Bench press for tall guys

[mlp_22531]

I'm 6'3 with 6'6 wing span.

I don't have any triceps-specific exercises in my workout, although I have a lot of compound lifts that will work tri's.

As the fat peels away, my tri's are one of the muscles I notice the most and my chest is probably the weakest area of my body. Is it a reasonable theory to think that when I do bench press or pushups that with my long arms, my tri's get a great workout but my chest doesn't get hit hard enough?

Should I add anything else for my chest, specifically? Or keep hammering away with flat bench and incline bench? Right now, I superset my bench with db fly's, but that's it.

[Legbuh]

How wide is your grip? I'm 6'3" as well and my pointer fingers go on the bars where those non-knurled lines are.. pretty much shoulder width. wide enough to not hit the tris as much, but not too wide to mess up my shoulders.

I would mix up chest workouts. Flys are good, dips, incline press and narrow grip pullovers (hands touching).

Also, as it looks like you're trying to lose fat, it's hard to do that and build muscle at the same time. Most "muscle" people see when losing weight is actually what was there before (maybe a little more) under all the fat. At least that's my theory.

We've all seen it.. skinny guys that look muscular because they're very lean (genetics help too) that lost a lot of fat in say 6 months, and then big guys that look huge, and are because they've been working at it for years.

[mlp_22531]

How wide is your grip? I'm 6'3" as well and my pointer fingers go on the bars where those non-knurled lines are.. pretty much shoulder width. wide enough to not hit the tris as much, but not too wide to mess up my shoulders.

I would mix up chest workouts. Flys are good, dips, incline press and narrow grip pullovers (hands touching).

Also, as it looks like you're trying to lose fat, it's hard to do that and build muscle at the same time. Most "muscle" people see when losing weight is actually what was there before (maybe a little more) under all the fat. At least that's my theory.

We've all seen it.. skinny guys that look muscular because they're very lean (genetics help too) that lost a lot of fat in say 6 months, and then big guys that look huge, and are because they've been working at it for years.

Good point. The muscle (what little) I have on my body has been put there over the last 20 years, not with my current workout plan.

[acwild]

Dorian Yates (6 time Mr. Olympia) suggested cable crossovers, decline and incline bench presses with a fairly close grip to really work the pecs. He's not too thrilled about flat bench presses and wide grips tend to put more stress on the delts and triceps.

Also, you work the pecs more as you push up, when you get near the top and lock out the triceps are more involved more. If you're using a very wide grip (less stress on the pecs) and if you are not bringing the weight down (some people just sort of bend their elbows a bit or only half way during a bench press) you're again working the triceps more then the pecs.

[pilly420]

6'4 checking in. Dumbbell chest press and flys have helped the most for me.

[wintersix]

I am only 6' tall but I have gorilla arms. I have found that my "natural grip" on the flat bench really hits my tri's more than my chest. I narrowed my grip a bit and make sure I add in some declines and inclines. I have also had some luck with dumbbells, if you have access to some heavy ones ( and a spotter).

[baker]

You need to work on your technique. Find a powerlifter and watch how he sets up for the bench. You'll notice he has a short stroke and small range of motion. It's very possible for you to really crank out impressive numbers if you get the form down.

Oh and I agree with the decline suggestion. They are great for pec development.

[acwild]

On another thought, if you're 6' 3" 193, you're pretty much where I was about 4 months ago, I was 6' 2" 194.

I've dropped 35 pounds on the scale and I've definitely put muscle on at the same time so, I've lost more than 35 pounds of fat since muscle weighs more than fat.

I was very over weight so adding muscle while loosing fat was far easier for me and should be for you. If you see your strength increasing over the upcoming weeks and months as your weight drops on the scale, you are gaining lean muscle.

Where it's really hard to both loose fat and gain muscle is when a person is slightly overweight, they'll need to eat more calories to gain muscle but eat less calories to burn fat.

The ISSA method to avert this conundrum is to zig-zag your calories. Basically eat more on weight training days and eat less on cardo and rest days.

