F*(@ the bench press

[Maleficus]

Don't mind the raging idiot in the corner, i can't get my BP to progress.

yes, i mad.

 

[blinky8225]

Switch to DB bench press. It's better for your shoulders and works a bigger ROM. It also help me get over my plateau on the barbell bench press.

 

[Pantlegz]

Check Dave Tate's "so you think you can bench" series on youtube.

 

[Doppel]

Switch to DB bench press. It's better for your shoulders and works a bigger ROM. It also help me get over my plateau on the barbell bench press.

I certainly do think it's better for shoulders (DB press). I had a half decent bench back in the day and stopped after hearing too many stories about people permanently injuring their shoulders. I guess it's a safe activity if done well, but a lot of people don't do it right and I hated the movement after learning it the "proper" way, the way power lifters do (I always flared out at a 90 degree and did fine, which power lifters do not do). Now it's dumb bells.

 

[surfsatwerk]

Stand up and press thing over your head.

 

[Maleficus]

I've checked DT's bench series, both the so you think.. and his 6 week bench cure.

I used to do DB bench but switched back to bb.

I do OHP also, do that isn't an issue surf.

I don't know why it won't budge, stuck in shit tier little girl weights forever

 

[repoman0]

I can't bench for shit either. I don't know how long I've been stuck around 140-145 - failed at doing 3x5 my first attempt at 145 a week or so ago so I went back to 125 yet again to work my way back up.

My squat and deadlift move up as expected though, they're in the 200 and 250 neighborhood respectively but bench press won't.

I'm 5'10, 160lbs and have been lifting since September. What about you?

 

[conorvansmack]

Are you doing any type of accessory work? Dips? Close-grip? Speed work?

Weighted dips helped me get through some plateaus.

 

[marmasatt]

Try negatives? Try changing grip a bit. Do literally 4-6 reps and that's it. Do more close grip tri exercises perhaps? I would try to change it up a bit to get over the plateau. But yeah, tell me about it. We've all been there.

But it doesn't really matter, does it? There are always those guys who you look at them and go "how the hell does he lift that." Or the guys benching 225 for 5 reps yelling in the corner. I once benched my body weight 47 times at a powerlifting competition (at 185)... and lost. There are always going to be guys stronger than you.

 

[Whisper]

Are you doing any type of accessory work? Dips? Close-grip? Speed work?

Weighted dips helped me get through some plateaus.

Working other (i.e., non-chest) muscle groups can definitely help. The plateau might not be due to chest strength at all, but instead may be more indicative of relatively weaker triceps, shoulders, or back.

 

[Lamont Burns]

eat more or try a deload.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

What do you bench now? Weight/height?

Is your form proper?

Have you done shoulder strengthening exercises? If not, read up on shoulder mobility at bodybuilding.com

 

[Insomniator]

I once benched my body weight 47 times at a powerlifting competition (at 185)... and lost. There are always going to be guys stronger than you.

I wonder how many times I could do my weight (165).... I'd like to say 25 but its probably like 15 tops.

I can do 5x5 205 and thats still almost the lowest bench I ever see done at my gym... its ridiculous I dunno how these guys do it. Seems like every guy regardless of size is throwing up 295+.

 

[tedrodai]

It's cause they've been doing it for years and have worked their way up. Consistency!

 

[highland145]

It's cause they've been doing it for years and have worked their way up. Consistency!

Yep. Been doing some type of weight training for 35 years. But now I'm old and heavy shit is real heavy.

Agree with working other muscles. Way back when, I was stuck at ~270. Doubled my triceps workout and eventually maxed at 330.

 

[KIAman]

Consider re-addressing your form. I'm a weight training newbie and never lifted in my life and just started last year.

I was stuck at doing 5x5x175 for a very long time, where before I would progress anywhere from 5-10lbs a week. I felt like my triceps and chest were strong enough to lift more but for some reason, the rest of my body wasn't.

I did a shit ton of research on bench press form and found I was doing a lot of things wrong.

