Pyramiding bench press

WolfForager

Righto, so i've started pyramiding the bench press.

Start off at 30kg, do 15 reps.
-40kg 10
-50kg 10
-55kg 9
-60kg failed at 5 today
-55kg failed at 8
-50kg 10
-40kg 10
-30kg 10

Right so am i doing that right? Or should i keep going up until i get as low as 2-3 reps?

Thanks again guys

brianthebard

Well, to know if you are doing it right we have to know what your goals are? You are 17 or something like that aren't you? I would've thought there was plenty of potential for size and strength gains once you are eating enough without having to resort to 70+ reps. What's the thinking behind that?

WolfForager

I was talking to a few guys at the gym and they told me pyramiding is the way to go. However if i would benefit as much from just doing 3x10, should i just go back to them?

brianthebard

The way to go for what though? I'll presume size since that's what I've seen it related to before. If you were doing a 3.10 programme for a while then changing back isn't good, but a simple 5x5 is always a good bet imo. Also what other exercises are you doing for your chest/tris? Maybe a change to say incline bench and dips would be as much benefit as all those reps. Perhaps some more experienced lifters can give their opinions in a while.

WolfForager

brianthebard wrote: »

The way to go for what though? I'll presume size since that's what I've seen it related to before. If you were doing a 3.10 programme for a while then changing back isn't good, but a simple 5x5 is always a good bet imo. Also what other exercises are you doing for your chest/tris? Maybe a change to say incline bench and dips would be as much benefit as all those reps. Perhaps some more experienced lifters can give their opinions in a while.

I already do dips and inclines.

Reyman

You seem to be doing 87 reps if my sums are right? Why I'm wondering?

The usual number of reps I've seen recommended is some variant of 20-25 reps.
e.g. 3x8; 4x6; 5x5; 8x3 reps etc. There's rapidly diminishing returns at higher reps.
It also seems like you're spending a lot of time on one exercise, which is never a great idea and may set you up for injury if you don't do some balancing exercises.

WolfForager

As i said i was told to do it by some guys at them gym, so should i keep this up or just go back to my old 3x10?

brianthebard

Not being smart but you need to stop listening to the guys in the gym and figure out what you want from your training. Volume like that might be great if you've hit a plateau but its not necessary for you now, especially if you are training other related lifts. Don't go back to 3x10 either though if you've been doing that for a while now, try and find a new programme that will suit your goals. Starting strength, a 5x5 programme, or something else that will help what you want to do.

WolfForager

I'm aiming for strenght + size. I've only done pyramids twice so far, so going back to my 3x10 shouldn't be that bad, i'll just add a bit more weight.

D-WRX

Too many sets and reps there,

What else do you do on your chest day?

WolfForager

Incline, pec fly, lateral raises, frontal raises, shrugs, triceps.

Roper

Too many reps and too many sets to failure. You should be calculating and setting your reps in advance. As your reps decrease your weight goes up so a sampl would be:

12@50% of 1rm
8@60%
5@70%
3@80% (which should be shy of your 3rm)
5@70% and so on.

WolfForager

Roper wrote: »

Too many reps and too many sets to failure. You should be calculating and setting your reps in advance. As your reps decrease your weight goes up so a sampl would be:

12@50% of 1rm
8@60%
5@70%
3@80% (which should be shy of your 3rm)
5@70% and so on.

Thanks roper, i'll try that out on thursday. I'll just make sure i have a spotter