Because I've really cleaned up my diet, on weight training days I'll eat red meat, wheat bread (sandwiches) whole grain chips with salsa, potatoes, rice, I'll have turkey tacos with shells, ON 100% Whey protein shake with skim milk, chicken cutlets, I even eat 100% beef hot dogs once a week, along with eggs, none-cream soups, vegetables, turkey sausage, turkey bacon, turkey burgers, tuna once a week, salmon, shrimp, cheddar and Munster cheese, fruits, yogurt, and of course sliced turkey.

On cardo and rest days I drop the skim milk, no wheat bread, potatoes, rice, no whole grain chips, yogurt, or red meat. That allows me to still eat well with lots of protein but reduce my intake of carbs and fat so I can zig-zag my calories.

I eat 6 smaller meals a day on both lifting and cardo/rest days as opposed to 3 larger meals.

Also, what's working for me is to not just do compound exercises, such as squats, bench press, dead lifts, seated rows, and leg presses. I've been sure to include leg extensions, leg curls, tricep-bicep and forearm curls, and calf raises too. Those isolation exercises really help with definition.

Progress Photos (294lb down to 259lb)
http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/ac...n=progresspics

[mlp_22531]

On another thought, if you're 6' 3" 193, you're pretty much where I was about 4 months ago, I was 6' 2" 194.

I've dropped 35 pounds on the scale and I've definitely put muscle on at the same time so, I've lost more than 35 pounds of fat since muscle weighs more than fat.

I was very over weight so adding muscle while loosing fat was far easier for me and should be for you. If you see your strength increasing over the upcoming weeks and months as your weight drops on the scale, you are gaining lean muscle.

Where it's really hard to both loose fat and gain muscle is when a person is slightly overweight, they'll need to eat more calories to gain muscle but eat less calories to burn fat.

The ISSA method to avert this conundrum is to zig-zag your calories. Basically eat more on weight training days and eat less on cardo and rest days.

Because I've really cleaned up my diet, on weight training days I'll eat red meat, wheat bread (sandwiches) whole grain chips with salsa, potatoes, rice, I'll have turkey tacos with shells, ON 100% Whey protein shake with skim milk, chicken cutlets, I even eat 100% beef hot dogs once a week, along with eggs, none-cream soups, vegetables, turkey sausage, turkey bacon, turkey burgers, tuna once a week, salmon, shrimp, cheddar and Munster cheese, fruits, yogurt, and of course sliced turkey.

On cardo and rest days I drop the skim milk, no wheat bread, potatoes, rice, no whole grain chips, yogurt, or red meat. That allows me to still eat well with lots of protein but reduce my intake of carbs and fat so I can zig-zag my calories.

I eat 6 smaller meals a day on both lifting and cardo/rest days as opposed to 3 larger meals.

Also, what's working for me is to not just do compound exercises, such as squats, bench press, dead lifts, seated rows, and leg presses. I've been sure to include leg extensions, leg curls, tricep-bicep and forearm curls, and calf raises too. Those isolation exercises really help with definition.

Progress Photos (294lb down to 259lb)
http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/ac...n=progresspics

Thanks, good info. Can you point me to the ISSA article on zigzag diet? That's kind of what I'm doing now. It seems to be working, but it's hard to know until I go in for bodpod analysis.

[Old Bob]

Almost all the guys in my gym with great pecs are little short guys.

I honestly think it's waaay harder for a tall guy with long arms to have great pecs.

That's part of why Arnie did so well... He's 6'2" (I think?) and yet had a great body. Frank Columbo (his roomate) always looked better but was a short guy.

Old Bob

[bigvin73]

Almost all the guys in my gym with great pecs are little short guys.

I honestly think it's waaay harder for a tall guy with long arms to have great pecs.

That's part of why Arnie did so well... He's 6'2" (I think?) and yet had a great body. Frank Columbo (his roomate) always looked better but was a short guy.

Old Bob

Not necessarily harder just takes more time and a different approach. At 6'6" with a 53 inch chest I think I qualify to speak on this one. Dumbell incline, dumbbell flies(incline again). Learn to focus on squeezing your chest on every rep and varry your rep range for a few weeks at a time. What I mean is different things work for different people. My best growth came from higher reps, in the 8-12 range even as high as 15. I get decent growth from 6-8 with forced reps, drop sets as Yates preaches, but I can not sustain this style for more then 6 weeks.

