# Strong arms, weak chest



## Sul (Feb 2, 2014)

What should the difference in kg be between your DB curl and your DB bench? My chest is terribly weak, while my Bi's and Tri's are pretty strong. I have no idea why, but my arms just seem to progress so quickly in strength, while my chest takes ages. I curl 20's but can only do 25's on the incline bench. I should atleast be doing 30's imo...

Is any way to correct this? Thanks in advance


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## Echo (Sep 24, 2013)

Curls have nothing to do with the Bench Press. Curls work your Biceps, where as the Bench Press involves the Triceps.

Decline Bench Press is pretty good, takes your shoulders out of it, that maybe why


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## DiamondDixie (Oct 17, 2009)

It doesn't matter, just train, struggle and grow.

Answer this -

Have many inches should my kn0b hang lower than my balls??


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## Sul (Feb 2, 2014)

Echo said:


> Curls have nothing to do with the Bench Press. Curls work your Biceps, where as the Bench Press involves the Triceps.


I know that, its just most people, even people new to weights, can bench alot more then they curl.


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## Heavyassweights (Jan 18, 2014)

DiamondDixie said:


> It doesn't matter, just train, struggle and grow.
> 
> Answer this -
> 
> Have many inches should my kn0b hang lower than my balls??


Yours hangs below?


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## Echo (Sep 24, 2013)

Sul said:


> I know that, its just most people, even people new to weights, can bench alot more then they curl.


Well yeah, the Bench is a compound movement whereas the bicep curl is an isolation exercise


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## DiamondDixie (Oct 17, 2009)

well it's quite a lengthy piece, synthol does have it uses you know!


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## Carbon-12 (Feb 26, 2013)

that you OP?


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## Sul (Feb 2, 2014)

DiamondDixie said:


> Have many inches should my kn0b hang lower than my balls??


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## Sul (Feb 2, 2014)

Carbon-12 said:


> that you OP?


Nah I prefer the clive routine myself


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## Brook877 (May 16, 2012)

If your curling 20's but only benching 25's I would guess there's a heap of cheating and swinging going on in those curls..


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## Sul (Feb 2, 2014)

Nope. good form, no momentum or bending my back. I can do them for 5 on each arm but any more then that and my form goes to crap


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Considering your triceps make up 2/3 of upper arm I woukd say you dont grow quickly or get very strong on arms be ause triceps are used on bench so the problem is you are not very strong .


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## DiscSupps (Oct 26, 2012)

Sul said:


> What should the difference in kg be between your DB curl and your DB bench? My chest is terribly weak, while my Bi's and Tri's are pretty strong. I have no idea why, but my arms just seem to progress so quickly in strength, while my chest takes ages. I curl 20's but can only do 25's on the incline bench. I should atleast be doing 30's imo...
> 
> Is any way to correct this? Thanks in advance


Bicep tendon attaches into shoulder which is closely linked to chest. You must have tight shoulders? Do you stretch often? Stretching pec major and the biceps could release the shoulder girdle and in time improve your bench.

Do you just dumbbell press or do you get on the flat bench?? Scott


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## harryalmighty (Nov 13, 2011)

Sul said:


> What should the difference in kg be between your DB curl and your DB bench? My chest is terribly weak, while my Bi's and Tri's are pretty strong. I have no idea why, but my arms just seem to progress so quickly in strength, while my chest takes ages. I curl 20's but can only do 25's on the incline bench. I should atleast be doing 30's imo...
> 
> Is any way to correct this? Thanks in advance


i curl 20/22.5k dbs at most for 12 reps with good form and i bench 45k db's. so either your fvcked up or im fvcked up.


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## K-Rod (Sep 10, 2012)

Why not try to improve your chest by pressing with a barbell instead of dumbells?


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## Boroboy1980 (Dec 16, 2013)

This may sound harsh, but purely based on the question, I don't think you curl 20kg dumbells.


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## Sul (Feb 2, 2014)

K-Rod said:


> Why not try to improve your chest by pressing with a barbell instead of dumbells?


I do. Flat BB bench is my first exercise. But dumbbells feel better for some reason.


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## Sul (Feb 2, 2014)

Boroboy1980 said:


> This may sound harsh, but purely based on the question, I don't think you curl 20kg dumbells.


Why's that then?


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## Sul (Feb 2, 2014)

harryalmighty said:


> i curl 20/22.5k dbs at most for 12 reps with good form and i bench 45k db's. so either your fvcked up or im fvcked up.


Damn, 45 a side is strong. Your not ****ed up, your curl to bench ratio is pretty normal. Mine isn't, as my chest struggles to improve while my arms get stronger nearly every week, and I don't even train them that much.


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## Boroboy1980 (Dec 16, 2013)

Sul said:


> Why's that then?


20kg dumbells are very heavy to bicep curl by anyone's standards. You strike me as someone very new to the gym.

Probably in your late teens / early 20's. the difference between what you say you can curl and what you can press makes no sense and so makes me heavily question the way you are curling these 20's.


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## Slater8486 (Jul 14, 2010)

Boroboy1980 said:


> 20kg dumbells are very heavy to bicep curl by anyone's standards. You strike me as someone very new to the gym.
> 
> Probably in your late teens / early 20's. the difference between what you say you can curl and what you can press makes no sense and so makes me heavily question the way you are curling these 20's.


Kind of agree with this as I usually stick round the 40kg DB press and when it comes to curling and I do them very strict & I stick around 15kg 17.5kg region... On Dumbbells that is, come standing bar curls I go heavy...


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## Sul (Feb 2, 2014)

Boroboy1980 said:


> 20kg dumbells are very heavy to bicep curl by anyone's standards. You strike me as someone very new to the gym.
> 
> Probably in your late teens / early 20's. the difference between what you say you can curl and what you can press makes no sense and so makes me heavily question the way you are curling these 20's.


