# Bench Press Is Out Of Proportion



## Jock (Apr 8, 2003)

Hey fellas

I'm getting a little concerned, while I never been very good at bench pressing and I try not to get obsessed about it like most bb'ers my bench press remains very, very weak.

Here are my stats:

Age: 21

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 180lbs

BF%: 17%

Training History: 5 Years (3 seriously)

Just to give you a little idea here are my maxes:

Squat: 140kg (308lbs)

Deadlift: 150kg (330lbs)

Bench Press: 80kg (187lbs)

I train hard using all the compound excercises. My squat have gradually improved but my bench press remains at a plateau. My diet is fairly good and I try to get at least 150g of protein a day.

I'm literally stumped as to what the problem is? The biggest guys in my gym can only Squat & Deadlift 10-20kg more than me but they can bench press 40-50kg more than me for reps.

At the moment I'm bench pressing 70kg (154lbs) 3 sets of 6 reps with perfect form.

What should I do?

Thanks, Jock


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## robin_3_16 (Aug 27, 2003)

the way i do it personally and has worked for me i am 18 benching 70 for 6 the same as you, i go up by doing a weight for a certain amount of time then moving up to the next weight and sticking to it and trying to add in one or two reps, then as you go up the previous weights get easier this is not the the best way but it can work

hope this helps!

can i ask when you swuat do u go all the way down i can squat 120kg just cant go all the way down, worried i am cheating a bit too much, my quads and glutes styill hurt the next day though


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Bench, my favorite and strongest lift:

I do my bench first and do this lift every Monday. My routine is as follows: (last workout).

135 lbs 12 reps for a warm up

185 lbs for 9 reps and can do about 20 to failure but I only do 9

225 lbs I do for 4 reps but can do 17

285 lbs I either go all out for this one for 8 or just do 1 or 2

315 lbs I go all out for this and get 3 if I didnt go all out for the last one.

What I do is save my strength for the last workset. This set gets a liftoff and a spotter, same bench and same bar each workout.

This last workset is a longer wait (time) than the other sets. I try to time the last set being warmed up and not fetigued and ready for failure on the last set. I also pace around in front of the bench and kindof work myslef up into a frenzie. I tell myself that everyone is watching me and I have to be strong. Get the liftoff and go for it.

Another thing, if your grip is too wide then you are hitting the front delt too much. If your grip is too narrow then you will hit the triceps more. There is kindof a natural ark in the lift starting lower on the chest and pushing it up more twards over the eyes at the last part of the lift. I would be willing to bet that your form needs some adjusting a bit for the power. I think by going strict you keep the bar across the chest, and keep your albows square with your chest, right?

For power the grip is narrower and elbows are actually kindof tward your side, bar lower twards the bottom of the chest, kindof like a decline and actually hitting more triceps at the bottom of the lift. As the weight goes up the elbows move to a more square position and the bar comes more twards the top part of your chest. Exhailing during the pushing porton of the lift saving some air for the lockout.

On this lift the grip is open (thumbs next to fore-finger) 

Each week you might get another rep and just move up acrodingly.


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## turbo (Nov 23, 2003)

> Originally posted by hackskii
> 
> *Bench, my favorite and strongest lift:*
> 
> ...


That sounds very much like me mate. I usually do a few medium weight (180lb) sets to get warmed up, then I get myself all worked up and hit the heavier ones. (220->250lb). I have thrash metal blasting out on the cd player, and think of the things which have really anoyed me during the day. Sometimes I even slap my face sometimes to get really worked up.

Before I started doing the above, my bench was stuck at about 180lb for ages. I just couldnt get above 200lb.

Besides getting more angry and worked up, I found trying a few 1 rep max lifts helped me move that sticking point. Id aim for 1 rep, then if that was easy, id squeeze a 2nd rep out. After a few sessions of this, I was amazed that I could then go back and lift 200lb for 8 reps or more without any probs.

Only hold up I have though, is that I workout at home, and so havent got any spotters. Occasionally ive got stuck under a 240lb barbell and had to somehow get out from under it!


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

12 week cycle by Ted Arcidi for Bench Press.

12 week cycle

Weeks 1-3: 3*6

Weeks 4-6: 3*5

Weeks 7-9: 3*3

Weeks 10-11: combine sets of 3 and two reps

Week 12: meet day; open with a bench that you have done for at least four reps


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## Desdicado (May 7, 2003)

Jock, you have very similar maxes to me mate, including the low bench press one.

