Workout Problem

Here is the situation. I have a buddy of mine that just started working out with me a couple of weeks ago. He's 5'6 and 125 Lbs. He is starting out at the lowest level. Most sets we do for chest and tris are either just the bar or maybe a pair of 5/10 LBS. Now the problem is that he reaches muscle failure before he feels like his muscle is really getting a full workout. He tell me that the next day he's not really soar. Not htat you have to be soar to really get a full workout, but you know what I mean.

We usually do 4 sets of 10 reps, even if it's just the bar.

Any sugggestions??

Thanks
R.
 
Suggestions on what? lol If he's not sore and a complete newbie i really doubt he's lifting near the amount of weight he can. When i first start up after a extended period of doing nothing i can do 65ib on bench for 20's and get sore the next day. Take into account i can probably do 65 well over 100times.

However, you don't have to feel a "pump" to work the muscle if the proper form is used. I only time i get a BIG pump is if i do endurance sets which i do every blue moon.

How often are you doing this workout?
 
yea, the only time ill get fatigued is after a long period off from working out, or if i totally go balls to the wall or do an exercise i've never ever done before.

even tho your friends goal is strength, his endurance is down and the workout is becoming a test of endurance/strength so he's crapping out early

theres nothing wrong with this and eventually he will just get used to working out for a longer period of time, but he may get discouraged with getting tired, so maybe limiting it a bit at first is a good idea..
 
Wow. This is an easy one. If he isn't getting a good enough workout you can do the following. Add weight or decrease time between sets. Its so easy to get sore out the a$$ the idea is tho. to get minimally sore or no soreness to the highest level you can handle.
 
newf,
We're working oiut 4 to 5 times a week. MIKE100 nailed it. I think he just needs to stick it out and build on hte little he has. I agree with strenght/endurance test.

Thanks guys for the responses.

R.
 
The best suggestion that I can give you would be that since you are working out together, maybe you could give him the help...i will explain.

Say he is at muscle failure, by this I mean that he cannot LIFT the weight himself...what you could do is help him with the positive and have him slowly control the negative on all the motions. This way his muscles are still getting the workout, but he wont get discouraged at the fact that he cannot start the rep.
 
??hmm this has an intresting problem, I agree with mike and I was going to say that getting his muscular endurance up to pair should be the focus now not so much hypertrophy or strenght training. if he did a few basic bodyweight exercises at home every 2 houres for like 10 mins each time, it would increase his endurance at a good rate, but this would most likely reduce the rate of strenght he will gain during this time. but it sounds like it's needed. GL
 
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