1 Rep Max....

Today we hit the gym for the first time doing strength training and going for our 1 rep max on the decline bench.

I've never had much natural strength but i really enjoyed and I plan to implement this into my routine once every 2 weeks.

So this strength workout was to target chest and build on our bench strength, here's what we did:

After a 5min warm up on the treadmill and some stretches we hit the weight area...

(I'll include the weights i used) 

Decline bench:

Set 1: Starting weight (60kg) for 6 reps (warm up set to get the movements and avoid injury)

Set 2: Heavy weight (80kg) for 3 reps (my normal max weight of 6-8 reps)

Set 3: Next weight up (90kg) for 2 reps (if you can get 2 or more reps move up a weight)

Set 4: Max weight (100kg) for 1 rep

Set 5: 1 Rep Max 2nd try (I took a 2nd attempt at my 1 rep max just to give my muscles that extra shock to the system from this new heavy weight...wasn't quite as smooth)Set 6: Half the weight from your 1 Rep Max and aim for 20 reps (this well help improve muscle endurance)

2nd Attempt at 1 Rep Max

Flat Bench From Floor:
For this exercise, lower the weight and rest your elbows on the floor for 2secs before powering the weight back up to the top. By pausing at bottom of each rep, It takes extra strength for the ascending movement.
Set 1: Starting weight (60kg) 6-8 reps
Set 2: Next weight (65kg) 4-6 reps
Set 3: Max Weight (70kg) 4 reps

Floor Bench Press - 65kg for 6 reps

Incline Bench Press
3 sets of 4 reps (60kg)
By this point we were pretty tired from maxing out, but we decide to burn out the chest with some incline bench sticking within the 4-6 rep range.

Dumbbell Fly
3 sets of 6 reps (15kg) 
Again, this exercise was to help fatigue the chest,sticking within the 4-6 rep range for strength.

So this was our Chest Strength workout. Hopefully you can take away some of this to help your own workout or maybe you have some useful advise you want to share with me.