Newbie needs help with muscles not recovering between sets.

[c5mike]

Here's the situation. Either I misunderstand some basic concepts or something is wrong with me.

Lets say I'm doing bench press (or anything else) and I'm trying to do 3 sets of 12 reps with x amount of weight. My understanding is that each set should be done to muscle failure with about 60 seconds of rest in between.

If I keep the weight the same for all three sets and do each to failure, here's what will happen.

On the first set, I'll make it through all 12 reps.
The second set, I'm only able to do about 7 reps and about 4 on the last set.

Of course, I can lower the amount of weight so that I can do 12 reps for all three sets, but then the first two sets are not done anywhere close to muscle failure.

Another item that's probably related is that I am never sore the next day, not even a tiny bit. The only times I have ever felt soreness the next day is if it's the first time I've working out for a year or so. And I plateau quickly.

Tonight I tried a experiment. I did the 3 sets of 12, but this time instead of resting about 60 seconds between sets, I rested a entire 10 minutes just to see what would happen. Doing it this way, I was able to do 12 on the first set, 12 on the second set and 11 on the last. But it would take forever to do a workout at that pace.

So any idea of what's wrong with me or what I can do?

 

[spidey]

if you want to do 3x12 then you dont train to failure, training to failuer is when you lift until you cant lift any more, youre probably using too much weight to do 3x12.

 

[Karky]

First of all, don't train to falirue. Second of all, 60 second rest is not enough for ATP restoration, you need atleast 2 minnutes for that. Although, even with two minnutes, performance will drop. If you want to use the same weight and reps for all sets, you need to find a weight you can do this with.

 

[Big_Idiot]

Also id add, do you train with anyone who can spot you, so when you cant push those last reps out they can give you that little extra help which is always good.

 

[Typhon]

Also id add, do you train with anyone who can spot you, so when you cant push those last reps out they can give you that little extra help which is always good.

Lol, then you aren't lifting the same weight anymore are you?

On top of what's already been said I'd just like to add that soreness isn't an indicator of a good workout. Trained individuals don't get soreness in the same way newbie's do.

 

[JonnyM]

When people say they are training to failure they usually mean that they intend the last rep they push out to be literally the last one they can do, with or without rest. Even then, it can be dodgy and it's all about personal choice, training to failure and only completing half a set and you won't see gains as if you had used a more manageable weight and completed the full set.

So if your point of exhaustion is pretty much after the first set, then I'd suggest changing up the weights your using. Finding the right weight is hard, but once you find it just try and increase it gently each week or so. Personally I try and aim for my last rep in the last set to be my failure point where I can't go on anymore.

Rest during exercise is important so if you haven't been giving yourself 1-2 minutes in the past, I suggest you start doing it now. I use the optimum anabolics program by jeff corwin which I've had quite a lot of success with so I vary my rest depending on the stage (progressive load stage where I'm trying to exhaust my muscles I have 1 minute rest between exercise and 2 minutes between supersets whereas other stages I might take 2 minutes rest between exercises).

Soreness the next day is something you probably will experience from time to time, it's essentially your body telling you that you've torn muscles and it's busy repairing them. Depending on your body you may not be able to stop this soreness occurring but you can sure do your best to try and limit it. Make sure you stretch before you exercise and some light stretching afterwards, and make sure you get a good post-workout shake/meal in your system 0-15 minutes after a workout and then about 45minutes to 1 hour later eat again.

If you're still feeling sore several days later then either you've reached that failure point and mistakingly pushed past it and/or your diet isn't providing you with enough protein to recover.

So change up the weights + add 1-2 minutes of rest + stretch + post-workout shake/meal and you should see some improvement!

 

[JonnyM]

Oh and forgot to add.
Someone spotting you is useless, if you need a spot, lower the weight. The only time you should be using a spotter is when you're doing negatives and you need someone to help you get the weight up so you can perform the negative.
Perform each and every rep to meticulous perfection and FULL range of movement, if you can't do that without a spot then you're lifting too big.

 

[Karky]

If you train to faliure you lift to the point where you fail a rep. If you complete all reps you have not failed, this is what is usually recommended. Lift until you can't complete more reps or until you only have about 1 more rep in you.

 

[stroutman81]

The times I train to RM failure comprises probably less than 5% of my programming.