Ask Charles Glass
The Elite Trainer On Max Reps, Training Delts & Pecs Together & Workout Drinks
Q: Most of the time I do my sets in the 8-10 rep range, but I like to test my strength on bench presses and squats. On those I will often do 2 or 3 sets of doubles and finish with a maximum attempt. I do other exercises for chest and legs, of course. A former bodybuilder at my gym who is about 60 (and still a big dude for his age) went out of his way to warn me about going so heavy. He claims it’s how he wrecked his shoulders and lower back, and says bodybuilders have no business doing any fewer than 5 or 6 reps, ever!
A: There is no way anyone can make a blanket statement like he did that will be true for everybody. Clearly, he had a very bad experience with low reps— but that doesn’t mean you will necessarily suffer the same fate. Personally, I used to max out on squats and even more so on the bench press quite a bit in my younger years, and I never got hurt. With the bench press, if your form is tight and you never bounce the bar off your chest, you should be fine. The same goes for squats. Most problems come from bad form— leaning too far forward and bouncing out of the hole. I do feel there is a very real benefit to doing very low reps. By increasing your strength, you are able to ultimately handle heavier weights for 8-10 reps. It’s also true that you can simply keep adding weight to your sets in the 8-10 rep range, but it’s easier to increase strength when you take your reps way down and train purely for power.
Q: Should chest and shoulders be trained in the same workout? Some people say they should, because they have so much overlap with the pressing movements. Other people say you should not, because whichever one you do second is going to suffer. What do you think?
A: It’s a matter of personal preference, which is why you hear different opinions. Personally, for bodybuilders I think it makes sense to work them on separate days at least two days apart. This allows you to put more effort and focus into each of them. Another factor to look at is your workout time. Long ago, I experimented with training all the “push” muscles in one workout: chest, shoulders and triceps. That didn’t last long, because I was in the gym for three and a half or even four hours! I found the only way I could even come close to doing justice to all of them was to take a 30-minute break in the middle of the workout and eat a meal. After a while, I said this is ridiculous.
One breakthrough for me came when I was having trouble in my early 20s getting my arms to grow. I’d never worked them on their own day before, and I decided to try it and see what happened. Within a few months, my arms had grown to the point where people were noticing and asking me what my arm routine was. Honestly, I was doing the same routine for them— except that it wasn’t being done after back or chest. That really drove home for me how much more productive training could be if you focused on just one body part at a time, instead of trying to cram them all together.
Q: Charles, my question is about intra-workout drinks. I know a lot of guys these days have some type of drink or shake with either BCAAs or BCAAs and carbs while they train. But if I drink anything other than water when I work out, I feel sick to my stomach. I don’t want to miss out on the potential benefits of an intra-workout drink. What do you think I should do?
A: I know exactly what you’re talking about, because I used to have the same problem trying to drink anything but water when I trained. What you need to do is dilute the mix more by using more water. I do notice a difference between just drinking water and having something with BCAAs in it. My favorite intra-workout drink is actually a post-workout drink, but anything that’s meant to be consumed right after training is also going to be beneficial during the workout.
