Listen to these two guys…they are spot on. I like a mix of compound and iso where the most exercises are compound.
when doing bench press, pause the bar for 2 seconds when it touches your chest.
You have to make sure to switch it up a bit to keep your body guessing. Try alternating between starting chest with an incline press and a flat press.
For example, if you do chest one day a week: week one, do incline press first, then flat. Week two, do flat first then incline.
This keeps your body guessing and will help you feel the effects a little more.
Also, more important than anything—make sure you are doing the exercises properly. Try bodybuilding.com as it has really good info for beginners and advanced lifters alike.
the confusion principal is unimportant for a beginner to bodybuilding. A beginner with grow much faster than any other stage of bodybuilder because their body is clueless to what is going on. A personal opinion of mine is that the beginner stage last for a year if not longer even if the individual has master the basic techniques.
I will agree that form and proper techniques are the most important aspect of resistance training.
always change up your chest exercises (along with everything you work out). Say if you always do free weights for chest do some machines etc. Do not get into a routine with your lifting, after awhile your body gets used to it.
Myself when im done doing all my exercises its hard for me to rep out 85 pounds.
I never get the same ‘burn’ from my chest or upper back that I do in my legs and arms. I think it’s normal. If you do a lot of dips you’ll notice it.
It just takes time. I didn’t build up the supporting muscles for my chest until a few months ago, it took about 8 months to get it. Once I could up the weight and not fatique my shoulders and tri’s, my chest got a good workout.
You must not be lifting these enough then. 
Machine fly’s gets the burn for chest and pullups gets the burn for back. I do these last and go to failure for a few sets.
I don’t like dips and usually do a few sets of pushups after chest day.
dips and decline bench=man boobs
twofortysx has some good info. I agree with everything, and I have been bodybuilding/training for about 10 years.
Thank you.
I started training when I was 14 and continued through high school while I played football for West Allegheny. So thats has been about 10 years of training for myself also. I was certified as a Fitness Trainer through the ISSA a few years back when I worked at the Greentree Sportsplex but that has since expired. I need to take a recertification course to call myself “ISSA certified” or work as a certified trainer :down: Thats not really what I want to do though so Im back at RMU working on my BSBA in Finance.
blah blah blah. no one cares, now that Im done going on about myself I will say this:
I have learned more from word of mouth by other fitness enthusiasts than any book or literature will teach you when it comes to bodybuilding.
Jimmy
thanks guys for all the help
Kinda sounds like me…I have always been into fitness my whole life and I also got a degree in finance