Benching question.

T

Timur

0
Hi all, I’m pretty new to work out lingo, so be patient, I’m doing my best ;).

I’m 6 ft, 238 pounds and have been hitting the gym for a little bit more then a year (at least in terms of benching).

My current plan regarding the bench is doing it two days in a row, 1 set of 135 warmup and 3 sets of 8 of 225 4 times a week (generally my “cycle” for the past few months has been bench on Saturday and Sunday, rest on Monday, bench on Tuesday and Wednesday, rest on Thursday and Friday)

I met a guy at the gym who seems to really know what he’s doing and he told me I should switch to a MWF system of 1 warmup set of 135, another warm up set of 225 (10 reps), 3 sets of 4 reps of 275, and a cooldown set of 225 (whatever I can manage, but generally it would be around 6 reps, ast lest that's what I could manage today)

Would this work? Or should I stick with my current plan that seems to be working for me? I’m looking to build more muscle, but I’m also trying to lose more weight (I generally burn between 1400-2000 calories in an hour to an hour and a half on an elliptical 6 times a week, have been since July and I’ve lost around 30 pounds of fat), are these desires comparable with the proposed plan?

Thanks for any input guys.
 
You should give more info, like what else you do, how long you have been doing this particular bench workout..

There are many ways to burn calories so that shouldn't be the sole reason to do that regimen. You probably aren't giving your body enough time to recover with all those workout days, and therefore the piggyback day is a waste of energy.

You can't stick to any regimen indefinitely so if you've been at it for months change it.
 
I think benching 4 days a week is WAY too much, especially benching 2 days in a row (you're giving your muscles no time to recover). Even benching 3 days a week is a bit much.

Why not just do Full Body Workouts on 3 days and cardio on the others?
 
I pretty much concentrate elusively on upper-body (including squats) so that I don't have to rely on pain killers when I hit the elliptical.

I've been doing some form of this cycle since April last year (2 days of bench in a row, take a day off). And, since around January have been doing the same thing with all of my exercises (2 days in a row). It’s really been working, I’ve gone up in weight in everything. My weekly schedule changes with each college term as class times change.

My current schedule since January is

Day 1 (Saturday): 1 hour cardio
Bench 3xr8x225
Peckdeck 3x8x270
Bicep curl (machine) 3x10x170
Bicep curl (free) 3x8x35
Squats (free) 3x8x185

Day 2 (Sunday): 1 hour cardio
Bench 3xr8x225
Peckdeck 3x8x270
Bicep curl (machine) 3x10x170
Bicep curl (free) 3x8x35
Shoulder press (machine) 3x8x180
Row (machine) 3x8x210
Row (different machine) 3x8x160
Tricep curl (machine) 3x8x180
Pull down 3x8x160
Squats (free) 3x8x185

Day 3 (Monday) 1 and ½ hour cardio
Shoulder press (machine) 3x8x180
Row (machine) 3x8x210
Row (different machine) 3x8x160
Tricep curl (machine) 3x8x180
Pull down 3x8x160

Day 4 (Tuesday) 1 hour cardio
Bench 3xr8x225
Peckdeck 3x8x270
Bicep curl (machine) 3x10x170
Bicep curl (free) 3x8x35
Squats (free) 3x8x185

Day 5 (Wednesday) 1 hour cardio
Bench 3xr8x225
Peckdeck 3x8x270
Bicep curl (machine) 3x10x170
Bicep curl (free) 3x8x35
Shoulder press (machine) 3x8x180
Row (machine) 3x8x210
Row (different machine) 3x8x160
Tricep curl (machine) 3x8x180
Pull down 3x8x160
Squats (free) 3x8x185

Day 6 (Thursday) 1 and ½ hour cardio
Shoulder press (machine) 3x8x180
Row (machine) 3x8x210
Row (different machine) 3x8x160
Tricep curl (machine) 3x8x180
Pull down 3x8x160

Day 7 (Friday) Day Off

So should I switch my bench cycle?
 
Right, firstly hit the legs. You shouldn't be doing so much upper and lesser on the legs. Secondly, what's you diet like? Finally, cut out the 4 day program. Go with a 3 x Full Body. Bench you warm up then depending on you goals an appropriate set. What your doing at the moment, with bench and pec deck is pointless.
Tricep curl is not needed. Benching does that, if you keep hands further together especially. Why not just do rows with free weights? Much better motion. Shoulder press, again, what about militarys?

Use the search bar for full body workouts. Keep your diet clean and do cardio on off days. You should shed some weight.
 
Timur said:
I’m looking to build more muscle, but I’m also trying to lose more weight
Thanks for any input guys.
Click to expand...

You cant lose and gain at the same time. If you want to lose weight you should be in a calorie deficit, and if your trying to gain muscle you should up your calories. You can still workout to preserve the muscle you have, but you cant do both at the same time.
 
Last edited:
Woodt said:
Right, firstly hit the legs. You shouldn't be doing so much upper and lesser on the legs. Secondly, what's you diet like? Finally, cut out the 4 day program. Go with a 3 x Full Body. Bench you warm up then depending on you goals an appropriate set. What your doing at the moment, with bench and pec deck is pointless.
Tricep curl is not needed. Benching does that, if you keep hands further together especially. Why not just do rows with free weights? Much better motion. Shoulder press, again, what about militarys?

Use the search bar for full body workouts. Keep your diet clean and do cardio on off days. You should shed some weight.
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks for the help. I had originally planned on starting on my legs after I had lost the weight and then transfer to lower body exercises when I went a little bit more easy on the cardio, but I guess is a good a time as ever to start.

As for my diet I generally have a granola bar for breakfast every day, something carb heavy for lunch around 3 hours before I workout (like a bread bowl of soup, a wrap, or, on two intensive days, a foot long wheat sub w/o cheese or dressing) and for dinner something protein heavy (directly after I work out at around 5) with a small amount of carbs (like a salad with some flat bread and chicken, a stir-fry with tofu, or when I need to lose weight quick beef jerky with a slice of wheat bread). Doing the five mini meals thing is simply not an option as I live in the dorms. On my current schedule my day off is also when I allow myself a few cheat meals, generally Chinese or Indian food and pizza. On Sunday I let myself indulge in up to 600 calories of ice cream and on Monday I let myself eat a donut or two for breakfast. According to all calorie intake calculators I’ve been at a daily deficit since January, but if this is the case then why am I going up in the weight I lift along with down in the weight around my mid-section?

I think I’m probably going aim for keeping my current mass while shedding weight, as I think my need to lose weight (I should probably lose around 20 more pounds of fat with my current muscle mass taken into consideration) is what is most necessary.

But my question still stands if I should go up in weight on the bench from 3x8 of 225 to 3x4 of 275.
 
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