That's fair enough, I can understand that.

I'm 16 and have been going to the gym for 7 months, but before that I worked out at home. If you look at my first thread you can see my 6 month bulk progress. I put my (relatively) strong biceps down to chinups, I have been doing them (nearly) every day for 2 years. I have an Iron gym bar. Its a pretty neat piece of equipment.


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## 2004mark (Oct 26, 2013)

Some points:

Why are you comparing incline bench and curls... I just don't understand it... well I do lol... like most 16 year olds your thinking is ****ed up. All I'm seeing is, 16, curls, press... it's so cliche it's untrue. Concentrate on learning deads, squats, oh press, pull ups, chins, dips, rows, bench... forget about training arms.

Why are you doing an isolation for only 5 reps. At 16 it's a one way ticket to snap city. If you must curl aim for 8 at an absolute minimum... but 10-12 would be better.

I agree with others. There is no way you're performing a decent curl with 20kg.

As a note, lot of people are much weaker on incline bench than they are on flat, as mentioned earlier, it involves quite a bit of shoulder involvement.

Saying your chest is weak because your incline press is poor isn't a correct conclusion. It simply means your incline press is poor. This could be because of your chest, it could also be because of tris, shoulders (my guess) and flexibility.

A curl is also not about how much you can lift. If it becomes that in your head then your bicep will only end up doing about 1/2 the work as you turn it into a compound movement and recruit 'assistance' from any other muscle possible.


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## Sul (Feb 2, 2014)

I don't train with 20kg dbs, I only tried it as I was curious to see how many times I could do it. I used no momentum at all. When I do DB curls I am seated and have my back against a 90 degree bench. I use at most 16kg as my biceps are already fatigued.

I see what your saying, and I am definitely not one of those 'Curl bros'. I can see why I might have come across as one though lol. I only work my arms once a week, like all my other body parts. Though these past 2 weeks I have skipped them. I guess I just like training them as they (along with back) are one of my stronger areas.

I do all the compounds you listed, And am making good progress. The only one I'm not too keen on is deadlifts, as they **** up my entire back workout by making me feel nauseous. Some people have suggested doing rack pulls to me.

Another thing...Could any of you suggest a routine that focuses around compounds? (deads, squats, oh press, pull ups, chins, dips, rows, bench) I am thinking of switching to one of these instead of my typical 'bro' routine.


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## 2004mark (Oct 26, 2013)

Only reason I'm being a bit harsh is because all I'm seeing in my head is me at 17/18 when I stared training lol I used to do a arms day (not done one for about 3 years now btw) and probably worked my curl up to 24/26kg for around 6 reps. I was chuffed at the time, but when I look back it was pointless. All it served me for was tendinitis once I got into my late 20s. I do curl now but with less weight now than I did then... and guess what... my biceps are better.

Stick with full deads. The reason why they make you feel nauseous is because they're doing their job like no other exercise your doing is. That feeling will start to go away as your CNS adapts to the load your asking of it. If I were to do a back/bi session I'm happy just doing deads and then finishing off with a couple sets of pullups and curls. That's it. You don't need to do much more. If you really can't get on with them then fine, no one exercise is essential... but stick with them for the time being would be my advice.

tbh I'm could tell you the name of few routines based around compounds, but I can't tell you which is best as I've not done any of them to the letter. I'm sure someone can advise though.

If you're not, start logging what your doing. It's the best way to make sure you're progressing week on week.


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## harryalmighty (Nov 13, 2011)

Sul said:


> Damn, 45 a side is strong. Your not ****ed up, your curl to bench ratio is pretty normal. Mine isn't, as my chest struggles to improve while my arms get stronger nearly every week, and I don't even train them that much.


cheers mate - but 45k is pretty average for how long ive been training (2.5 yrs).

as @Mark2004 said concentrate on heavy compounds for the moment by the time your 18 / 19 years old youl thank yourself that you did.


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## harryalmighty (Nov 13, 2011)

Sul said:


> I don't train with 20kg dbs, I only tried it as I was curious to see how many times I could do it. I used no momentum at all. When I do DB curls I am seated and have my back against a 90 degree bench. I use at most 16kg as my biceps are already fatigued.
> 
> I see what your saying, and I am definitely not one of those 'Curl bros'. I can see why I might have come across as one though lol. I only work my arms once a week, like all my other body parts. Though these past 2 weeks I have skipped them. I guess I just like training them as they (along with back) are one of my stronger areas.
> 
> ...


try PPL for 6 months (push pull legs) or jump straight onto an upper / lower routine.


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## Sul (Feb 2, 2014)

Does this look any good? http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler74.htm It has all the compounds, and the routine looks solid. Also, 5 days a week is going to be difficult to fit around college, so this looks perfect.

I've had a look at the routine and it looks pretty sweet. 1 thing though, would replacing BB rows with T bar rows be alright? I don't mind doing BB rows, but I'm more used to t bars. I'm also making really sweet strength gains on them as well, and would hate to stop doing them.


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## Sul (Feb 2, 2014)

Also, I don't exactly know why the title and opening text is about getting bigger arms, as the program pretty much works the whole body. Probably trying to reel in those curl bro's and teach em the right way to go about training.


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## Sul (Feb 2, 2014)

Also, will I pack on good size as well as strength? Some people on other forums have said lower rep ranges are not good for mass. I want both strength and mass.


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## graham58 (Apr 7, 2013)

DiamondDixie said:


> It doesn't matter, just train, struggle and grow.
> 
> Answer this -
> 
> Have many inches should my kn0b hang lower than my balls??


mine only hangs 1 inch lower than my balls,but my balls hang 2 inchs past my knees


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