Keep in mind the function of the pec muscle is to pull the arm across the body, it is not to press the arm upwards. Flies are extremely underrated as a pec developer by just about everyone except BBers, mainly due to the fact they are a single joint movement and not compound. Flat benching by a tall person NEEDS to be wider grip or you are all front delt and tri's, sorry to the poster who quoted Yates, but Yates is 5'10" whole different ball game. the angles to work muscles are far different for taller guys as our arms are longer, longer ROM ect. Personally I do next to no flat benching and stick to mostly inclines, I don't do declines as I feel like my shoulders are being compressed, however i will use the one machine in the gym I fit on for decline press from time to time. The big thing will be trial and error for you, Volume worked for me pretty well, lots of sets and reps, I am currently playing with Yates princibles because I am going to cut a bit in 3 more weeks and I want to see how his style works. If you want to try to train like Yates, just know if you are not basically ready to cry like a girl after your work set, your intensity was too low.

[Old Bob]

bigvin,

I need to get away from that flat bench. I can see that now. The guys I work out with are fanatical about it and have huge pecs.

I'll try what you're doing. Sounds like it may work better for me. I'm not very tall but have wide shoulders and chest and filling that "void" between my shoulders has always been my biggest disappointment.

Do you have any pics of those huge pecs of yours?

Mine are so scrawny I hide them behind baggy black gym shirts... LOL

Old Bob

[bigvin73]

bigvin,

I need to get away from that flat bench. I can see that now. The guys I work out with are fanatical about it and have huge pecs.

I'll try what you're doing. Sounds like it may work better for me. I'm not very tall but have wide shoulders and chest and filling that "void" between my shoulders has always been my biggest disappointment.

Do you have any pics of those huge pecs of yours?

Mine are so scrawny I hide them behind baggy black gym shirts... LOL

Old Bob

They are not huge yet, just big and the wife absolutly forbids me posting anything remotly skinish. We have been married for 15 years and she still doesn't realize I am not going anywere. I am still a ways off where I want to be so I hope it did not come off like I was bragging, just was trying to make a point about tall guys. The wife gets upset if I wear a tank to the gym now unless she is coming with me, she will get used to it soon.

As for your buddies and their flat bench, it is pretty typical most guys swear on the flat bench, until they get hurt or someone teaches them how effective inclines are.

[David Wiggins]

I'll try not to be long winded, but I got some experience in this. I am 6'5". I started lifting 25 years ago. My max was 165lbs. I recently did 578 in competition.

There are dozens of opinions and programs for lifters. I'll tell ya what has worked for me and every other tall lifter I have helped. The biggest one thing I can tell a tall lifter about benching is ACCURATELY MEASURE YOUR VOLUME OF WORK.

Listen Carefully! Sets and Reps are units for measure. The 5'7" guy and you do 6-8 reps for size and strength. Who did more work? Tall guy prolly does 30% more work with the same reps. He would need to do 3-4 more reps to equal your volume. MOST LIFTERS DON'T GET BIGGER AND STRONGER WITH THAT MUCH VOLUME PER SET!.....Soooo, you must lower your reps for similar results of shorty. Doesn't mean less work. Reduce reps, and increase weight.

This is not all it takes, but is overlooked by most and was a key for me increasing my chest size and bench capabilities significantly.

[bigvin73]

I'll try not to be long winded, but I got some experience in this. I am 6'5". I started lifting 25 years ago. My max was 165lbs. I recently did 578 in competition.

There are dozens of opinions and programs for lifters. I'll tell ya what has worked for me and every other tall lifter I have helped. The biggest one thing I can tell a tall lifter about benching is ACCURATELY MEASURE YOUR VOLUME OF WORK.

Listen Carefully! Sets and Reps are units for measure. The 5'7" guy and you do 6-8 reps for size and strength. Who did more work? Tall guy prolly does 30% more work with the same reps. He would need to do 3-4 more reps to equal your volume. MOST LIFTERS DON'T GET BIGGER AND STRONGER WITH THAT MUCH VOLUME PER SET!.....Soooo, you must lower your reps for similar results of shorty. Doesn't mean less work. Reduce reps, and increase weight.

This is not all it takes, but is overlooked by most and was a key for me increasing my chest size and bench capabilities significantly.

