My bench is weak and also at a standstill! HELP!

[8-Hype]

My goal is hypertrophy, not strength, and so far I'm progressing pretty well. But for the last 5 sessions I did bench press, I always had the same one rep max.

Please don't laugh, but the last two times I could only do 110 for 5 reps, and couldn't get the bar entirely up on the 6th. But please don't forget, I'm a relatively tall guy and you know what is being said about tall guys benching...

I'm not progressing at all in that category. What would be options to improve my bench? Not doing it for some time and picking it up again later on, or just doing 20 rep sets for now?

[DJAuto]

Stop practicing maxes, and stay in the 8-12 range.

Use accessory movements to work the involved musculature.

[8-Hype]

Originally Posted by DJAuto

Use accessory movements to work the involved musculature.

???

[Laxer311]

try weighted dips or just plain dips that has worked for me and many others.

[8-Hype]

Originally Posted by Laxer311

try weighted dips or just plain dips that has worked for me and many others.

To get your bench max up?

[Darkazoid]

I would indeed work the other muscles that help for bench presses, i.-e. triceps, lats. Changing exercises is good too, I would go for another type of training to approach the muscle differently. Also, try unstable push-ups: it does wonders for the core and front delts, besides the major improvement on pecs! You do these by placing a barbell on top of a dumbbell (in the middle) and doing push-ups without the two extremes touching the ground.

Good luck!!

[ironwill2008]

There's little reason for bodybuilders to do 1 rep maxes; I'd suggest you stay away from them. If you're trying to build mass, then train in a mass-building rep range- around 8-12. As others already said, vary your exercises and equipment occasionally, and yes, dips will definitely help your bench.

[8-Hype]

Originally Posted by Darkazoid

I would indeed work the other muscles that help for bench presses, i.-e. triceps, lats. Changing exercises is good too, I would go for another type of training to approach the muscle differently. Also, try unstable push-ups: it does wonders for the core and front delts, besides the major improvement on pecs! You do these by placing a barbell on top of a dumbbell (in the middle) and doing push-ups without the two extremes touching the ground.

Good luck!!

Sounds like a great exercise!

[SDFlip]

if your goal is size/hypertrophy, why are you maxing out?


and what's with the 20 rep thing? it's not something you should be doing for all exercises. it might work well for squats but bench, i don't think so. especially if you're working on size. stick to the 6-12 rep range.

[chazzy1864]

Originally Posted by SDFlip

if your goal is size/hypertrophy, why are you maxing out?


and what's with the 20 rep thing? it's not something you should be doing for all exercises. it might work well for squats but bench, i don't think so. especially if you're working on size. stick to the 6-12 rep range.

+1

If you are having trouble upping your reps, then force yourself to up the weight. Not by much, toss a 2.5lb weight on each side. 5lbs isn't going to change much, and you should be able to get the same amount of reps. Work your way up in weight, get over that plateau and then work on increasing your reps.

[IceColdJones]

Definitely try dips and dont do barbell benchpress all the time, do dumbbells sometimes or try a chest press machine and switch it up. You could also try a supplement or two if you haven't tried anything yet.

[SpittfireDA]

I plateaued on my bench (@ 110 too actually!) and believe it or not I stopped doing BB bench all together for 6 weeks and did all DB work.

when I went back to it 6 weeks later, I was able to add weight AND increase reps.

[IceColdJones]

Originally Posted by Spittfireda

I plateaued on my bench (@ 110 too actually!) and believe it or not I stopped doing BB bench all together for 6 weeks and did all DB work.

when I went back to it 6 weeks later, I was able to add weight AND increase reps.

Yeah 8-Hype, if the lady has you then that means you need to change it up!!

[Kiknskreem]

Originally Posted by 8-Hype

My goal is hypertrophy, not strength....

Please don't laugh, but the last two times I could only do 110 for 5 reps, and couldn't get the bar entirely up on the 6th.

At your level this is a pretty meaningless distinction. Don't get caught up in methods for those more advanced than you.

Look into Starting Strength... it will teach you how to train correctly.

[8-Hype]

Originally Posted by IceColdJones

Definitely try dips and dont do barbell benchpress all the time, do dumbbells sometimes or try a chest press machine and switch it up. You could also try a supplement or two if you haven't tried anything yet.

I do machine dips every chest workout, and just look at my profile to see the supplements I'm using.

[BEhave]

Honestly, just get on rippetoes or bill starr if you want to up your strength. I would go with rippetoes.