1. Pull your shoulder blades back AND down. This makes it look like your are puffing your chest out in exaggeration. This one took a little while to get used to and I found that I didn't have good upper back flexibility to pull this off so I did a ton of back flexibility rolling on foam and also strengthened my back doing a lot of rows. Once I could consistently statically hold my shoulder blades to touch each other and down (do not do a shrug) then I found that my bench was suddenly a lot easier.

2. Grip width. This one is a little more difficult to determine. I was originally going WAY too wide of a grip thinking it would make the bench easier. The best grip is what allows your wrists to be exactly over your elbows when the bar is at your lower chest. For me, that is putting my pinky finger around the outer ring on the barbell.

3. Arm angle. Once you get the grip width down, pay attention to how you are lowering the barbell. You want your arm angle to be closer to your body than you think. I had my arms almost at a T compared to my torso and that just hurt my shoulders really bad. To help me visualize my arm angle, I would rotate my elbows just a little in while lowering then touch the bar to right where my ribcage starts near the bottom of your chest muscle. At first, that felt unnatural but once I got used to it, I felt the burn in my chest rather than my shoulders, EUREKA!

4. Mental visualization. As you start lowering the bar, keep your entire body tense, especially your butt and don't lose your shoulder blade position. As soon as the bar touches the chest, explode the bar back up but let the explosion come from your butt that moves up to your chest then arms but never moving your butt at all. It is hard to explain, it makes you feel like you want to live your butt up off the bench but don't lift the butt at all. That "push" gives me the power to move the bar out of the hole.

It took me about 3 weeks to get all of this form work ready and prepared. I increased 5lbs almost every week since then and now I am at 5x5x195lbs and kinda stuck again but at least nothing else is burning except my triceps and chest muscles.

You can do it! Use this "off" as an opportunity to prepare for when you are "on" again!

To give you some perspective, here are my stats.

H: 6 feet
W: 201 lbs

Squats: 5x5x265lbs (just reached this Wednesday)
Deadlift: 1x5x285lbs (on this since a week ago, need more grip work)
Overhead Press: 5x5x130lbs (just reached this Monday)
Bench Press: 5x5x195lbs (just reached this last Monday)
Rows: 5x5x155lbs (just got to it this Wednesday)

I eat about 2700-3500 calories a day and I don't really keep track of nutrition or protein intake.

I still feel like a newbie but I am squatting more than anybody else I see at the gym while benching about the low end compared to everybody else.

I never have seen a single person do an overhead press and I'm so CLOSE to having a 45lb plate on each end!!!

 

[Xcobra]

Consider re-addressing your form. I'm a weight training newbie and never lifted in my life and just started last year.

I was stuck at doing 5x5x175 for a very long time, where before I would progress anywhere from 5-10lbs a week. I felt like my triceps and chest were strong enough to lift more but for some reason, the rest of my body wasn't.

I did a shit ton of research on bench press form and found I was doing a lot of things wrong.

1. Pull your shoulder blades back AND down. This makes it look like your are puffing your chest out in exaggeration. This one took a little while to get used to and I found that I didn't have good upper back flexibility to pull this off so I did a ton of back flexibility rolling on foam and also strengthened my back doing a lot of rows. Once I could consistently statically hold my shoulder blades to touch each other and down (do not do a shrug) then I found that my bench was suddenly a lot easier.

2. Grip width. This one is a little more difficult to determine. I was originally going WAY too wide of a grip thinking it would make the bench easier. The best grip is what allows your wrists to be exactly over your elbows when the bar is at your lower chest. For me, that is putting my pinky finger around the outer ring on the barbell.

3. Arm angle. Once you get the grip width down, pay attention to how you are lowering the barbell. You want your arm angle to be closer to your body than you think. I had my arms almost at a T compared to my torso and that just hurt my shoulders really bad. To help me visualize my arm angle, I would rotate my elbows just a little in while lowering then touch the bar to right where my ribcage starts near the bottom of your chest muscle. At first, that felt unnatural but once I got used to it, I felt the burn in my chest rather than my shoulders, EUREKA!

4. Mental visualization. As you start lowering the bar, keep your entire body tense, especially your butt and don't lose your shoulder blade position. As soon as the bar touches the chest, explode the bar back up but let the explosion come from your butt that moves up to your chest then arms but never moving your butt at all. It is hard to explain, it makes you feel like you want to live your butt up off the bench but don't lift the butt at all. That "push" gives me the power to move the bar out of the hole.