Where were you when i was PLn man? I actually never looked at it from that perspective, I mean i know our ROM is much larger so we do more work, but I never tried 3-6 range for size. I might have to give this a shot, next bulk. David you think this will work applied for hypertrophy, cause honestly I am no longer concerned with power numbers?

[Time2BulkUp]

I'm 6'3 with 6'6 wing span.

I don't have any triceps-specific exercises in my workout, although I have a lot of compound lifts that will work tri's.

As the fat peels away, my tri's are one of the muscles I notice the most and my chest is probably the weakest area of my body. Is it a reasonable theory to think that when I do bench press or pushups that with my long arms, my tri's get a great workout but my chest doesn't get hit hard enough?

Should I add anything else for my chest, specifically? Or keep hammering away with flat bench and incline bench? Right now, I superset my bench with db fly's, but that's it.

Funny, I'm 6' 1" and I have pretty long arms. However, my chest seems to develop the most in my body. And my arms have difficulty getting larger. So strange. Could be genetics. I don't know. If it helps, I pretty much do a smith machine flat bench, seated bench, dumbell fly's and angled dumbell press.

[Mr. Someday]

Some good stuff in here!

Being a taller guy with a chest on the weak side, I can give you an easy method for helping your chest out. All of my primary tricep exercises secondarily hit chest, so that means I stick to a rotation of dips, CG press and reverse grip press. I do tris on chest day anyhow, and if you're tris aren't completely fried by heavy compound chest movements followed up with one of those, than no amount of inverted pinky DB kickbacks is gonna get you there! You're chest will be toast as well.

[bigvin73]

Some good stuff in here!

Being a taller guy with a chest on the weak side, I can give you an easy method for helping your chest out. All of my primary tricep exercises secondarily hit chest, so that means I stick to a rotation of dips, CG press and reverse grip press. I do tris on chest day anyhow, and if you're tris aren't completely fried by heavy compound chest movements followed up with one of those, than no amount of inverted pinky DB kickbacks is gonna get you there! You're chest will be toast as well.

Please don't take offense and sorry for the temporary hijack, but Mr. someday I could care less about your chest development, however, if you wanna tell me how to get those WHEELS I will be riveted. Sorry for the hijacking.

[batteryrequired]

6'3" tall.....dumbbell flat presses along with dumbbell inclines and flyes is what did it for me. I go to straight bar from time to time to mix things up a bit. I will rotate.....6-8 weeks flat bench first then incline.....the I will switch to incline bench first and then flat as secondary after that.

[puckedup8]

6'7 chirping in. squeeze it at your peak.

Adjust your grip until± u feel it isolates the pecs more.


I couldn't hit 135 once back in 2005. Now my max is 405 just keep workin at it and it will come!

[mlp_22531]

Where in the ROM is the bench most likely to work the chest the most vs the triceps? I seem to be reading opposing thought on this. Intuitively I thought the tri's would be involved more at the top and chest at the bottom, but I've read opposite opinions on this. ie if you're going to cheat on a couple reps to help isolate the chest vs tri's would you cheat the top part of the ROM or the bottom part?

[David Wiggins]

Where were you when i was PLn man? I actually never looked at it from that perspective, I mean i know our ROM is much larger so we do more work, but I never tried 3-6 range for size. I might have to give this a shot, next bulk. David you think this will work applied for hypertrophy, cause honestly I am no longer concerned with power numbers?

Big Vin, I'm can't take full credit for this info. A strength Doctor worked with me on this system. I was NOT powerlifting when I began this program. I was gym lifting, semi BB, semi strength. BUT, I began reducing reps, increasing the weight, and GROWING. I trained 4 days a week and quit doing SHORTY'S workout. At the time I went from 255 lbs to 290 lbs over the course of 2-3 years. Bodyfat stayed in the 10-14% range.

Unfortunately for us tall guys, we have a lot to fill out. Ya wanna get big - calories (clean as possible), big weights (relatively speaking), and the PROPER amount of work.

[djsjr]

Big Vin, I'm can't take full credit for this info. A strength Doctor worked with me on this system. I was NOT powerlifting when I began this program. I was gym lifting, semi BB, semi strength. BUT, I began reducing reps, increasing the weight, and GROWING. I trained 4 days a week and quit doing SHORTY'S workout. At the time I went from 255 lbs to 290 lbs over the course of 2-3 years. Bodyfat stayed in the 10-14% range.

