Seriously lagging bench.

[JTBull]

I have a big problem with having a really flat chest and a really weak bench.

Ive only been training for 8-9 months or so, so i know i shouldnt be amazing, but compared to my other lifts its even worse

A. I never feel my chest working only my shoulders and triceps, my chest is never sore and never gets pumped or anything. ever. (Decline is the only way i feel my chest even a little bit.)

B. I Squat 225 x 8, Deadlift 295x8 and i can military 120x6, and i only bench about 155x6 and even then the last rep is super hard.

I just switched over from my 3 day split, 8 rep range to a MAX-OT program hoping to gain some good strength. and maybe some size

I feel i respeond better to low-rep, im a small but generally "stalky" kid so to say, low to the ground and dense, probally a meso-endo type.

[Bogaerts]

Originally Posted by JTBull

I have a big problem with having a really flat chest and a really weak bench.

Ive only been training for 8-9 months or so, so i know i shouldnt be amazing, but compared to my other lifts its even worse

A. I never feel my chest working only my shoulders and triceps, my chest is never sore and never gets pumped or anything. ever. (Decline is the only way i feel my chest even a little bit.)

B. I Squat 225 x 8, Deadlift 295x8 and i can military 120x6, and i only bench about 155x6 and even then the last rep is super hard.

I just switched over from my 3 day split, 8 rep range to a MAX-OT program hoping to gain some good strength. and maybe some size

I feel i respeond better to low-rep, im a small but generally "stalky" kid so to say, low to the ground and dense, probally a meso-endo type.

I hate to sound like a broken record....but,
A. I would check my form very closely and lower the weight. Do this until you DO feel it working the chest.
B. Those are not bad, you might be trying to rush things

Everytime I have not felt it in the target muscle, it turns out I was either using too heavy a weight or using bad form....or both

[geoffsherman]

Form =
(a) Strong chest/tris/shoulders AND strong lats
(b) Stay tight
(c) Solid base

[big_nate]

I don't know if it's just me but it seems like that's about where your bench press should be.

[jmonty]

if you aren't making gains, the first thing you should look at is your routine.

perhaps, instead of focusing on your 1 rep max bench, you should think about the most efficient way to work the muscles of your chest. i suggest starting your chest day with incline bar bell press, then incline db presses, decline bb and or weighted dips, and then a few sets of db or bb flat bench presses, with as strict of form as possible.

btw, have you seen the sticky at the top of this forum describing all the muscles and various excercises for them? the link is here: http://exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

[JTBull]

right, but i never feel chest working it feels like a slgith rotation of shoulders and then just straightening my arms (all tricep)

i use to bench elbows in and a medium-narrow grip

recently i widened my grip and keep my elbows out more to try and engage chest more.

maybe the incline on my bench is too high?

also weighten dips no matter how far forward i lean feel like pure triceps with a slight shoulder stretch at the bottem, i dont see how these are a chest excersize

[JTBull]

also i would like to add an explosive power issue

when i watch people bench they come up fairly fast and hard.

my bench is very slow even when i try to push it hard as possible its like a powerstruggle, theres no speed whatsoever

when i squat i can come close to jumping off the ground on the first few, the deadlift i can poweritup for all the reps

but my bench its like a slow struggle

also it tends to float up to about my neck line, if i try to keep it roughly nipple level im considerably weaker

[Kouta]

i have had the same problem and fixing technique has helped me heaps and it looks like that could help you aswell.

[$AJ]

focus on the part you're weakest on. e.g., if you have trouble on the middle, use chains.

[JTBull]

im gonna take out flat, since max-ot is so low volume i dont got room to do all 3 and adhere to max-ot rules

for now im gonna do all dumbells since i feel chest ever so slightly more with them
and im gonna lower the incline slightly.

i will still do weighted dips, even though weighted dips and decline are suppobly the same muscle they feel very different to me.

im gonna focus on the stretch and push from the bottom of the movement and go near full rom but not as full as to lock like i suaully do.
ill probally have to lower weight to do this which goes agaisnt max-ot principles.

should i do the whole pinching shoulder blades togetherthing or just go normal? max-ot says not to do things that make excersizes harder and take you out of your natural movements?

[IceSol]

this might make for a good read
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=527381

[DiamondDelts]

Originally Posted by JTBull

I have a big problem with having a really flat chest and a really weak bench.

Ive only been training for 8-9 months or so, so i know i shouldnt be amazing, but compared to my other lifts its even worse

A. I never feel my chest working only my shoulders and triceps, my chest is never sore and never gets pumped or anything. ever. (Decline is the only way i feel my chest even a little bit.)

