps of 160 pounds and I can do 12 reps of 120, what would be the point of doing lower weight with more reps? You want your body to get acustomed to using a certain weight.

[bbdude]

lack of energy could also be an explanation...

[G O R T]

Originally Posted by Thomas_Rivera

Say I can do 5 reps of 160 pounds and I can do 12 reps of 120, what would be the point of doing lower weight with more reps? You want your body to get acustomed to using a certain weight.

The weight used is not nearly as important as the total workload on the muscle is.

5 @ 160 is 800 lb.
12 @ 120 is 1440 lb.

Try to do 7-8 sets twice a week. Do this for at least a couple of months. Maintain slow strict reps.

[bbdude]

if u want to increase in size u dont want 1 rep maxes, u want 8-12 rep maxes... for some individuals also 6rep maxes.. but not under 6 normally...