A Few Questions

-I have been alternating with a bench press "guide" machine which basically has the bar attached to a rail system and you are able to clip it back to the rails if say you can't lift the last rep. I noticed though that I can bench 50 pounds more on that than with a regular bench press. Is this because the weight is on the guider? Or is it because the guider forces you to have proper form? (Bar has no tilt, arms are even, etc.) Is the guider even good for doing bench?

-I sometimes work out with a friend who really pushes me. What we do is say 3 sets of bench press but all in a row, then 3 sets of curls all in a row, etc. When I'm by myself I'll do 1 set of everything, then do another set of everything etc. With my method I don't push my self to the verge of throwing up, but at the same time I'm not nearly as sore afterwards and the days to come but with my friends method I am. So which is better for gaining muscle?

The first question is because with the rail system you no longer have to keep the bar from falling forwards or back. You don't have to use the same control and stability with the rails as you do without. As far as if it's as good, that I don't know.

-I have been alternating with a bench press "guide" machine which basically has the bar attached to a rail system and you are able to clip it back to the rails if say you can't lift the last rep. I noticed though that I can bench 50 pounds more on that than with a regular bench press. Is this because the weight is on the guider? Or is it because the guider forces you to have proper form? (Bar has no tilt, arms are even, etc.) Is the guider even good for doing bench?

-I sometimes work out with a friend who really pushes me. What we do is say 3 sets of bench press but all in a row, then 3 sets of curls all in a row, etc. When I'm by myself I'll do 1 set of everything, then do another set of everything etc. With my method I don't push my self to the verge of throwing up, but at the same time I'm not nearly as sore afterwards and the days to come but with my friends method I am. So which is better for gaining muscle?

You're talking about a smith press. It's in a guided rail, and frankly it sucks ass. I don't like the way it feels, it forced you into an unnatural movement.

Also, the reason you can lift heavier is because the bar is only like 10 pounds versus the regular barbell being 45 lbs.

Also, what you do by yourself sounds like a sort of full body circuit training, but you're doing it in an assbackwards fashion. You do one set of bench, then go to 1 set of curls, then go to 1 set of whatever else. When you finish 1 set of everything, you start back at the beginning and do your 2nd set of bench, 2nd set of curls, etc?

You're basically warming your muscles up, getting the blood flowing to it, and then ignoring it by moving to a different body part.

Keep the sets together. Not only does this seem more logical, but I'm sure it's a lot less time consuming than backtracking.

edit: what sl83 and teck said

You're talking about a smith press. It's in a guided rail, and frankly it sucks ass. I don't like the way it feels, it forced you into an unnatural movement.

Also, the reason you can lift heavier is because the bar is only like 10 pounds versus the regular barbell being 45 lbs.

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The smith machine is a sure trail to injury. DO NOT LIFT more weight on a smith machine than you can normally bench supporting the weight yourself. The smith machine is good for recovering from inuries. It is also good for "burning out" so if you had done a few sets of regular bench and wanted to just finish it out on the smith that would be fine but you should do a lot less weight on the smith. Really it is just a bad machine in general and you shouldn't hang around it.

The reason you are not feeling as pushed when by yourself is that you are slowing down the pace of the workout. Your friend pushes you to decrease your rest time whereas when you are alone you dilly dally around and give yourself too much rest. Holding the rest periods at equal; what you are doing, which is a form of circuit training, is actually MORE taxing on your body and will get you in better condition as it forces you body to output a lot of power from different muscle groups in rapid succession.

You're welcome and good luck in the gym.

Damn I'm glad I now know about the Smith machine, I'll stay away from that.


Personally it feels like I'm getting a better workout from my friends routine, but at the same time I feel like I'm on the verge of death afterwards. So in a nut shell overall its better to do the circuit training in rapid succession, or stick with my friends regiment?

Do whichever you prefer and whichever yields better results for you. It depends on what your goal is as well. Everyone is different.

But if you're going to do circuit training, do all the sets of a certain exercise before moving onto the next one. Don't do one set, next exercise, rinse repeat.