B. I Squat 225 x 8, Deadlift 295x8 and i can military 120x6, and i only bench about 155x6 and even then the last rep is super hard.

I just switched over from my 3 day split, 8 rep range to a MAX-OT program hoping to gain some good strength. and maybe some size

I feel i respeond better to low-rep, im a small but generally "stalky" kid so to say, low to the ground and dense, probally a meso-endo type.

Chasing bench #'s is generally not the smartest way to build a big chest. I toiled with it for years thinking that my chest would "magically fill out" as soon as I met my weight goals. I was wrong. DEAD WRONG. Though we are all different. So you will have to experiment with different grips while benching or other alternative exercises like cable flyes, weighted pushups etc until you find one where you can actually "feel" your chest working. Simply throwing more weight on the bar is not always the answer.

[jordanair45]

You need to lower your weight and work on form. It's not all about how much you can do, but how many you can do using the proper technique with the right weight. Make yourself feel it in your chest. If you don't feel it in your chest then change things around, weight, grip, etc...until you feel it in your chest. I was experiencing the same thing, I went down in weight, much better. Also, you could just have a really weak chest, your chest gave out, so now these muscles are struggling to push the weight and not your chest because it is dead?

[KopyKat]

Originally Posted by DiamondDelts

Chasing bench #'s is generally not the smartest way to build a big chest. I toiled with it for years thinking that my chest would "magically fill out" as soon as I met my weight goals. I was wrong. DEAD WRONG. Though we are all different. So you will have to experiment with different grips while benching or other alternative exercises like cable flyes, weighted pushups etc until you find one where you can actually "feel" your chest working. Simply throwing more weight on the bar is not always the answer.

DD!!! Your back!!! And with a perfect response of course

To the original poster: I see no big problem, its usually the opposite where people are stonger in bench and weak in other things. I think its important to have stronger pulling muscles along with stronger core/leg muscles. Those are the most natural movements anyways.

Check that form like others have said, there is good info here.

[Kouta]

Originally Posted by KopyKat

DD!!! Your back!!! And with a perfect response of course

To the original poster: I see no big problem, its usually the opposite where people are stonger in bench and weak in other things. I think its important to have stronger pulling muscles along with stronger core/leg muscles. Those are the most natural movements anyways.

Check that form like others have said, there is good info here.

LOL. Look at the date DD posted.

[BBing_Addict]

Originally Posted by Kouta

LOL. Look at the date DD posted.

lol

[little_big_man]

try following up your flat bench with incline bench

im noticing some great power at the lower part of my bench, and IMO good form is better in the long run then chasing numbers.

right now im doing 135X6 for 4 sets but my form is very good to the point where i can do it slowly and very accurate.

go after good form in the lighter weights before tackeling heavy weights.

[NormandyRoad]

lol who bumped this thread?!

[Tyrbolift]

Originally Posted by NormandyRoad

lol who bumped this thread?!

The original poster hasn't posted since 12-4-05. lol

[niceasey]

Originally Posted by JTBull

I have a big problem with having a really flat chest and a really weak bench.

Ive only been training for 8-9 months or so, so i know i shouldnt be amazing, but compared to my other lifts its even worse

A. I never feel my chest working only my shoulders and triceps, my chest is never sore and never gets pumped or anything. ever. (Decline is the only way i feel my chest even a little bit.)

B. I Squat 225 x 8, Deadlift 295x8 and i can military 120x6, and i only bench about 155x6 and even then the last rep is super hard.

I just switched over from my 3 day split, 8 rep range to a MAX-OT program hoping to gain some good strength. and maybe some size

I feel i respeond better to low-rep, im a small but generally "stalky" kid so to say, low to the ground and dense, probally a meso-endo type.

Sounds familiar!

I get very little out of flat bench for my chest so I don't think of it as a chest exercise! If your form is spot on (and be 100% honest with yourself) then just accept it and find something else to hit your chest.

FWIW, exercises I have in my chest building armoury are-

weighted dips
incline DB press
weighted push-ups
decline press

[DJSlakoR]

I'm kindof the opposite.

I can bench around 205 x 3 ... 185 x 8 or so ...

My best squat is 3 x 205, deadlift 3 x 250ish.

It's strange that I can bench weight easier than I can squat it.

*shrugs*

[subaru_driver]

my chest has grown a bit after doing 5x5 of dumbell flys and heavyish dumbell bench press (42.5kg's or so). 1st session is inclines and the next session later in the week is flat bench. Now just started doing 3x8's to see how that goes.