It took me about 3 weeks to get all of this form work ready and prepared. I increased 5lbs almost every week since then and now I am at 5x5x195lbs and kinda stuck again but at least nothing else is burning except my triceps and chest muscles.

You can do it! Use this "off" as an opportunity to prepare for when you are "on" again!

To give you some perspective, here are my stats.

H: 6 feet
W: 201 lbs

Squats: 5x5x265lbs (just reached this Wednesday)
Deadlift: 1x5x285lbs (on this since a week ago, need more grip work)
Overhead Press: 5x5x130lbs (just reached this Monday)
Bench Press: 5x5x195lbs (just reached this last Monday)
Rows: 5x5x155lbs (just got to it this Wednesday)

I eat about 2700-3500 calories a day and I don't really keep track of nutrition or protein intake.

I still feel like a newbie but I am squatting more than anybody else I see at the gym while benching about the low end compared to everybody else.

I never have seen a single person do an overhead press and I'm so CLOSE to having a 45lb plate on each end!!!

This is a pretty helpful post. It's pretty much what I do with DBs. But definitely puffing out your chest activates those muscles.

 

[Maleficus]

Sorry guys, I actually forgot about this post, perhaps in an attempt to forget about my bench until Thursday (my bench day, to avoid international bench day)

Anyway, stats:

6'1"
195lbs +/- 5lbs

1RM:
DL: 345lbs
OHP: 140lbs
BP: 190lbs

I'm currently doing 5/3/1 w/ big but boring, on my 3rd cycle, im coming off of a year of 4 day split work.

Form: decent arch, but not full on powerlifter how do I ROM arch.
pinky @ oly knurls
grip the bar as hard as possible
pull the bar apart
lower w/ control (maybe 1 second eccentric)
try to explode upwards (more like slowly eek the bar upwards)

attempt to keep forearms in line with wrist, lower to bottom portion of pecs.

squat stat is excluded due to a knee injury preventing me from squatting.

 

[Zivic]

Don't mind the raging idiot in the corner, i can't get my BP to progress.

yes, i mad.

you need to squat more to improve your bench.... seriously. without squats, you will have trouble increasing your bench

 

[elitejp]

eat more

You would think this would be the main answer everyone would be giving

EAT MORE!
EAT MORE!
EAT MORE!

 

[Maleficus]

I'm trying to lower my BF%, eating more... no.

 

[elitejp]

well sorry then because getting stronger and losing bf does not go together unless your on some super supplements

 

[marmasatt]

You've got to build the wall before you can paint it.

 

[classy]

I am a decent bench presser, but I have over 20 years lifting as well. I can say right off the bat looking at some of the posts, I see several guys doing 5x5. I can say from experience, your bench probably won't increase much with that format unless you are seriously advanced. A progressive session IMO is still the best for increasing your bench. 1x8:145 twice, 1x10:155, 1x12:185, 1x8:225, 1x2:275, 1x15:145. Thats my routine once a week. I train my chest again with dips and inclines to complete training twice a week. I haven't maxed out in years, but I believe well fed and rested, I'll do 330+.

There are ways to increase your bench. The most easiest way is to heavy bench only once every 7-10 days. Old powerlifting technique. Then use dips with weight to train the chest, if want to work the chest twice a week. If you have a partner, complete your workout then load up 20-25 lbs above your max, get some help completing 2-3 reps. Sometimes to break a plateau, just having the body handle heavier weight even with help can help progress you. Good benching is also about form as well as raw strength. Practice a wider or narrower grip as well. Its a little different for each person. Eating correctly shouldn't need any clarification.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Having caught up on the thread. Google increase bench press. Bodybuilding.com has a ton of articles. Read them.

IMHO: Do shoulder strengthening/mobility exercises. You'd be surprised how quicly you can add 15 pounds to your bench press. I bet you could get 200 up in 4 weeks time. Either way, search bodybuilding.com via google and read everything you can on bench press. There are tons of themes that you will see repeating themselves.