Why is my max bench press so low?

[amazingswayze]

I don't understand it. I feel like I have a weak chest. I'm still struggling with 135 but when it comes to squats and deadlift I can push 225 no beef.

I need to step it up but it seems like no matter what I do each week I can't step up my bench. How did you guys work on your bench press?

 

[Who Dares Win]

Given that your form is correct, keep in mind that its basically 3 muscles working on it.

The chest should be doing most of the work given a right form with shoulders and triceps helping and other muscles doing just some stabilizing work.

If you are weak with one of these 3 muscles they could mess the whole process.

How is going with shoulder presses and dips for example?

Btw are you one of those guys with broad shoulders and skinny arms? Im the opposite and my bench is quite high compared to others while my back exercises are not.

 

[marmel75]

Whenever you feel you should be stronger at a certain lift you need to start looking at your accessory muscles. Basically you are only as strong as your weakest muscle that is involved in a lift. If you are strong enough in your posterior chain to deadlift 400 lbs but your forearms fail at 285 lbs, guess how much you are going to deadlift? 285 lbs.

One of the most overlooked and best things I've ever done for myself in regards to strength was to start doing static holds. Basically you go to a smith machine and set the guards or the squat rack and set the guards so that the bar cannot fall on you. You then start by putting 20% more weight on the bar than your one rep max and then you press it up about 2 inches and hold there as long as you can. The physical fatigue in those muscles will be something you have never and will never experience again outside of doing static holds. It simply is not possible to reach that with other methods.

I did these over a period of about 2 months, each time you do them you will make surprising strength gains, and will be able to increase the weight 20-30%. My bench static hold at the end was over 600 lbs for about 5-6 seconds. I then would go do actual bench press reps with lighter weight and it felt like a feather.

 

[amazingswayze]

Does it matter?

Your height and weight?

5'7, 160 lbs. About 15% body fat stocky body type, BMI 25, on the borderline between healthy weight and overweight.

I just feel like my chest is weak and I've been lifting the same weight for months and I want to know what I need to change for me to get stronger.

Everyone loves chest day but for some reason I've grown to prefer legs and back.

Anyway, my goal is to acquire a lean physique, gain wicked strength, and have densely packed defined muscles.

I've been dieting and training 6 days a week with cardio about half of the for the last few months. I lost about 5 lbs since beginning of summer. I feel stagnant now however. What can I do to reach my goal?

 

[amazingswayze]

Given that your form is correct, keep in mind that its basically 3 muscles working on it.

The chest should be doing most of the work given a right form with shoulders and triceps helping and other muscles doing just some stabilizing work.

If you are weak with one of these 3 muscles they could mess the whole process.

How is going with shoulder presses and dips for example?

Btw are you one of those guys with broad shoulders and skinny arms? Im the opposite and my bench is quite high compared to others while my back exercises are not.

Shoulder presses are weak for me and dips are okay, like I said, my strongest, most comfortable, and most comfortable muscle groups are legs and abs. I pretty much neglect the rest because I can't train them well

 

[Who Dares Win]

Shoulder presses are weak for me and dips are okay, like I said, my strongest, most comfortable, and most comfortable muscle groups are legs and abs. I pretty much neglect the rest because I can't train them well

Well if your shoulders are weak I guess we found the reason why your bench is not amazing.

What do you mean dips are "okay"?

 

[Filter]

I don't bench; the type of lifting I do doesn't require it. However, we do a lot of overhead and vertical pressing movements. We require a lot of shoulder stability... a good developmental tool for it is to hang kettlebells off a standard 20kg bar with bands on the incline bench and go for 3-4 sets of 8.

Aside from form and grip width, if your bench is lagging then certain muscles are not firing correctly or are just generally weak. If something is incorrect in your posture then it will fvck your entire body up in anything full-body; there's a thread (or maybe just a post in this thread) about chiropractors and their adjustments and how it can help lifting... if you have an excessively lordotic posture or kyphotic posture, then your lifts will be affected.

Everyone loves chest day but for some reason I've grown to prefer legs and back

Not sure how you're training, but full body programs (like StrongLifts or Grey Skull LP) are what you want to be doing in the beginning. Splits have their uses for sure, but with full body training comes a lot of CNS conditioning and general toughening that'll stick with you throughout your lifting journey.

 

[marmel75]

What can I do to reach my goal?

Stop training so much and add in more rest days.

 

[marmel75]

I pretty much neglect the rest because I can't train them well

Your goal should be to bring up the weak body parts not neglect them. Don't end up being one of these dumb-asses that ends up walking around the gym with a huge upper body and no leg development that looks like a retard.

 

[amazingswayze]

I live on campus at my college so I'm eating fresh meals for breakfast lunch and dinner.

During the week breakfast for me is raisin bran w/ soy milk, mixed fruit, and yogurt.
(Eggs with bacon and potatoes on the weekend)
Lunch varies but usually I have some type of protein, rice/carbs, and vegetables.
Dinner same thing, fresh balanced meals.

Besides campus food I eat oatmeal every now and then with milk and honey, I eat greek yogurt, and I drink protein shakes.

I don't drink much, so once every few weeks.

I'm training with weights 6x weekly with Monday being chest and shoulders, Tuesday back and arms, and Wednesday legs. I repeat this for the next three days. I also started incorporating abs on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Cardio sessions are basketball 3x weekly for about one hour of game intensity basketball.
Besides that I go for light runs every other day.

Pics included.

 

[amazingswayze]

http://my.bodybuilding.com/photos/view/type/progress/

 

[Krueg]

Your probably training too often, 6 days a week is alot for a Natural lifter. Unless your on steroids you can recover faster and train more often. Three to four days a week is plenty. I only train 3 days a week and can add 5-10lbs to my lifts about every 6-8 weeks. Considering things go to plan...