Saying that, I can't remember the last time I used the bench for my chest, I always now use free weights for my chest as you're hitting the stabilising muscles as well in your arms.

I can do 40kg each hand but that's the heaviest free weights they have at my place.


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Another Strength Routine based on percent of your max. This one seems the most sound to me. You will leave the gym and not feel like you did enough but just wait till the 14th week. Said to put on 25 lbs on your bench press and 40 lbs on your squat and 45 lbs on your deads.

You will start this program with 70 percent of you maximum(your max) for two weeks, then increase

the percentage every week until the 14th week. On the 14th week you will do 3 different sets with different

weight.( the last set will be 111 percent of your max)

Weeks % of Max Sets/Reps

Week 1 70 2/10

Week 2 70 2/10

Week 3 73 2/8

Week 4 76 2/8

Week 5 79 2/5

Week 6 82 2/5

Week 7 85 2/5

Week 8 88 2/5

Week 9 91 2/3

Week 10 94 2/3

Week 11 97 2/2

Week 12 100 2/2

Week 13 104 1/1

Week 14 107 1/1

Week 15 109 1/1

Week 16 111 1/1


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## BSF James (Sep 29, 2003)

Jock,

Those are still pretty good lifts for your weight you know. I wouldn't be too disheartened. Although there is a slight imbalance there. It certainly suggests that your upper body is not as strong as your legs. Are the weights you are lifting important to you because you want to be strong, or start powerlifting, or do you train to get big?

If you just want to get bigger, then the weight you lift is merely a tool to assist you in that quest - so long as your muscles are taxed sufficiently, it really isn't that important.

However, if this is goal you have in mind then here is my advice:

1. The bench press is not purely a chest exercise, its a whole body exercise when done for pure strength. The whole upper body is brought into play when making the lift and the lower body works hard too - to stabilise the lift. Deltoids and triceps are particularly important. Often it can be these muscles that fail first, rather than the chest. Try to identify which muscles fail first for you. If you fail at the bottom of the press, then it is the chest, midway the shoulders, near lockout it is the triceps. Once you identify the weakpoint(s), then you can tailor your training to deal with them.

2. Try 5 x 5 training as discussed in the other thread, at least for a month or two and see if it helps. Take big rests between sets and go for maximum recovery and maximum weight. Always remember to warm up well though.

3. Try 'dead bench presses' if your gym has a power rack. I dont know if this is the proper name for this exercise or if I invented it, but its based on the idea behind deadlifts. For most exercises there is a stretch reflex. A stretch reflex is where a muscle contracts because it has been stretched to near its maximum. For instance in the bench press at the bottom of the lift, your chest is stretched and you have an automatic feeling of having to press the weight back up (almost like elastic). This is because your pectorals are stretched and are trying to contract. This adds some force to your press and allows you to lift more weight. The purpose of powerlifting shirts is to artificially replicate and increase this reflex. Deadlifts are the only exercise where there is no stretch reflex because you lift from a dead start. If you position a bench beneath a power rack with the pins set so that the barbell stops about two inches above your chest, you can do a 'dead' bench press. Here you press the weight from a dead start, lower it to rest on the pins, pause for a second then repeat. This takes away the stretch reflex and makes you develop more explosive power in your fast twitch muscle fibres. If you set a goal to be able to lift 80kg from a dead start, then you should find your normal bench press increase by around 5kg.

4. Do close grip bench presses and some form of shoulder press. These will help increase tricep and deltoid strength.

I hope thats of some use. I used these ideas and some others with myself and some of my customers and acheived some good results. My last powerlifting cycle I took my bench from 80kg for 5 to 90kg for 10/100kg for 5 (my weight rose from 76kg to 84kg).


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## robin_3_16 (Aug 27, 2003)

that is some good advice blood


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## Jock (Apr 8, 2003)

Thanks for all your ideas and input guys. You've been a big help.

Thanks, Jock


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## Guest (Dec 2, 2003)

Jock,

Not sure if this is of any use to you but it helped me in the same situation. I was stuck on 100KG bench last year, and injured by shoulder doing 110KG trying to improve my performance. Since then the shoulder has never felt comfortable benching, so I have used dumbell press ever since. The result is that my chest size is up by about 2 inches, and i have progressed from 36KG dumbells to 42KG dumbells, which i can now just about use for 2 sets of 8 (normal training routine) after doing incline dumbell press.