[chazzy1864]

Perhaps look into decline bench. Stimulates the same area of the chest, and is a stronger position. Upping weight on that lift, could definitely help you up weight on flat bench. Or you might just realize you don't need flat bench, and drop it all together.

[Jtrain71]

Originally Posted by 8-Hype

My goal is hypertrophy, not strength, and so far I'm progressing pretty well. But for the last 5 sessions I did bench press, I always had the same one rep max.

Please don't laugh, but the last two times I could only do 110 for 5 reps, and couldn't get the bar entirely up on the 6th. But please don't forget, I'm a relatively tall guy and you know what is being said about tall guys benching...

I'm not progressing at all in that category. What would be options to improve my bench? Not doing it for some time and picking it up again later on, or just doing 20 rep sets for now?

Hey bro, if its size that you want. Try some of Joe Weiders advanced bodybuilding system principals. One of them that i use which i cant remember what its called, but its when you concentrate on your negative (by which i mean go slow and controlled, just dont drop the weight) and then explode the press. This allows your body to build more white muscle tissue. Also if you want size you have to train heavy, there's really no way around it. I like to do anywhere from 6 to 8 reps. Also training to do 20 reps for bench is not helping your cause. Your just building the lactic acid up in your muscle which gives you the burn. Do that on your auxilary lifts, not you core excercises. Try not to get frustrated, bench is very frustrating excersise especially if you have long arms and everyone likes to measure how strong you are by how much you can bench. Hope this is helpful

[bigman334]

to the original poster..something that helped me a whole lot is using the bench with the higher rack. it's only about a inch or so difference but it allowed me to add another 10-20 lbs on my bench. i too have long arms. i had been using the lower one for like 10 months before i finally decided to use the higher one.

[DJAuto]

Originally Posted by 8-Hype

???

1. Directly work the anterior deltoids and triceps.
2. Train specific portions of the press (i.e top, bottom etc.). Powerlifters have GREAT techniques to accomplish this.

[Laxer311]

correct me if im wrong but you mean 110kg right not 110 lbs?

[dirtydean12]

what's your total chest routine?

[8-Hype]

Originally Posted by dirtydean12

what's your total chest routine?

3 x flat bench
3 x incline DB press
3 x cable crossovers, superset with 5 push-ups
3 x decline DB pullover
3 x pec dec

I do that twice a week. Could there possibly be anything wrong with it?

[bigman334]

Originally Posted by 8-Hype

3 x flat bench
3 x incline DB press
3 x cable crossovers, superset with 5 push-ups
3 x decline DB pullover
3 x pec dec

I do that twice a week. Could there possibly be anything wrong with it?

you should experiment with giving your chest more rest. couldnt hurt anything imo..i've seen it many times. extra rest and the strength shoots through the roof. how long have you been doing that routine twice a week?

[8-Hype]

Originally Posted by bigman334

you should experiment with giving your chest more rest. couldnt hurt anything imo..i've seen it many times. extra rest and the strength shoots through the roof. how long have you been doing that routine twice a week?

Well, for about 4 weeks. But sometimes I just change it up and replace one exercise with another one not in the list. I just work my chest, and at the end of the workout and the next day, I can really feel my chest being worked out. Is twice a week not enough rest for such a routine, or should I just do less work?

[bigman334]

Originally Posted by 8-Hype

Well, for about 4 weeks. But sometimes I just change it up and replace one exercise with another one not in the list. I just work my chest, and at the end of the workout and the next day, I can really feel my chest being worked out. Is twice a week not enough rest for such a routine, or should I just do less work?

different strokes for different folks. i'm just sayin it's possible your chest could benefit from a little rest in terms of recovery. I do something very similar to you however after the second week i give the chest around 4-5 days of rest. Once i started doing this my strength began to increase whereas i was stuck before..

[hessunit]

Originally Posted by 8-Hype

My goal is hypertrophy, not strength

So why the hell do you care about your max bench?

If you want to grow, stop doing one rep maxes and listen to the other guys...like DJAuto when they say to up your rep ranges. Rule of thumb....8-12 for size. Play with this number though.

[nth12]

dude if you do the same thing for a long peroid of time you stop growing. A traineer i had told me its like hitting rock bottom because your muscle is so used to doing that same workout over and over again.
Like all the other guys are saying DO NOT do a max alot. Do high reps and then work your way to heavy weight. the least reps you should do id like sets of 5.

im 15 and am close to benching 250 at only 170 pounds.
and i only max twice to 3 times a year

[JerG]

1. Work on form
2. Get on a better routine
3. Eat more food

[MikeB062992]

You should do other excercises besides just bench press.
Other chest excercises and tricep excercises, like weighted dips.