Improving Bench Press

M

Maximuscrates

New Member
Hey everyone,

I am 6'1" and 163lbs. Now It seems to me like I should be able to bench more than 165lbs for my 1 RM.

Any suggestions as to how to increase this to say around 200lbs or more?

Ill be starting a my second HST cycle in early July.
 
What does your routine look like? Without seeing it, the only thing I can suggest is to cut back and do only compounds. I have been doing the following A & B MWF and have made good progresss despite cutting:

A: olympic squats, bench, 90 degree bent rows;
B: deadlifts, dips, chins, OH press, front squats

You probably need help on your form also.
 
As liege says, form makes a big difference to how much you can bench. Lower the bar to your chest in a line with your nipples rather than down to your neck. That way the bar will follow a more natural arc and put less strain on your shoulder cuff.

I would also suggest that you attempt to push up the poundages you use for weighted dips. I find that dips help my bench and vise-versa due to working the same major muscles but with different mechanical advantage.
 
THanks, I think I got what I needed. I will be pushing 200lbs sometime late in the year I bet.

I had previously just been doing flat dumbbell press and incline dumbbell press.

My new HST routine includes more of the essential compounds.(I didn't know they were important until half way through my first(last) cycle)

So this time for pecs I am doing lever dips as I cannot quite get 15 reps of my own body weight yet and my YMCA only has a narror grip assisted dip machine. So with the lever dip I can get the right amount of weight and a wide grip so I can hit those pecs.

The other chest exercise I am doing is incline barbell bench. I think it might work shoulders too.
 
EAT, train often (never to failure), and rest.


Don't be afraid to eat live a starving barbarian that has just slaughtered a willie mammoth and has the technology of a microwave.
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Try this technique...just do twice a week 2 x 6 reps in bench press plus othet workout. Start with bench press.

If you are able to do 2 x 6 then add 5 lbs. If only 6 at the first time and the second time for example 5 then repeat at the next workout.

If you arenot able to do 6 in the first set then decrease 5 lbs and start agains.

Do not do extra reps in first set even if you feel like it. Always 2 x 6
 
Thanks, Ill try that workout but first instead of making another post for me about bench Ill just make it here.

Yesterday I was doing my last day of 10's. I did dips before I did my incline barbell bench which I usually do first. So I was finding the incline barbell bench very hard. I had a friend spotting me, my back was flat on the bench, abs tight, feet square on the floor and my neck was straight. It was only 105lbs. I got in my first 10 reps. Then on my second set I only got 6. But thats not the problem. Although I perfectly controlled the weight up and down, nice and slow, it seems that once I set down the weight, I felt my lower traps tighten right up. They were almost instantly sore. I got up slowly from the bench and discoverved that I could no longer move my neck from side to side without a lot of pain.

I attempted to slowly stretch it out but so far no good. I got home and the pain got worse. I have two full bottles of tylenol 3 with codine from the doctor when I had a cracked petella(i didn't need one pill for the pain then). But this really hurt. The tylenol took the edge off and I got a good sleep. I took another pill this morning and I was good for work but I still cant twist my neck or it hurts my lower traps on my middle back.

I am pretty sure in a couple days it will be fine and Ill be able to work out again for my 5's. If not I will see a doctor who will probably just give me more T3's.

But what I want to know is has anyone else ever had this happen to them?

What was I doing wrong?

How can I prevent this from happening?

Is incline bench prone to this?

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I know it was long,

Kyle Avery
 
<div>
(Maximuscrates @ Jul. 17 2006,17:05)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Thanks, Ill try that workout but first instead of making another post for me about bench Ill just make it here.

Yesterday I was doing my last day of 10's. I did dips before I did my incline barbell bench which I usually do first. So I was finding the incline barbell bench very hard. I had a friend spotting me, my back was flat on the bench, abs tight, feet square on the floor and my neck was straight. It was only 105lbs. I got in my first 10 reps. Then on my second set I only got 6. But thats not the problem. Although I perfectly controlled the weight up and down, nice and slow, it seems that once I set down the weight, I felt my lower traps tighten right up. They were almost instantly sore. I got up slowly from the bench and discoverved that I could no longer move my neck from side to side without a lot of pain.

I attempted to slowly stretch it out but so far no good. I got home and the pain got worse. I have two full bottles of tylenol 3 with codine from the doctor when I had a cracked petella(i didn't need one pill for the pain then). But this really hurt. The tylenol took the edge off and I got a good sleep. I took another pill this morning and I was good for work but I still cant twist my neck or it hurts my lower traps on my middle back.

I am pretty sure in a couple days it will be fine and Ill be able to work out again for my 5's. If not I will see a doctor who will probably just give me more T3's.

But what I want to know is has anyone else ever had this happen to them?

What was I doing wrong?

How can I prevent this from happening?

Is incline bench prone to this?

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I know it was long,

Kyle Avery</div>
When you bench press, you are working your traps/lats/shoulders/chest/tris, and probably some other muscles as well.  The higher the degree of incline, the more you work your traps, and the higher you lower the bar (closer to the shoulders and away from your nipples), the more the traps and shoulders will come into play.  When I do incline, the angle is only 30 degrees, sounds like your's is at least 45 if not more, also seems like you might have some weak traps in proportion to the rest of your body.  

I'd also like to comment on the weight you are using, and am anxious for any experienced lifters to disagree with me here (maybe I'll learn something)----I think the weight you are using is too light, because you say you have a very controlled rhythm (nice and slow).  During the latter part of my 2 week cycles, my rhythm is anything but slow, because I'm using almost maximum weight.  I'm not bouncing, but I'm moving the weight up and down pretty fast.  The only time I use a very slow controlled rhythm is the first 2 sessions of a 2 week cycle, where the weight is light and I'll even pause for a couple of seconds on the bottom part of lift.  I think that by using heavier weight your bench press will increase quicker.
 
Notice that the poster said 'lower trap' not the upper fibres.

In the area of the lower trap are some of the muscles of the rotator cuff, which generally suck when injured. if the pain is still there it may be best to see a doc, especailly one who is experienced in sports medicine
 
It is very easy to tense muscles that you are not working particularly hard with the exercise you are doing. In the past I have had cronic neck pain after doing bent over rows! It's more like a muscle spasm than a real injury but it's very uncomfortable for a few days afterwards. A good massage works wonders in this situation.

A conscious effort to try to relax my neck as much as possible whilst exercising has helped a lot. Also, avoiding failure has improved things for me. The last rep where I was straining like an idiot was often the one that caused the most neck pain afterwards.
 
thanks,
my neck hasn't recovered its full range of motion but I bet I can stretch it out today. it probably was more of a muscle spasm than a muscle injury.

yeah my incline is probably about 45 degrees.

the wasn't going super slow, but i wasn't going fast. and I always keep the weight under control to avoid injury.

today is first day of 5's so ill be lifting about 65% of my max. it will be a good weight to see how its feeling.

I will try to relax my neck and back while lifting.

Thanks!
 
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