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## BSF James (Sep 29, 2003)

Bridger, what you say has a lot of merit - dumbbell presses are actually far more effective at targeting specifically the chest than barbell bench press. I actually once did a study on this using electromyography (measuring electrical output of the pectoral muscles) and I found that when using dbs for benching, the chest was involved to a much greater extent. I dont have the results to hand, but basically in bb bench the chest did around 45% of the work with delts doing ~35% and tricep doing approx 20%. In db bench the chest on average did around 55% of the total work. So in terms of really targeting in on the pecs, db bench presses are indeed superior.

However, barbell bench presses are a compound movement for the whole upper body and have many other advantages over dumbbells, the two main ones being:

1) It is a more demanding exercise and the increased strain put on the body illicits a better hormone output (e.g. more testosterone released).

2) You can use more weight precisely because you are involving the other muscle groups to a greater extent. Obviously using more weight puts more total strain on the muscles, tearing them down more and promoting more growth.

In conclusion

- if you're concentrating on building/working solely your chest then db bench presses are probably the better choice.

- if you want to build up the whole upper body and develop overall strength then the barbell bench press is the best option.


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

But if you have shoulder problems from benching (bar) then the dumbbells will do less damage in the rotators. If the bar hurts your shoulders then I would drop the bar and do dumbbells instead. I would rather have good shoulders and be able to lift than jacking them up later and not be able to do nothing but legs.

You might want to do some rotator exercises to help out your shoulders.

Also when people lift heavy on chest and don't do enough of the back (thickening) and trap work then you get out of balanced this condition can cause shoulder problems as well. Could this be the case?

Also, I would not do what I did and lift heavy for 9 months without going light either. Mix it up light medium and heavy days.


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## BSF James (Sep 29, 2003)

Two very good bits of advice there:

1. db bench press is much easier on the shoulders than barbell bench press if that is found to be a problem area

2.



> Also, I would not do what I did and lift heavy for 9 months without going light either. Mix it up light medium and heavy days.


I believe it is very important to cycle your training - training heavy all year round is not a good way to lift. I dont think anyone should train really heavy for any more than around 4-5 months before taking a month or so training lighter. The body needs a rest, and besides, if you change your program from heavy and low reps to light and high reps its a good little shock for the muscles - its always good to mix things up.


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## damagedgoods (Oct 17, 2003)

I got stuck a couple of months back with my benching - it was stuck at about 190... so for two week I stopped doing flat bench work and instead did incline Bench press (bar), and decline. On the declines I found I could only manage 3 working sets so I would then do two sets of negatives...

since then I 've got my bench up to 270 for 3 reps..

I also used to do inclines bench (bar) straight after doing flat and I've changed to doing incline flys. For two weeks in three I do flat bench the other week I do inclines and declines.

I also find that my bench is probably the weekest of my compound exercises


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## winger (Jul 26, 2003)

Wow we are really getting somewhere. Nice posts guys. I like the brainstorming (colective thinking).

I knew this world class power lifter and this is part of his routine. He had us cut the weight about 70% of max and do that weight 8 times. At the time I remember I could do about 10 or 12 with that weight. The next week he had us add 5 lbs to the lift and did 8 reps again. There was about 4 of us and all of us would leave the gym like we didnt even get a workout. We stuck with it because 20 years ago he charged us $75.00 and for a kid that was allot of money. Each week we added 5 lbs and in the end I think we all added about 20-30 pounds on our bench. I dont remember how many sets we did I think it was 5, but we did a down set alternating between close grip (about 10 inches) and pauses. So say if chest day is monday. On monday you do your bench and at the end of your workout you would bring the bar down and pause on your chest for 2 seconds and explode it up. Kinda like Silentbobs way. Then next week we would close the grip up and finish with the close grip bench.

They interviewed all the top benchers and they all had something different to say. But all of them did say this. On the bottom you need to explode the bar up.


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## turbo (Nov 23, 2003)

> Originally posted by winger
> 
> *They interviewed all the top benchers and they all had something different to say. But all of them did say this. On the bottom you need to explode the bar up. *


Of course, the slower you do the movement, the harder it is, so to lift heavy weights, you do need to get as much momentum as possible during the press. The quicker you can press that barbell up to lockout, the easier it is.

Bit like holding your breath whilst lowering the barbell down... since your chest is expanded with air, you have less distance to lower the barbell, thus making the exercise easier still. Then you exhale whilst pushing the barbell up.


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## robdog (Dec 2, 2003)

sounds like an interesting way to do bench winger. i may give it a try.


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