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  1. #1
    Registered User scotpak1979's Avatar
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    another weak bench thread!!!

    Sorry for the repetition guys but I'm really struggling with my bench. On week 11 of 531 and deadlift and squat have both progressed very well (using the 1 rep max calculator on a weekly basis) however the bench progress has been minimal.

    So I can rule out form could you please be kind enough to critique my bench form:

    Last edited by scotpak1979; 10-03-2014 at 01:40 PM.
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  2. #2
    Registered User ecchastang's Avatar
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    Overall, your form isn't bad. Not perfect, but not terrible. Could use a little more tightness, but sometimes without taking a handoff at a near max attempt, its harder to maintain that. Also, it seems that you might could touch slightly lower on your chest, and tuck your elbows a little more, but those are nitpicky things.
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  3. #3
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    I'm not an expert by any means, aaanyway here's what I think:
    -u wanna be good at bench press, just bench press
    -focus on your development of your lats, work your upper back as often as u can
    -don't forget about your triceps, get some volume and finish every push movement with a lockout
    -patience I guess
    F**k your excuses!

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  4. #4
    Registered User ecchastang's Avatar
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    If you are doing 5/3/1, I had the most success doing incline as the assistance on OHP day. It did more for my bench while on 5/3/1 than doing more OHP. Also, weighted dips and CGBP are great assistance exercises for the chest, shoulders and triceps.
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  5. #5
    Registered User scotpak1979's Avatar
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    This attempt was after my AMRAP set and a couple of joker sets hence why it was a grinder.

    To be honest I have tested my actual 1 rep max and managed to get 117kg with a pause (got 110kg in a meet in June). The frustration has been on a week to week basis I havent really progressed much on the weekly 1 rep max calculation. Now i know its just a stupid formula but its still annoying. I also seem to be rubbish on getting in high Reps.

    On my military press day ive been doing 3x5 close grip floor presses and have progressed from 80kg to 95kg, but it hasnt had a superb carryover to my bench.

    I have been doing loads of rowing, chin ups etc and my back is pretty strong (240kg deadlift in june meet, confident could get close to 250kg now).

    Any tips for tweaking my programme to bring up my bench?
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  6. #6
    Registered User scotpak1979's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by ecchastang View Post
    If you are doing 5/3/1, I had the most success doing incline as the assistance on OHP day. It did more for my bench while on 5/3/1 than doing more OHP. Also, weighted dips and CGBP are great assistance exercises for the chest, shoulders and triceps.
    Thanks alot. Incline has always given me shoulder issues thus those are out unfortunately. See my latest post for additional details.
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  7. #7
    Registered User ecchastang's Avatar
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    I personally never got anything out of floor presses. Some do, some don't. I think CGBP is better. That seems odd that you can do OHP but not incline, as most would say OHP is worse, especially if you have some sort of impingement. BTW, if you are having bum shoulders, check this out. http://www.dieselcrew.com/how-to-shoulder-rehab

    What were your amrap sets over the last 2-3 cycles for bench?
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  8. #8
    Registered User scotpak1979's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by ecchastang View Post
    I personally never got anything out of floor presses. Some do, some don't. I think CGBP is better. That seems odd that you can do OHP but not incline, as most would say OHP is worse, especially if you have some sort of impingement. BTW, if you are having bum shoulders, check this out. http://www.dieselcrew.com/how-to-shoulder-rehab

    What were your amrap sets over the last 2-3 cycles for bench?
    Ive been doing 531 in alternative powerlifting order of 3-5-1.

    Cycle 1: 6, 9, 6
    Cycle 2: 7, 8, 6
    Cycle 3: 6, 7, next week.
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  9. #9
    Registered User ecchastang's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by scotpak1979 View Post
    Ive been doing 531 in alternative powerlifting order of 3-5-1.

    Cycle 1: 6, 9, 6
    Cycle 2: 7, 8, 6
    Cycle 3: 6, 7, next week.
    What weights?
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  10. #10
    Registered User scotpak1979's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by ecchastang View Post
    What weights?
    Cycle 1: 90, 85, 95
    Cycle 2: 92.5, 87.5, 97.5
    Cycle 3: 95, 90

    From memory so apologies if some errors
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  11. #11
    Registered User ecchastang's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by scotpak1979 View Post
    Cycle 1: 90, 85, 95
    Cycle 2: 92.5, 87.5, 97.5
    Cycle 3: 95, 90

    From memory so apologies if some errors
    Based on that, you are progressing, even if its not terribly fast. What accessory work are you doing?
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  12. #12
    Registered User scotpak1979's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by ecchastang View Post
    Based on that, you are progressing, even if its not terribly fast. What accessory work are you doing?
    Weighted dips and rows with flared elbows (like an upside down bench press). Also 3x5 floor press on my OHP day.
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  13. #13
    Registered User Jmadden44's Avatar
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    I lost bench strength on 531. Not enough overall volume for me.
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  14. #14
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    Originally Posted by Jmadden44 View Post
    I lost bench strength on 531. Not enough overall volume for me.
    came in to say this. Both of my presses stalled out rather quickly, while my squat and deadlift PR'ed every week on 5/3/1.

    Tweak some things for a couple more cycles, then maybe try another program for your presses if you're still having trouble.
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  15. #15
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    Once a week benching wasn't doing anything for me. Near the end of my 5/3/1 stint i completely replaced OHP accessory with 5x5 benching which helped a little.
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  16. #16
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    Originally Posted by scotpak1979 View Post
    Weighted dips and rows with flared elbows (like an upside down bench press). Also 3x5 floor press on my OHP day.
    If you have shoulder problems then ditch any kind of dipping forever. Sure, they are a great exercise but it's not for everyone.