Unfortunately for us tall guys, we have a lot to fill out. Ya wanna get big - calories (clean as possible), big weights (relatively speaking), and the PROPER amount of work.

@ 6'3 245lbs using low reps (5) and heavier weights has certainly helped me grow more that moderate/high reps. I can really see more difference using powerlifting type techniques than any other method. I bought Rippetoe's book/dvd and it has helped me. Flat bench and dips are all I do for chest right now, but I'm pretty new to this....

[David Wiggins]

@ 6'3 245lbs using low reps (5) and heavier weights has certainly helped me grow more that moderate/high reps. I can really see more difference using powerlifting type techniques than any other method. I bought Rippetoe's book/dvd and it has helped me. Flat bench and dips are all I do for chest right now, but I'm pretty new to this....

I glanced at your stats and pics. Great job! It takes a lot of determination to lose 40+lbs.

PS - Dig the "you can't outrain bad nutrition".

[bigvin73]

Big Vin, I'm can't take full credit for this info. A strength Doctor worked with me on this system. I was NOT powerlifting when I began this program. I was gym lifting, semi BB, semi strength. BUT, I began reducing reps, increasing the weight, and GROWING. I trained 4 days a week and quit doing SHORTY'S workout. At the time I went from 255 lbs to 290 lbs over the course of 2-3 years. Bodyfat stayed in the 10-14% range.

Unfortunately for us tall guys, we have a lot to fill out. Ya wanna get big - calories (clean as possible), big weights (relatively speaking), and the PROPER amount of work.

I was younger when I PLed like 18-20 and I could never gain weight, but maybe now that I am older and able to put on weight this will work better for me, I have recently been working on Yates theory and wanted to give it a full 4 weeks to see what I could get out of it. Then I am going on a cut, more for the experience so I can see how my body reacts durring a cut and time frame I need to lean out, so when I am ready to compete I will have a better idea. After that i think I will give this a full run of 8 to 10 weeks on my next bulk, if my joints can hold up for it. Thanks bud I woulda repped you but I am on recharge, someone with good count get Dave for me please

[David Wiggins]

I was younger when I PLed like 18-20 and I could never gain weight, but maybe now that I am older and able to put on weight this will work better for me, I have recently been working on Yates theory and wanted to give it a full 4 weeks to see what I could get out of it. Then I am going on a cut, more for the experience so I can see how my body reacts durring a cut and time frame I need to lean out, so when I am ready to compete I will have a better idea. After that i think I will give this a full run of 8 to 10 weeks on my next bulk, if my joints can hold up for it. Thanks bud I woulda repped you but I am on recharge, someone with good count get Dave for me please

Ironically, my joints bothered me MORE when I did more volume. I think sometimes the VOLUME of work creates joint issues more than the LOAD (excluding pre existing injuries).

[ezra76]

Not as tall but I've always had trouble with bench. My boss, who puts up 365 at age 52, showed me a few things.

My main problem was not being wide enough. I was doing tricep benches basically. I could close grip as much as I could bench.

I went wider and really concentrated on having my pecs stretch. I jumped up 20lbs. in 2 workouts for my max, had a ton more stamina and my pecs were sore for days after. Sorest they've ever been from chest workout no matter what exercises I did.

[acwild]

Thanks, good info. Can you point me to the ISSA article on zigzag diet? That's kind of what I'm doing now. It seems to be working, but it's hard to know until I go in for bodpod analysis.

Here are two:
http://drsquat.com/content/knowledge-base/zigzag-diet
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/issa64.htm

I hope that helps!!!

[Josann]

You need to work on your technique. Find a powerlifter and watch how he sets up for the bench. You'll notice he has a short stroke and small range of motion. It's very possible for you to really crank out impressive numbers if you get the form down.

Oh and I agree with the decline suggestion. They are great for pec development.

Check out this video explanation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP3g-I9Sf9s

[djsjr]

I glanced at your stats and pics. Great job! It takes a lot of determination to lose 40+lbs.

PS - Dig the "you can't outrain bad nutrition".

Thanks David, Losing weight is easy, keeping it off has always been my issue....