I hit a PR on deadlift at 315x2

[masshole-nate]

, but my bench sucks. Any ideas as to how I can increase my chest strength.

Current chest workout on Mondays:

4 sets of BB flat bench (12,10,6, failure) reps, 4 sets of incline BB bench, dips to failure.
-I isolate tris after chest.

Tuesdays-legs, Wednesday-back and DL's, Thursday-Shoulders, Friday iso bi's and tri's.

I'm considering adding a strength chest training day on Friday. Low reps, a lot of sets.

Any ideas or suggestions?

[iversonmourning]

I got the exact opposite problem as you. My bench is quite good, my squat and deads sucks. Try some dumb bell presses on a decline or flat. Sometimes you just gotta play to your strengths and just continue to work on weaknesses.

[Appetite]

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbin...age=BenchPress

[Acesopro]

What's your grip on bench press look like? Do you put your hands at the end of the first line or wide grip at the last line?

I was stuck at 185lbs for months until I switched my form to wide grip, dropped the weight, and progressed. Wide grip takes most of your triceps out of the lift and focuses it all on your chest to build it.

Benching 225 for reps now easily.

[masshole-nate]

thanks for all the input. i try to have a wide grip with my pinkies on the inside of the last line on the bar. i have tried narrowing my grip, but to no avail. i have added dips to my workout within the last two weeks and hopefully this will show in the gains.

[Acesopro]

thanks for all the input. i try to have a wide grip with my pinkies on the inside of the last line on the bar. i have tried narrowing my grip, but to no avail. i have added dips to my workout within the last two weeks and hopefully this will show in the gains.

Put your middle finger on the last line.

[chinesemuscle]

you know not all the bars have the same line right?
Decrease your reps and increase your sets. You won't get stronger if you don't use heavier weights. Get a spotter and do 5x5 with 2 warm up sets. And switch barbell and dumbbell every two or three weeks. dumbbell help work stability muscles which will help with your overall strength

[zildjian_4]

So you have 2 days rest after doing tri's on friday. For me personally, tri's are one of my slowest recovering muscles:S . so i only train them with chest, so they get 4-5 days of rest. good luck!

[Jayo7k]

sup man

i'd keep ur routine the same but instead of going bb bench and then incline bb bench, maybe switch it up to incline db bench.

another thing you could do is get rid of the incline altogether and focus on going all out on your bench. you might be subconsciously trying to save energy for your nexts lifts but just use it all up on your flat bench and u should be okay.

my bench is my weak lift i'm currently at
455x1 squat
445x1 dead
265x1 bench

[masshole-nate]

you know not all the bars have the same line right?
Decrease your reps and increase your sets. You won't get stronger if you don't use heavier weights. Get a spotter and do 5x5 with 2 warm up sets. And switch barbell and dumbbell every two or three weeks. dumbbell help work stability muscles which will help with your overall strength

i started with db bench workouts (flat, incline, and decline) for a couple months. i started with 35lbs and worked my way up to repping 70lbs. i doubled my strength. i started flat bb bench a little over a month and haven't seen the gains i want.

[masshole-nate]

sup man

i'd keep ur routine the same but instead of going bb bench and then incline bb bench, maybe switch it up to incline db bench.

another thing you could do is get rid of the incline altogether and focus on going all out on your bench. you might be subconsciously trying to save energy for your nexts lifts but just use it all up on your flat bench and u should be okay.

my bench is my weak lift i'm currently at
455x1 squat
445x1 dead
265x1 bench

i just don't want to give up on growing all parts of my chest. i know i have to choose between focusing on growth or strength.

[masshole-nate]

So you have 2 days rest after doing tri's on friday. For me personally, tri's are one of my slowest recovering muscles:S . so i only train them with chest, so they get 4-5 days of rest. good luck!

i get a mad pump on tri day, but i honestly don't think recovery is the problem. usually after the 2nd day, my doms are gone.

[chazzy1864]

I'm just curious wtf your deadlift PR has to do with your bench press, at all??

[masshole-nate]

I'm just curious wtf your deadlift PR has to do with your bench press, at all??

absolutely nothing, but i brought it up to highlight the fact that i am making gains in some areas and continuing to struggle for gains in the chest department.

[nick.v]

absolutely nothing, but i brought it up to highlight the fact that i am making gains in some areas and continuing to struggle for gains in the chest department.

Strength gains will be relative to the bodypart you're training. Adding 5 lbs to your deadlift won't be as much as adding 5 pounds to your bench. Have you tried microloading? (as in adding less than 5 pounds to the bar)

[Mr.Cooper69]

Same boat my man. Long arms FTL. Can deadlift 390x1 at 140 pounds. My incline bench (I don't do flat)...125x6. Feels bad man

[dparm99]

Your bench is probably in proportion to your deadlift. You do realise you should be able to deadlift alot more than you bench?

[masshole-nate]

Strength gains will be relative to the bodypart you're training. Adding 5 lbs to your deadlift won't be as much as adding 5 pounds to your bench. Have you tried microloading? (as in adding less than 5 pounds to the bar)

that's what i did tonight... i added 2.5s for 190 total and repped it out once with a little struggle. i felt stronger today. my grip was a little wider and i kept my reps low.

