You got a while to go before your 'reppin out'. Usually that means 10+ reps pretty quickly, but standards may vary.

Lewdog my Xmas presents arrived that my wife tried to hide on me lol! A black widow swiss/football bar and safety squat/yoke bar. WOOHOO!!! o:-)

I could probably knock out 2 sets of 10 if I dropped the lighter sets.

I've been making pretty linear gains on my bench and with my shoulders continuing to improve I think I could do 3 sets of 10 @ 225 about the beginning of February. I could probably move a little faster on moving the weights up but I don't want to risk any injury setbacks at this point.

The lighter sets should not be impacting your work sets. How do you warm up, exactly? I dont think knocking out those warmups is going to make up 6 reps. I think your wasting time with the 205 & 215 if your goal is 225 for reps. Why not a few sets of 5 with 135, a triple with 185, and go straight to 225 for AMRAP?

I do 8 reps with 135 on the bar and a really narrow grip.

Then I do 5 reps @ 205 after 60 seconds rest.

Then I do 5 reps @ 215 after 2 minutes rest

Then the 225 sets after 2 minutes rest.

are all your sets 'narrow'? I don't think you need the 205 & 215 sets if your getting at least 5 with 225 now. What does your programming look like & how many days per week are you hitting flat barbell bench?

example of how I would lay it out..

Warm Up 5 x 95
Warm Up 5 x 115
Warm Up 3 x 145
5 x 175
3 x 200
AMRAP x 225

If you are feeling good run some extra triples with a spotter..
235 x 3
245 x 3
260 x 3
270 x 3

If you dont hit 3 reps, you dont go up.

Finish bench workout with a few sets of 175x AMRAP. Maybe some tricep work and get out. This is if increasing bench is your priority. If chest aesthetics are your goal, theres no reason to BB bench over DB's & pec-dec machine. This is kind of how JimW sets his press days, but this changes depending on your entire plan & programming.

Narrow?

I generally get 3-4 workouts in a week due to social and family commitments. I've just been lifting to get back into shape (aesthetically and fat loss) haven't really been getting into plan and programming (although I've thought about jumping into a strength plan and seeing how the workout goes and possibly do a comp. This wouldn't be possible until after June though). I had the shoulder issue and a lower back issue that I wanted to eliminate as well (which has gone well).

Usually I do legs on Monday and it goes
Squat 4 sets (been working with 225 lately and 6-8 reps depending on how I feel)
Dead lift 4 sets (have been super cautious here due to the previous injury. Usually start with 185 and finish with 205)
Leg extensions
Leg curls
calf raises

Tuesday is upper body
Bench
Seated row/dumb bell row (4 sets of 6 reps)
OHP (depending on feel, either 4 sets of 6 with a heavier weight or 4 sets of 8-10 with a lighter weight)
Pull downs or pull ups (AMRAP)
Pec deck or cable machine chest fly variation (4 sets of 8 reps)
shrugs or something else for traps (4 sets with 75 lb increasing to 95 lb dumb bells usually)
tricep isolation exercise (just whatever variation I feel like hitting that day)
bicep isolation (same as triceps


Throw in an ab exercise on either one once a week.

Depending on the week I may get in on Thursday or Friday and repeat upper body. If I get in Thursday then I will try to get another light workout in during the weekend (football season interferes with that though. studying will get in the way of weekends going forward).

I've been watching my diet and keeping caloric intake under 1700 and don't go crazy out of balance with any macros. I look tremendously better than I did 9 months ago. I'll probably do a serious diet around February to drop more body fat.

I like the upper/lower split. Just keep running with that and keeping an eye on diet and you should be fine. If you feel good, push yourself a bit more.. not feeling good just get a few sets in with the important (compound) stuff and get out of the gym. Im dealing with should issues as well

*.* NEW- 2014 General Fitness Thread *.*
 

I'm having a serious aesthetic issue here.

The bottom of my right pec has a more boxy, cut look to it while the bottom of my left pec has a more round, not-so-cut look to it.

It is really bothering me lately. How in balls' name do I fix it? Decline bench? Decline dumb bell press with more weight in the left hand!?!

Switch your masturbation hand. It should help.

ROFL

Had a nice weigh-in today, coming in at 273 lbs, 1 oz. That's a drop of 4 pounds, 9 ounces from last week. In all, that's a drop of 147 pounds since February 1st.

No surgery, no diets, no pills, just a lot of hard work and eating discipline.

This past week I rode my bike a couple times, including a 40 mile ride with a climb of about 1,800 feet and just stayed active.

Life just feels awesome.

80 calories, 0 fat, 12g protein, tastes like chocolate

http://www.lightandfit.com/assets/im...ychocolate.png

Yep

2014 was an amazing year for me. I started the year at 420 lbs, now at 273 and 5 oz.

I learned that there are no short cuts, no pills, no easy ways out, just hard work and disciplined eating.

And I learned that it's not just a number, it's quality of life. This morning I jogged almost 4 miles, which is a big deal for me. I can't wait to ride RAGBRAI this summer and see what I can accomplish at the end of the year. My goal is to hit my maintenance weight of 225 and go from there.

Thanks for all the support!