I got no response for the kid, he needs more than I can give him online. But Mudvayne, you're right about all of it. You're just leaving out the part about Ronnie doing 15-20 reps with more weight than the kid above can 1RM. And especially the deadlift-traps connection. I don't post much but somebody needed to point out to the newbies that bench pressing 150lbs for sets of 10 reps isn't going to get you big. You gotta put weight on the bar before you start to really develop muscle.

Yeah I hear ya... you definitely can use good heavy weight to stimulate muscle growth obviously. A lot of people go through the motions, which sucks unfortunately. They're used to doing bench presses with a set of 12 then 10 then 8 then 6 and they never struggle with any of it. The results don't come and they wonder why. Bench press is obviously a good exercise for chest, but it's also going to work your delts, your triceps, and even your lats/traps as stabilizers. If you want to grow to where you want... you want your chest to always take the brunt on a chest workout. Personally I like doing tons of fly exercises, cable crossovers, dumbbell pullovers (focusing on chest contraction) before I get anywhere near the big press movements. By the time I get there I'm so swollen I can barely rep out 50 lb. dumbbells.... which is great because I've already isolated and wrecked my chest muscles.... now it's time to deliver the final blow with some incline/decline/flat presses. I've never felt DOMS like I do using it and I love it. Kai Greene uses a lot of pre-exhaustion exercises to from what I've read and seen. That's the best way to grow the individual muscle groups and then string them all together in my opinion. Same with legs... I like doing leg curls and leg extensions before I go near squats/leg presses/stiff deads. It makes me look a lot weaker than I am to some people (not that it matters) because I'll be squatting 135 for sets of 15 and struggling to finish, but the fatigue and destruction it causes my muscles is awesome. If somebody is looking for something new to fix a plateau I highly recommend pre-exhaustion work!

You know pre-exhaustion is a technique I've never used. Glad to hear it's working for you. It's got no place in my program now but I'm due to switch here soon so I'll look to incorporate it.

Just lift, progress and keep good form. That is it. Simple gets it done folks.

"Everybody want to get big but nobody want to lift no heavy-*** weight" -Ronnie Coleman Fair points about strength vs. appearance training. I still think bodybuilding is a beauty contest and not a sport compared to any contest of strength. I'd hate to look like Mr. Olympia and get out-lifted by a 50-kg athlete that can put Mr. O's bodyweight overhead in a snatch for a set of 5. Function is all that matters. You bodybuilders can go argue over who's the prettiest.