[masshole-nate]

Same boat my man. Long arms FTL. Can deadlift 390x1 at 140 pounds. My incline bench (I don't do flat)...125x6. Feels bad man

try the microloading for low reps, hi sets. i've already seen some results on both flat and incline bb bench. albeit i this is the first session with such changes. the motivation from seeing just a little gain is great. also provides some confidence.

[masshole-nate]

Your bench is probably in proportion to your deadlift. You do realise you should be able to deadlift alot more than you bench?

oh yeah, i expect to be deadlifting 400 soon. i know it will be a very, very long time before i get 400 on the bench. if ever.

[F1eld]

for me deadlift is the easiest of the big 3 to get strong with. everybody's got different body mechanics.

at 165lbs i recently tried maxing on barbell bench and it was at 205

at 165lb bw my squat is not real strong i recently started doing 5x5 squats and wednesday was only handling 225x5 on my heaviest set

deadlifts though last year at 170lb bw i was easily handling over 400lbs

doing a 500lb deadlift at 170lbs would be pretty sweet, maybe if i had bionic arms and legs

[masshole-nate]

for me deadlift is the easiest of the big 3 to get strong with. everybody's got different body mechanics.

at 165lbs i recently tried maxing on barbell bench and it was at 205

at 165lb bw my squat is not real strong i recently started doing 5x5 squats and wednesday was only handling 225x5 on my heaviest set

deadlifts though last year at 170lb bw i was easily handling over 400lbs

doing a 500lb deadlift at 170lbs would be pretty sweet, maybe if i had bionic arms and legs

good job man. strong for your weight! i just need to stay focused and be patient. something that i think will help everyone in the long run.

[zildjian_4]

i get a mad pump on tri day, but i honestly don't think recovery is the problem. usually after the 2nd day, my doms are gone.

just because you dont "feel" it anymore doesnt mean youre recovered. your CNS takes longer than your muscles to get back to normal. you have 2 days of rest between tri's and chest, it takes 2 days for the doms to go away, soo, probably safe to assume your cns isnt fully recovered yet. just my .02

[zildjian_4]

for me deadlift is the easiest of the big 3 to get strong with. everybody's got different body mechanics.

at 165lbs i recently tried maxing on barbell bench and it was at 205

at 165lb bw my squat is not real strong i recently started doing 5x5 squats and wednesday was only handling 225x5 on my heaviest set

deadlifts though last year at 170lb bw i was easily handling over 400lbs

doing a 500lb deadlift at 170lbs would be pretty sweet, maybe if i had bionic arms and legs

who asked for your stats lol? keep it to yourself, honestly.

[masshole-nate]

just because you dont "feel" it anymore doesnt mean youre recovered. your CNS takes longer than your muscles to get back to normal. you have 2 days of rest between tri's and chest, it takes 2 days for the doms to go away, soo, probably safe to assume your cns isnt fully recovered yet. just my .02

i never considered the cns. any tips on how to spot signs of recovery or is it simply something your body will "tell you"? i benched yesterday, after a pretty strenuous week, and i hoestly felt pretty strong. that was 3 day rest for my chest group.

[nick.v]

just because you dont "feel" it anymore doesnt mean youre recovered. your CNS takes longer than your muscles to get back to normal. you have 2 days of rest between tri's and chest, it takes 2 days for the doms to go away, soo, probably safe to assume your cns isnt fully recovered yet. just my .02

Triceps shouldnt be a very taxing workout to the CNS unless doing some heavy pressing 2-3 times a week.

[masshole-nate]

Triceps shouldnt be a very taxing workout to the CNS unless doing some heavy pressing 2-3 times a week.

i only do a few iso workouts, at most, and dips.

[chefkev]

i only do a few iso workouts, at most, and dips.

I increased my 3 rep max on my bench from 245 to 275 by doing cage presses where I start the lift at the bottom of the lift (which is a lot people's sticking point). I also started doing weighted dips and worked my way up to 3 x 8 w/ 90lbs hanging off my junk
It really helped, but it took about 8 weeks. I focused on my deadlifts during that time and was doing 315 for 4x4, and I think handling that weight really helped all my other lifts (except my squats! they suck...)

[ArgentineMuscle]

I managed to get my bench by putting my ring/middle finger on the last line giving a bit of a wider bench press and now I bench a lot more now. One thing I did was working on the incline bench press and flat dumbbell press(btw I did this one handed bcuz I tended to have one arm lacking in strength so slow reps and focus on form ) ..that did it for me but everyones different .

[masshole-nate]

I increased my 3 rep max on my bench from 245 to 275 by doing cage presses where I start the lift at the bottom of the lift (which is a lot people's sticking point). I also started doing weighted dips and worked my way up to 3 x 8 w/ 90lbs hanging off my junk
It really helped, but it took about 8 weeks. I focused on my deadlifts during that time and was doing 315 for 4x4, and I think handling that weight really helped all my other lifts (except my squats! they suck...)

i just added dips myself. i was really weak the first session and i think that this was an area of concern that deserves so focus. i'm sure as i get stronger at dips, this will translate into gains on the bench.
i think that not only the strenth fromt dls makes you better at benching, but the confidence that you get from making gains translates over to the bench.