Chest Strength Imbalance?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

I’m worried that my chest is too strong relative to my shoulders and my back. I have a pretty balanced workout, but my bench goes up faster than every other upper body lift. Using strict form (i.e., standing, full ROM, pausing between reps), I shoulder press about 55% of what I bench. Also, I Pendlay row about 70% of what I bench. Are my shoulders and back too weak? If so, I’ll probably stop benching to allow them to catch up.

My routine is the Bill Starr 5x5, btw. I’ve been on the program for around nine months.

2

what does your split look like?

3

Your bench is too high, heh, sounds like a nice problem. I wouldn’t worry too much about it, but I’d focus more on overhead pressing (dumbbells) and rowing/chin movements for a while.

4

I’d suggest decreasing the volume of your bench presses and increasing the volume of your back and shoulders.

5

[quote]youngguns516 wrote:
what does your split look like?[/quote]

Here it is:

Tues: Squat, Row, Bench, GM, Abs

Thur: Squat (light), Deadlift, GM (light), Shoulder Press, Abs

Sat: Squat, Row, Bench, GM, Abs, Weighted Dips, Curls

Except for curls and abs, all the sets and reps are 5x5. The last set is always the work set. Everything else is a warm-up. I also do rotator cuff exercises at least once a week.

6

Maybe switch the bench on saturday for pullups, being you have dips on that day as well and pullups don’t appear anywhere else.