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:
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Thread: another weak bench thread!!!
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10-03-2014, 01:00 PM #1
another weak bench thread!!!
Last edited by scotpak1979; 10-03-2014 at 01:40 PM.
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10-03-2014, 01:15 PM #2
- Join Date: Feb 2014
- Location: Boulder, Colorado, United States
- Age: 44
- Posts: 984
- Rep Power: 1347
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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10-03-2014, 01:16 PM #3
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 guessF**k your excuses!
Anything in life worth doing is worth overdoing, moderation is for cowards.
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10-03-2014, 01:19 PM #4
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10-03-2014, 01:36 PM #5
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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10-03-2014, 01:37 PM #6
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10-03-2014, 01:59 PM #7
- Join Date: Feb 2014
- Location: Boulder, Colorado, United States
- Age: 44
- Posts: 984
- Rep Power: 1347
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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10-03-2014, 02:11 PM #8
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10-03-2014, 02:43 PM #9
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10-03-2014, 02:49 PM #10
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10-03-2014, 03:30 PM #11
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10-03-2014, 03:44 PM #12
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10-03-2014, 10:41 PM #13
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10-03-2014, 10:55 PM #14
- Join Date: Jun 2013
- Location: California, United States
- Age: 28
- Posts: 1,564
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10-04-2014, 05:59 AM #15
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10-04-2014, 06:19 AM #16
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10-04-2014, 07:10 AM #17
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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10-04-2014, 08:19 AM #18
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10-04-2014, 08:48 AM #19
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10-04-2014, 08:42 PM #20
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10-04-2014, 10:00 PM #21
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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10-04-2014, 10:13 PM #22
- Join Date: Apr 2013
- Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States
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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
Bench 345lb
Squat 475lb
Deadlift 555lb
"If you're lean, you're not big enough.
If you're big, you're not lean enough"
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10-05-2014, 02:54 AM #23
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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10-05-2014, 06:55 AM #24
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10-05-2014, 12:08 PM #25
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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10-05-2014, 08:12 PM #26
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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10-06-2014, 04:36 AM #27
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10-06-2014, 10:18 PM #28
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10-07-2014, 05:03 AM #29
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10-07-2014, 08:02 AM #30
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