feeling the pump or lifting heavy

[zeta1]

Your right on the mind muscle connection, I need to work on it, it is true that there is no exercise to bring out the inner chest and if you want to bring it out you just need to workout your chest normal? Bench press, incline press

 

[Flex14]

Sarcoplasmic (Cell swelling/Pump training) and myofibrillar (actin and myosin contractile proteins increase muscle fiber size ) hypertrophy are both equally paramount to developing a certain muscle. I agree with all the advice given so far. Just becuase your pump isnt through the roof, or you don't feel sore, doesn't mean you arent putting mechanical tension on the muscle. If youre trying to feel the muscle work, I would suggest increasing your time under tension. Take the bench press for example, really slow down the eccentric ( downward) portion of the exercise. There have been numerous studies that suggest this portion of a given exercise puts more tension on the muscle and also increases hypertrophy. You can also add in intensifiers such as drop sets and supersets to get that superb skin spliting pump. I have personally noticed that after a heavy chest pressing motion, followed by about 15-20 reps of a cable fly which I squeeze the muscle for 5 seconds at the top of the exercise (isometric hold), it really leaves me with a ridiculous pump. Also keep in mind using machines will help you "feel the muscle work" more as you do not have to focus on stabilizing the weight such as on the bench press. In regards to training, as mentioned earlier in this thread, I would start with your heavy compound lifts, such as bench (for your myofibrillar hypertrophy). Really try to focus on the negative eccentric phase of the lift and even pause at the top to squeeze the muslce. Then move onto your flyes, or machince movements (sarcoplasmic hypertrophy) anywhere from 12-20 reps and really use techniques like iso holds to achieve that peak contraction. Chase the pump on those and hopefully you notice some improvements. I hope this was helpful. Good luck on your training brother.

 

[ChaseTheYoke]

I go a little more than shoulder width and my shoulders don't give me any problems so its great right there for me, i really work on my form to get it right, when i squat i go 90 degrees in the 6-8 rep range but again i dont feel my quads working that much, maybe the weight is to much that i can lift it properly but its too heavy and my body uses other muscles to help the quads.

Squats put more emphasis on your posterior chain than your quads. Leg press, front squat, lunges, sissy squats, etc. for quads.

 

[zeta1]

Thanks for the advice,, I leg press one's a week in the 6-8 rep range,, this is after my Romanian deadlift, when I started doing the leg press I felt it well on my quads and as I started adding weight I started to lose the tension on my quads and started to feel it more on my hamstrings, any advice? I do them with good form and in a controlled manner when pressing away I stop short of locking out my legs

 

[ChaseTheYoke]

There is no practical way you can engage one without the other. By practical I mean in everyday life. A leg extention will isolate it a lot but I'm not sure if even that is 100%. Lean the seat back as far as you can on the leg press if it's adjustable, as femur/torso angle will contribute a lot to what muscles take the majority of the load. Putting your feet more towards the bottom of the platform should also help.

Have you ever tried sissy squats on a smith machine?

 

[zeta1]

I have tried Smith squat but didn't like the feeling at all,, I got a couple tips for the leg press to give then a try

 

[ChaseTheYoke]

I have tried Smith squat but didn't like the feeling at all,, I got a couple tips for the leg press to give then a try

No a smith squat. A sissy squat on the smith machine. Get under the bar and put your feet together about 2-3' in front of you and squat to parallel. Gonna destroy your glutes as well.

 

[zeta1]

I'll be making some changes to my routine in rep ranges and exercises as well

 

[zeta1]

does anyone here cycle their rep range??

 

[zeta1]

did some changes today to my routine, rep ranges from 6-8 to 8-12 and my 10-12 to 12-15
,,dropped some weight and really felt it in my chest today, awesome pump. cant wait to do legs tomorrow,,

 

[zeta1]