    You said you can't do incline bench due to your shoulder. Then I would advise you to do close grips as assistance. Great carryover to bench, at least for me.
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  17. #17
    Registered User scotpak1979's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by tom11 View Post
    If you have shoulder problems then ditch any kind of dipping forever. Sure, they are a great exercise but it's not for everyone.

    You said you can't do incline bench due to your shoulder. Then I would advise you to do close grips as assistance. Great carryover to bench, at least for me.
    Thanks for your reply. I had a rotator cuff op on my right shoulder 2 years back and that side is now perfect. I still however get some minor impingement issues which flare up on incline and on very wide grip benching, and side lateral raises on the LEFT side. OHP and dips and every other exercises r pain free, so I can definitely train around it without any issues.

    Close grip make sense but I am currently doing 3x5 close grip floor presses. Should i swap these for close grip bench instead? (Done on my OHP day)
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  18. #18
    Registered User scotpak1979's Avatar
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    Another thing ive noticed is that my estimated 1rp max is always the lowest on the 5 rep week. Maybe im just rubbish at doing higher reps or dont have the tricep endurance? Anyone else have this? The floor press diesnt carryover to this as i only ever do 5 reps.
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  19. #19
    Registered User ecchastang's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by scotpak1979 View Post

    Close grip make sense but I am currently doing 3x5 close grip floor presses. Should i swap these for close grip bench instead? (Done on my OHP day)
    Yes, and maybe 3x8
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  20. #20
    Battle Tested SamSix's Avatar
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    quit doing 5/3/1 if you want to progress faster
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  21. #21
    Registered User scotpak1979's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by SamSix View Post
    quit doing 5/3/1 if you want to progress faster
    Well based on doing 531 over 10 weeks (not incl deload weeks) my lifts have gone from (based on 1 rep max calc),

    DL = 228 to 249kg
    SQ = 170 to 189
    B = 110 to 117 (I actually hit 117 on a joker set a few weeks back).

    This is not too bad? The main issue ive had is that the DL and sq progression have been perfectly linear whereas the bench has been all over the place (e.g.based on this weeks workout my 1 rp max was 111, 2 weeks before that it was 117).
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  22. #22
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    You prolly have long arms and short torso that helps a lot with squats and deads but not very beneficial for bench. Keep grinding 315 is my goal
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  23. #23
    Registered User scotpak1979's Avatar
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    What I might try is switching to close grip on my main lift as my close grip floor press and close grip military have been improving on a weekly basis.

    I started to widen my grip (from one inch from smooth to one inch from rings) post my first meet in June. Maybe im stronger closer in. Lets see what happens!!
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  24. #24
    Registered User ecchastang's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by scotpak1979 View Post
    What I might try is switching to close grip on my main lift as my close grip floor press and close grip military have been improving on a weekly basis.

    I started to widen my grip (from one inch from smooth to one inch from rings) post my first meet in June. Maybe im stronger closer in. Lets see what happens!!
    1 inch from the rings is still pretty close for someone your height. I put pinky on rings.
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  25. #25
    Registered User lotsologan's Avatar
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    What I've noticed in my fairly limited experience with the bench press is that there is no golden routine that will work for everyone. My friend does a push pull which has him benching 2 days a week and his max has gone up a ton. When I tried the same routine my max stalled and actually went down. In order for my bench to go up I have to bench around 3 times a week. The things that I have noticed any good bencher do are:

    1. Perfect your form ie shoulder blades pinched, back arched, good foot position, etc.

    2. Train your upper lats and ideally train them on the same plane as your bench ie. Bent over rows, tbar rows, etc

    3. And probably most important of all, bench like it is going out of style. Train smart and don't go overboard but understand the best way to increase your bench is to bench. Base your entire workout around your bench and do things that compliment your bench like dips, close grip bench, rows, etc.

    This isn't anything you guys probably haven't heard before but I wish someone had told me this stuff about 4 years ago when I started lifting seriously. If anything I said is incorrect please let me know for my sake and for the sake of anyone reading this.
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  26. #26
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    I've always been a fairly bad bencher (well, in comparison to my other lifts). I ran 5/3/1 for a while and it just wasn't working until I started adding a few downsets of 5 to add some volume.

    I've also noticed that close grip bench helped me the most in terms of assistance. While I was running 5/3/1 I replaced overhead press with incline and I think that helped me more then overhead press.
    BS: 505 (sleeves)
    BN: 315
    DL: 605
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  27. #27
    Registered User smokinHawk's Avatar
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    your form is pretty decent, only thing i'd say is try to drive more with your legs to get more of your body weight on your shoulders.

    if the 531 isnt working well for your bench, try something else, make up your own to get were you want to go.
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  28. #28
    Registered User adpowah's Avatar
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    I got some really good carry over from incline dumbell pressing, unfortunately that doesn't sound like a viable option.
    Recreational lifter, 5'8" @ 191lbs. Best gym lifts 385/260/405
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  29. #29
    Banned Simpske's Avatar
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    My DL and squat both went up on 531, and my bench has stayed the same as well. I've just added another bench session on Saturdays to increase the volume of benching to twice a week. All other lifts are staying at once a week.
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  30. #30
    Registered User LiftDatWeight's Avatar
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    not bad
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