Hey guys, I am in need of some serious help and I figure this is the best place to find it. Theres no easy way to say it but my bench press just absolutly sucks. I have been lifting hard for over a year and a half now and the only thing that I can not seem to increase is the bench. Arms, squat, back and everything seem to be progressing at a good rate but my bench press is still just sitting there at about 160. For some reason my triceps get tired before my chest does and I can never seem to actually target my chest muscles.
If anyone has had this problem please let me know what you have done (exercises, routines…etc) to over come it. Thanks for you help guys,
DG
If your triceps are getting tired first, then maybe you need to work your triceps harder. If you’re using a close grip though it would explain why. Post your chest and tri workout.
Flat barbell press 3x8 at 160lbs (last set
usually dont get 8)
Incline dumbell press 3x8 at 60lbs dumbells(last
set is hard at 6)
Decline barbell press 3x10 at 160lbs (easiest
of all)
Dips to failure
Cable pushdowns to failure
My tri’s only get tired when i do flat bench or incline dumbells, they dont get tired when i do decline barbell.
I attend college and try to eat as much as possible whenever possible, i also am taking creatine and protein. Everything else on my body seems to be gettin bigger…minus my chest, so it looks kinda funny! Thanks for the help,
DG
If your goal is to target your chest muscles, you could try isolation exercises such as flyes. That way you would remove the tris from the equation. You couls also try the “Gironda Dip”.
Do you want bigger muscles as well as a bigger bench? If so, you need to add mass. You only weigh 155. Eat more and keep lifting, it will come.
BTW, you may find you make better progress if you avoid failure. Instead of doing 3 sets of 8,8,6 try doing 10x5 with the same weight. The extra volume will help.
[quote]dg0388 wrote:
Thanks for the quick response,
Flat barbell press 3x8 at 160lbs (last set
usually dont get 8)
Incline dumbell press 3x8 at 60lbs dumbells(last
set is hard at 6)
Decline barbell press 3x10 at 160lbs (easiest
of all)
Dips to failure
Cable pushdowns to failure
My tri’s only get tired when i do flat bench or incline dumbells, they dont get tired when i do decline barbell.
I attend college and try to eat as much as possible whenever possible, i also am taking creatine and protein. Everything else on my body seems to be gettin bigger…minus my chest, so it looks kinda funny! Thanks for the help,
DG[/quote]
If you’re not seeing results with ur chest, switch up your chest workout…they say your body is made to adapt, so perhaps it has adapted to your chest routine…Think about going heavier with less reps or lighter with more reps. You may want to increase the intensity, superset each compound movement, decrease time between sets, negative reps, forced negative reps, etc…basically push your chest to the limits by incorporating a foreign workout…This should get you out of ur rut…And if that doesnt work, take a real good look at your diet and make sure you are getting the right foods at the right times.
Try widening your grip one workout a week to where your index finger is on the ring. That should hit the chest pretty good. Also getting deeper on the DB press will hit the chest more. As far as decline goes, I believe most people would be better off in doing flyes, pushups, or another DB variation on a flat or incline than to do decline. The only thing I have ever used a decline for is to do situps. On dips are you doing more than 10? If you are, then you would be better served to do them weighted. If not, work up to it.
[quote]dg0388 wrote:
Thanks for the quick response,
Flat barbell press 3x8 at 160lbs (last set
usually dont get 8)
Incline dumbell press 3x8 at 60lbs dumbells(last
set is hard at 6)
Decline barbell press 3x10 at 160lbs (easiest
of all)
Dips to failure
Cable pushdowns to failure
My tri’s only get tired when i do flat bench or incline dumbells, they dont get tired when i do decline barbell.
I attend college and try to eat as much as possible whenever possible, i also am taking creatine and protein. Everything else on my body seems to be gettin bigger…minus my chest, so it looks kinda funny! Thanks for the help,
DG[/quote]
[quote]dg0388 wrote:
Hey guys, I am in need of some serious help and I figure this is the best place to find it. Theres no easy way to say it but my bench press just absolutly sucks. I have been lifting hard for over a year and a half now and the only thing that I can not seem to increase is the bench. Arms, squat, back and everything seem to be progressing at a good rate but my bench press is still just sitting there at about 160. For some reason my triceps get tired before my chest does and I can never seem to actually target my chest muscles.
If anyone has had this problem please let me know what you have done (exercises, routines…etc) to over come it. Thanks for you help guys,
DG[/quote]
If you want a bigger bench, (meaning heavier weight not just bigger pecs) strenghten your triceps. With this statement-“For some reason my triceps get tired before my chest does and I can never seem to actually target my chest muscles.” It sounds like you want to eliminate triceps from the movement and use more chest to compensate. You can’t. They are getting tired first because they are weaker than your chest. Gotta have strong triceps for a strong bench. Do close grip rack lockouts twice a week for a month and tell me your bench doesn’t shoot way up.
[quote]tveddy wrote:
Try widening your grip one workout a week to where your index finger is on the ring. That should hit the chest pretty good. Also getting deeper on the DB press will hit the chest more. As far as decline goes, I believe most people would be better off in doing flyes, pushups, or another DB variation on a flat or incline than to do decline. The only thing I have ever used a decline for is to do situps. On dips are you doing more than 10? If you are, then you would be better served to do them weighted. If not, work up to it.
Agreed, I only do declines for hypertrophy because I have tiny pecs and a long torso.
I also use to have your problem, widening my grip almost completely negated that problem. I’ve increased my lift almost 30lbs in 7 months with a wide grip. Just make sure you keep your elbows are a 90 degree angle.
Another trick you could do is grab some light dumbbells and fly our like 15 reps then super set your bench. This will make your pecs tired to and help balance things a bit.
Flat barbell press 3x8 at 160lbs (last set
usually dont get 8)
Incline dumbell press 3x8 at 60lbs dumbells(last
set is hard at 6)
Decline barbell press 3x10 at 160lbs (easiest
of all)
Dips to failure
Cable pushdowns to failure
My tri’s only get tired when i do flat bench or incline dumbells, they dont get tired when i do decline barbell.
I attend college and try to eat as much as possible whenever possible, i also am taking creatine and protein. Everything else on my body seems to be gettin bigger…minus my chest, so it looks kinda funny! Thanks for the help,
DG