So, if you want to bench more, always check your form and technique first like others mentioned. Second, you need to just gain weight. Third, have a plan. If your currently benching 135, map out a goal to reach 140-145. Once you get there, keep making slow steady progress. Finally, After you bench, pick a few exercises that will help your bench. Examples; Shoulders, Chest, Triceps, Lats, Delts ect.

Good Luck!

 

[marmel75]

I live on campus at my college so I'm eating fresh meals for breakfast lunch and dinner.

During the week breakfast for me is raisin bran w/ soy milk, mixed fruit, and yogurt.
(Eggs with bacon and potatoes on the weekend)
Lunch varies but usually I have some type of protein, rice/carbs, and vegetables.
Dinner same thing, fresh balanced meals.

Besides campus food I eat oatmeal every now and then with milk and honey, I eat greek yogurt, and I drink protein shakes.

I don't drink much, so once every few weeks.

I'm training with weights 6x weekly with Monday being chest and shoulders, Tuesday back and arms, and Wednesday legs. I repeat this for the next three days. I also started incorporating abs on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Cardio sessions are basketball 3x weekly for about one hour of game intensity basketball.
Besides that I go for light runs every other day.

Pics included.

Cut the soy milk, that sh!t is poison. And it will help estrogenify you.

 

[marmel75]

I live on campus at my college so I'm eating fresh meals for breakfast lunch and dinner.

During the week breakfast for me is raisin bran w/ soy milk, mixed fruit, and yogurt.
(Eggs with bacon and potatoes on the weekend)
Lunch varies but usually I have some type of protein, rice/carbs, and vegetables.
Dinner same thing, fresh balanced meals.

Besides campus food I eat oatmeal every now and then with milk and honey, I eat greek yogurt, and I drink protein shakes.

I don't drink much, so once every few weeks.

I'm training with weights 6x weekly with Monday being chest and shoulders, Tuesday back and arms, and Wednesday legs. I repeat this for the next three days. I also started incorporating abs on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Cardio sessions are basketball 3x weekly for about one hour of game intensity basketball.
Besides that I go for light runs every other day.

Pics included.

#1 You are training too frequently

#2 You are not training intensely enough

#3 You are not pushing yourself hard enough

Intensity >>>>> Time spent at the gym training

which means 30 minutes spent balls to the wall intensity training will be far more effective than 90 minutes spent at average intensity.

 

[amazingswayze]

Cut the soy milk, that sh!t is poison. And it will help estrogenify you.

Marmel, I agree with almost everything you have stated so far. The only thing I don't understand is the soy milk. Is it really that bad for you? Ever since I got to campus I've been having really bad stomach pain/ bloating similar to what Tenacity was talking about a while ago. Once I switched to soy milk, I found it to be easier on my stomach. Can you explain to me exactly what the fuss is about soy milk?

 

[Vantagepoint34]

Sounds like you were hit by a Bomb Haha.

 

[marmel75]

Marmel, I agree with almost everything you have stated so far. The only thing I don't understand is the soy milk. Is it really that bad for you? Ever since I got to campus I've been having really bad stomach pain/ bloating similar to what Tenacity was talking about a while ago. Once I switched to soy milk, I found it to be easier on my stomach. Can you explain to me exactly what the fuss is about soy milk?

It contains phytoestrogens which bind to the estrogen receptors in the body. Go and look up all the cultures who use soy. All of them ONLY eat/use it when it has been fermented. Why? Because it has multiple things in it in an unfermented state that are TERRIBLE for your body. You should NEVER eat any unfermented soy product period. Ever.

Read this for more:

http://www.foodrenegade.com/dangers-of-soy/

This was a garbage crop that has boomed because of the lobbyists of the soy industries and the companies pushing hard to allow it. As always, the FDA allows things it shouldn't if enough money lines their pockets...

 

[amazingswayze]

Okay well I've cut out soy milk. I also eat less fruit. I know you guys will probably say that nothing is wrong with fruit but all my school has is honeydew, cantaloupe, pineapple, and grapes. I used to have 2-3 bowls of it a day but it goes right through me and so since I've cut out fruit and soy milk, I have zero stomach pain, less cramps, gas, etc.

Anyways, my plan to build a stronger chest is to focus more on triceps and shoulders, do more movements for each muscle group, and 5x5 sets at max intensity. I'm having trouble pressing 135 still, usually only 3 reps at best.

I will report back with results.

 

[amazingswayze]

Okay so all of my lifts got stronger, just by picking up the intensity every week. Bench is still low in comparison to the others, but I'm feeling good.

Squat - 265 x 1
Bench - 155 x 1
Deadlift - 315 x 1

Also, I started keto this past month. Somehow, I lost 10 lbs and got stronger. This whole semester, even while dieting strict, I could not get past 160. I weighed myself this morning, and I'm 152 lbs. I've been eating like a champ too; bacon and eggs every morning, cheeseburgers without the bun, grilled chicken salad/olive oil, heavy cream and coconut oil in my protein shakes, and bulletproof coffee.

 

[amazingswayze]

Another thing, I was thinking of switching my routine to push-pull-legs, but I just don't know how to split it. The material I was looking at insisted that this program works best when applied 6x weekly, and that only 3x wouldn't be enough. I did a 6x weekly routine all semester but I am now starting to believe that I need more rest days, more sleep, and more time to focus on class. Not slacking by any means, but just becoming more efficient. @Espi how do you usually go about adopting a new routine?

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/37ylk5/a_linear_progression_based_ppl_program_for/