Sarcoplasmic (Cell swelling/Pump training) and myofibrillar (actin and myosin contractile proteins increase muscle fiber size ) hypertrophy are both equally paramount to developing a certain muscle. I agree with all the advice given so far. Just becuase your pump isnt through the roof, or you don't feel sore, doesn't mean you arent putting mechanical tension on the muscle. If youre trying to feel the muscle work, I would suggest increasing your time under tension. Take the bench press for example, really slow down the eccentric ( downward) portion of the exercise. There have been numerous studies that suggest this portion of a given exercise puts more tension on the muscle and also increases hypertrophy. You can also add in intensifiers such as drop sets and supersets to get that superb skin spliting pump. I have personally noticed that after a heavy chest pressing motion, followed by about 15-20 reps of a cable fly which I squeeze the muscle for 5 seconds at the top of the exercise (isometric hold), it really leaves me with a ridiculous pump. Also keep in mind using machines will help you "feel the muscle work" more as you do not have to focus on stabilizing the weight such as on the bench press. In regards to training, as mentioned earlier in this thread, I would start with your heavy compound lifts, such as bench (for your myofibrillar hypertrophy). Really try to focus on the negative eccentric phase of the lift and even pause at the top to squeeze the muslce. Then move onto your flyes, or machince movements (sarcoplasmic hypertrophy) anywhere from 12-20 reps and really use techniques like iso holds to achieve that peak contraction. Chase the pump on those and hopefully you notice some improvements. I hope this was helpful. Good luck on your training brother.

ive been reading and watching videos about the rep range for muscle building and the average is 8-12 reps,,what is your opinion?? in another forum someone mentioned that low reps 1-5 also builds muscle because the muscle must adapt to handle that heavy weight, my reps where 6-8 for all my compound lifts, whats your opinion??

 

[lunk666]

when i bench i can do x amount of reps with heavy weight but dont feel the chest muscles being worked as when i do lower weight for more reps. i use good form with both.

any opinions??

If you want to look like a great body builder you'll have to train like a bodybuilder,eat like a bodybuilder and focus on all aspects of recovery like great bodybuilders do. To make a muscle grow you need to understand the concept of supercompensation. For a muscle to grow you first need to stress it the fuck out. Then it needs to be fed and rested. Next time at it you need to increase the load ,or the training volume, this way an even greater stress has been placed on the muscle. If you keep getting improvements than you have supercompensated ,if not, then you fell short.
I do not like the flat bar bench press for a pump(even thought I do use the movement for strength). For the pump I use isolation movements like DB and cable work. I also always do hard stretches in between the latter sets. Bodybuilding and powerlifting are very different in many ways. If your stuck on using the flat bench for your pump go with an ultra wide grip and I mean go far out to the ends. Try working up to a set where you can get say 15 reps and then wait 1 minute and do it over and over till you can only get about 6 reps. Do that routine as your first chest exersize for three weeks and I'll bet if everything is in order you'll get that pump and some pounds on your bench. Flare out the elbows on the ultra wide do not tuck like a powerlifter.

 

[zeta1]

If you want to look like a great body builder you'll have to train like a bodybuilder,eat like a bodybuilder and focus on all aspects of recovery like great bodybuilders do. To make a muscle grow you need to understand the concept of supercompensation. For a muscle to grow you first need to stress it the fuck out. Then it needs to be fed and rested. Next time at it you need to increase the load ,or the training volume, this way an even greater stress has been placed on the muscle. If you keep getting improvements than you have supercompensated ,if not, then you fell short.
I do not like the flat bar bench press for a pump(even thought I do use the movement for strength). For the pump I use isolation movements like DB and cable work. I also always do hard stretches in between the latter sets. Bodybuilding and powerlifting are very different in many ways. If your stuck on using the flat bench for your pump go with an ultra wide grip and I mean go far out to the ends. Try working up to a set where you can get say 15 reps and then wait 1 minute and do it over and over till you can only get about 6 reps. Do that routine as your first chest exersize for three weeks and I'll bet if
everything is in order you'll get that pump and some pounds on your bench. Flare out the elbows on the ultra wide do not tuck like a powerlifter.

thanks for the advice, i am currently in hypertrophy reps and will do a cycle of 4 weeks then do 2 weeks of strength in the 6-8 reps..

 

[Flex14]

ive been reading and watching videos about the rep range for muscle building and the average is 8-12 reps,,what is your opinion?? in another forum someone mentioned that low reps 1-5 also builds muscle because the muscle must adapt to handle that heavy weight, my reps where 6-8 for all my compound lifts, whats your opinion??

