Bench pressing 50 pounds lots of times per day?

Question

For the last weeks I've been trying to put on some chest mass. I eat lots of meat and at first I used to lift 120 pounds for like 10 reps (2-3 sets), and did that for over a month and saw NO results, I got very very sore and never gained muscle...however in the last month a friend told me to lift no hard weight, example 50 pounds. and do it a bunch of times...Well i said "why shouldn't I try that?" I did it, and the results are AWESOME, i don't know if it's me but everybody says this is the wrong way of benchpressing, is there something wrong with me or this strategy really works better!!!

Answer 1

High reps and low weights are a great alternative to adding gains on the bench. You are also more likely to get toned from that as well. You are doing the right thing. I think you should either:
A. Continue rising in weight and reps. 50 pounds with 40 reps or so, then progress to 60 pounds and 40, et cetera...
B. Mix what you are doing with medium/heavy weights and lower reps. The way to build strength is best when you combine heavy weight for brute strength, and other work to build synergy in your muscles.
Good luck.

Answer 2

I find that I get the best results from variety. In other words, your gains might be more attributable to the change in exercise, more than the exercise itself.

To answer your question if this is the "right" way to lift, I'd say that as long as you're using proper form, that you're fine. However, going back to the issue of variety, I'd guess that you're results will taper once your body adjusts to the new exercise. The way of course to combat this, is to continually change your chest routine every 1-3 months. You can do this by changing your grip, elevating the bench, using dumbells, or by just doing pushups.

On a final note, your body tends to produce more muscle-building testosterone when more muscles have been worked. Thus, by incorporating your legs or back into your workout, you'll improve your gains in individual muscle groups (i.e., your chest). Good luck.

Answer 3

yeah..if you're sore...then you're building muscle........
and usually girls do smaller weights multiple times to get tonned....you need to do heavier weights..and do as many sets as you can..and you'll see better results in the long run.