Going for the basics here! What is the maximum number of sets I should be aiming for in my workouts? If I work a large bodypart (chest) followed by a small muscle group (bi’s) how many sets should that ideally be in a single workout? Been doing total overkill recently so need to rethink things…
What set/rep schemes have you been using and why is it “overkill”? Are you not getting stronger/bigger/leaner? Do you feel burnt out?
What are your goals?
Anywhere from 3-12 to 12-25 reps are used, depends on what you are trying to achieve.
You could also start with say 5x5, and then move onto 2x12 to get more blood into the target muscle.
I forbid you to have a chest and bicep day.
[quote]FightingScott wrote:
I forbid you to have a chest and bicep day.
[/quote]
Agreed.
lol- I don’t have a chest and bicep day, I was just putting those bodyparts down as examples, sorry 'bout that
[quote]Doug Adams wrote:
What set/rep schemes have you been using and why is it “overkill”? Are you not getting stronger/bigger/leaner? Do you feel burnt out?[/quote]
Yeah mate, all of those. I’ve been lifting and I’m not seeing any gains in muscle or size, plus I do feel pretty burnt out. I’ve just recently changed up my routine; I used to follow a 5-day a week programme, hitting each bodypart once, so for example with just shoulders I could be doing as many as 14 or 15 sets per workout, with a mixture of low rep and mid rep work.
Now I’ve changed my routine up so that I’m still training 5 days a week, but hitting other smaller groups on the same days as large muscle groups;
Mon; Chest + Tri’s
Tues; Back + Bi’s
Wed; Shoulders + Traps
Thurs; REST
Fri; Bi’s + Tri’s
Sat; Hamstrings, Quads + Calves
Sun; REST
I would do a large volume of sets for large muscle groups in a single day to ensure that I got DOMS the next day, as in my mind DOMS was the only guarantee that you had worked the muscle group hard enough…
[quote]DanErickson wrote:
FightingScott wrote:
I forbid you to have a chest and bicep day.
Agreed.[/quote]
I’m going to allow it.
The number of sets depend on the load and the number of reps your doing. After your warm-up and an acclimation set or two you should do around 30 reps divided into X working sets depending on your goals.
If you want to emphasize hypertrophy then X should be low (i.e. 3x10), if you’re looking for strength then X should be higher (i.e. 10x3). Of course you can compromise and do 5x6, 8x4, 4x7. You should also change it up on a regular basis, read up on periodizing your routines.
If you feel the need to do much more than this, you’re overall intensity in the gym is probably lacking and you need to put more focus into each set.
Ther are many, many great article about rep/set schemes here. Do a search, learn a few and experiment to find what works best for you.
[quote]Kruiser wrote:
DanErickson wrote:
FightingScott wrote:
I forbid you to have a chest and bicep day.
Agreed.
I’m going to allow it.
The number of sets depend on the load and the number of reps your doing. After your warm-up and an acclimation set or two you should do around 30 reps divided into X working sets depending on your goals.
If you want to emphasize hypertrophy then X should be low (i.e. 3x10), if you’re looking for strength then X should be higher (i.e. 10x3). Of course you can compromise and do 5x6, 8x4, 4x7. You should also change it up on a regular basis, read up on periodizing your routines.
If you feel the need to do much more than this, you’re overall intensity in the gym is probably lacking and you need to put more focus into each set.
Ther are many, many great article about rep/set schemes here. Do a search, learn a few and experiment to find what works best for you.
[/quote]
Nice.
I don’t see the problem with a chest + biceps day.
[quote]watermelon_2001 wrote:
Doug Adams wrote:
What set/rep schemes have you been using and why is it “overkill”? Are you not getting stronger/bigger/leaner? Do you feel burnt out?
Yeah mate, all of those. I’ve been lifting and I’m not seeing any gains in muscle or size, plus I do feel pretty burnt out. I’ve just recently changed up my routine; I used to follow a 5-day a week programme, hitting each bodypart once, so for example with just shoulders I could be doing as many as 14 or 15 sets per workout, with a mixture of low rep and mid rep work.
Now I’ve changed my routine up so that I’m still training 5 days a week, but hitting other smaller groups on the same days as large muscle groups;
Mon; Chest + Tri’s
Tues; Back + Bi’s
Wed; Shoulders + Traps
Thurs; REST
Fri; Bi’s + Tri’s
Sat; Hamstrings, Quads + Calves
Sun; REST
I would do a large volume of sets for large muscle groups in a single day to ensure that I got DOMS the next day, as in my mind DOMS was the only guarantee that you had worked the muscle group hard enough…[/quote]
I have a big problem with this workout. 1) your doing legs only one day and 4 days of upper body. 2) you have 3 days working arms 3) you have one day for legs and 4 for upper body
[quote]theflowjob wrote:
I have a big problem with this workout. 1) your doing legs only one day and 4 days of upper body. 2) you have 3 days working arms 3) you have one day for legs and 4 for upper body
[/quote]
Okay dude, I can see where you’re coming from on the legs thing- I should try to work in legs more. When it comes to arms following training a large bodypart, I only do a very small number of sets- around 4 to 6, and that’s it.