I have to agree with @lunk666 here. Explained very well. The theory of muscle growth in layman's terms is progressive overload which he explained. Each week, if you trained, rested, ate properly etc. you should be able to increase your total working volume for that particular training session (volume = weight x reps x sets) . The muscle will adapt to the stresses placed upon it and grow with the proper diet and rest protocol. The goal after each session is to increase total volume, be it sets, reps used, weight etc. In terms of your rep ranges, again as mentioned, it depends on how you want to look. If you're training to look like a bodybuilder, higher rep ranges (8-12, 15-20 etc) are more desirable. Chase the pump if you will. Good controlled form, really squeeze, isometric contractions and so on. More explosive power training will be your lower rep ranges. I would suggest using a periodization protocol in which you'd implement growth phases and strength phases. Growth phases (8-12/ 15-20 rep range) to synthesize new muscle proteins hence increase in muscle fiber size. If you want to focus on pure strength and power, you could then do a strength phase for however many weeks you desire and train in a 1-5 rep range (increase in explosive power of the muscle fibers). I hope this was helpful.

 

[zeta1]

I have to agree with @lunk666 here. Explained very well. The theory of muscle growth in layman's terms is progressive overload which he explained. Each week, if you trained, rested, ate properly etc. you should be able to increase your total working volume for that particular training session (volume = weight x reps x sets) . The muscle will adapt to the stresses placed upon it and grow with the proper diet and rest protocol. The goal after each session is to increase total volume, be it sets, reps used, weight etc. In terms of your rep ranges, again as mentioned, it depends on how you want to look. If you're training to look like a bodybuilder, higher rep ranges (8-12, 15-20 etc) are more desirable. Chase the pump if you will. Good controlled form, really squeeze, isometric contractions and so on. More explosive power training will be your lower rep ranges. I would suggest using a periodization protocol in which you'd implement growth phases and strength phases. Growth phases (8-12/ 15-20 rep range) to synthesize new muscle proteins hence increase in muscle fiber size. If you want to focus on pure strength and power, you could then do a strength phase for however many weeks you desire and train in a 1-5 rep range (increase in explosive power of the muscle fibers). I hope this was helpful.

yes it is very helpful i appreciate everyone taking the time and helping me out with this.

 

[Blacken]

Heavy till you can't do heavier because of safety, a maxed machine and ect then you can focus on the pump. Just my way of going about things.

For example I screwed my back in a car accident so never push deads to my limit been steadily going up ever since then. So at one point I could row more then I could dead as a result, during the beginning of recovery. I would never do so for fear of herniating my spine again. I focused on the pump with rows keeping the weight where I felt safe.

 

[freestanding]

Just to remind you of what wsw 16 was talking about the mind to muscle connection . This will take some time an a little practice an a lot focus, but this connection is a game changer,not only physically but also mentally! Your workouts will never be the same . What helped me was practicing flexing an holding poses in front of mirror concentrating on every flex . I know for someone that is fresh in the gym that this probably sounds conceded an gay ass shit at least that's what I thought 20 yrs ago when I was fresh. Seriously give it a try man you'll be surprised how exhausting it can be .

 

[zeta1]

I lowered the weight on some of my lifts slightly and upped my reps in the 8-12 range, focusing on form and feeling the muscle working, today I did 2 sets of db flyes with 20s really focused on form and keeping the tension on the chest throughout the movement , big difference than when using 30s or 35s, I only did 12 reps on the first set and 10 on the second set

 

[zeta1]

Here's a question, on my seated cable rows the weight goes up by more than I can handle, I am at 120 lbs in the 8-12 rep range, once I can do the 12 reps for my 3 sets, what can I do to continue to work the muscle without having to add 15 lbs, I can't squeeze my back with that weight, maybe 2-3 times the rest are not full range of motion reps, should I add more reps to my sets? I read somewhere to keep doing the same weight until it becomes easy for you to hit your reps and then some

 

[Docd187123]

Here's a question, on my seated cable rows the weight goes up by more than I can handle, I am at 120 lbs in the 8-12 rep range, once I can do the 12 reps for my 3 sets, what can I do to continue to work the muscle without having to add 15 lbs, I can't squeeze my back with that weight, maybe 2-3 times the rest are not full range of motion reps, should I add more reps to my sets? I read somewhere to keep doing the same weight until it becomes easy for you to hit your reps and then some

Use a 2.5-10lb plate and put the pin on the weight stack through the center of the plate.