Why is my max bench press so low?

[Ratiocinative]

You need to lift heavy and eat 15-20% more calorie than your maintenance amount. Your gains will be minimal if you aren't eating extra calorie no matter how great your workouts are, and the reverse is true as well. You neec both heavy lifting and calories. And good sleep in a good posture too of course.

Train what you want to get good at. If you want high bench and deadlift numbers, then do bench and deadlifts. Forget about accessory exercises like flies or tricep extensions unless your goal is to be good at those specific movements.

It can take some trial and error to find your sweet spot in terms of workout frequency, reps, and sers. Once you do you will make massive gains. I am 5'9" too and I went from 300 bench to 385 bench in around 3 months. No roids, no accessory exercises. Just alternating bench and deadlift days. 6 workouts a week.

 

[marmel75]

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 wihile 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.

It's all fake. All you are doing on Keto is losing glycogen which needs water to store it(carbohydrate...4 molecules of water for every carbo)...this eventually will make you weaker and smaller. I've been there and done that...it's fools gold.

Muscles get stronger when they are VOLUMIZED. It's why creatine increases strength because it sucks water into the muscle and volumizes it. It's why you lose 20% of your strength if you train in a dehydrated state...the muscles aren't VOLUMIZED.

No offense but at 160 lbs you should NOT be looking to lose weight, and especially not by de-volumizing the muscles.

As I often have said those who know do carb cycling, those who don't do Keto...carb cycling gives you nearly all the pros of keto with none of the cons. It's far superior on every level.

 

[amazingswayze]

It's all fake. All you are doing on Keto is losing glycogen which needs water to store it(carbohydrate...4 molecules of water for every carbo)...this eventually will make you weaker and smaller. I've been there and done that...it's fools gold.

Muscles get stronger when they are VOLUMIZED. It's why creatine increases strength because it sucks water into the muscle and volumizes it. It's why you lose 20% of your strength if you train in a dehydrated state...the muscles aren't VOLUMIZED.

No offense but at 160 lbs you should NOT be looking to lose weight, and especially not by de-volumizing the muscles.

As I often have said those who know do carb cycling, those who don't do Keto...carb cycling gives you nearly all the pros of keto with none of the cons. It's far superior on every level.

Yeah Marmel I am totally aware that when I stop keto, I will gain back some water weight. However, I have been trying to lose weight for over a year and so far nothing has worked consistently except keto. I'm sure it sounds crazy to you, but right now I'm 150 (weighed this morning), and I'm gonna cut to 140 which should have me about 10% body fat. I have slightly visible abs, but I know that if I drop 10 more lbs of fat, I will have the physique I want. Then it's bulking season. To be honest, strength has not suffered at all on keto. 1RM Bench is 165 now actually, and it's absolutely going to go up in the near future.

When I made this thread, I was at a crossroads.

At this point in time, I'm liking what I'm seeing with the Diet and Exercise regimen, and I'm gonna keep it up until I find something that works better for me personally.

 

[Infern0]

Close grip bench press, incline bench, overhead press.

 

[amazingswayze]

Close grip bench press, incline bench, overhead press.

I just realized that I've been overcompensating with my shoulders and triceps, and not really squeezing my chest. I also learned that the function of the chest is actually to adduct your arms (pull towards the middle of your body). Interesting how A&P plays into lifting. My one rep max is still 165 lbs, but I'm turning up the intensity with Incline Dumbbell Flys, and really practicing form with Incline DB Press.

Any tips for incline bench press?

 

[Infern0]

I just realized that I've been overcompensating with my shoulders and triceps, and not really squeezing my chest. I also learned that the function of the chest is actually to adduct your arms (pull towards the middle of your body). Interesting how A&P plays into lifting. My one rep max is still 165 lbs, but I'm turning up the intensity with Incline Dumbbell Flys, and really practicing form with Incline DB Press.

Any tips for incline bench press?

Because careful on incline bench, I tore my AC ego lifting on it.

Just keep elbows in, don't go too extreme angle and work up slowly

 

[amazingswayze]

Because careful on incline bench, I tore my AC ego lifting on it.

Just keep elbows in, don't go too extreme angle and work up slowly

Safety is key.

I like to get a nice full range of motion on each rep, never allowing myself to rest at the bottom or the top of the movement. I prefer to use light'ish DBs on these: 70's for 10 reps is my max.

I'll go as low as 45's on these, depending on the effort and intensity.

I often superset these with lying leg curls, no-to-minimum rest in between.

I also like supersetting these with push-ups.

I prefer incline DB press as well, more stabilizing work. Also I like your strategy. Get some abs in while you rest!

 

[marmel75]

Safety is key.



I prefer incline DB press as well, more stabilizing work. Also I like your strategy. Get some abs in while you rest!

I prefer decline...it takes the front delts out of the equation, it allows you to lift more weight, which ultimately leads to more muscle stimulation which then leads to growth.

 

[amazingswayze]

Okay so when I first made this thread I knew much less about lifting, and nutrition in general.

I'm doing much better now.

I was struggling with 135x1. Today I can press 135x10.
Max is 175.

So from October to May (~6 months), I increased my bench press 40 lbs. Not to mention I've been restricting calories this whole time.

Not sure if this is still newbie gains because I've been lifting for 2 years. All I know is that my progress will be far better once I finally start bulking, probably in a month or two. I'm looking to hit that glorious 225 by the end of the year, as well at Squat 315, Dead 405, and OHP 135 for reps.

 

[dk1990S111]

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.

Hey marmel just wanted to make sure I understand you correctly. You set the guards and raise the bar a few inches off it, but where in the rep should you be holding? Obviously you don't want to be holding at the end of the rep with your arms locked or anything so for a standard rep on the bench where would your arms be at? 90% position? Just want to make sure

 

[marmel75]

Hey marmel just wanted to make sure I understand you correctly. You set the guards and raise the bar a few inches off it, but where in the rep should you be holding? Obviously you don't want to be holding at the end of the rep with your arms locked or anything so for a standard rep on the bench where would your arms be at? 90% position? Just want to make sure

You are holding at the top of the rep. Static hold for as long as possible, with the goal for at least 10 seconds before increasing the next time.

 

[dk1990S111]

Alright got it, thanks

 

[Ericsean]

I’ll lie on the bench and put my eyes directly under the bar. I place my feet down in front of my knees, so my shins are angled back toward me, and I dig my feet into the floor. Then I push my knees apart, which activates my glutes.

 

[marmel75]

I just realized that I've been overcompensating with my shoulders and triceps, and not really squeezing my chest. I also learned that the function of the chest is actually to adduct your arms (pull towards the middle of your body). Interesting how A&P plays into lifting. My one rep max is still 165 lbs, but I'm turning up the intensity with Incline Dumbbell Flys, and really practicing form with Incline DB Press.

Any tips for incline bench press?

I'm not a big fan of flat bench presses...I much prefer decline bench, weighted dips, and feet elevated weighted pushups. IMHO, your chest will get a much more effective workout from these than with bench.

If you insist on doing bench, when you are going up and down, pretend you are trying to push your hands towards each other along the bar. It will signinficantly increase pec activation and you can get better results with lower weights.

 

[amazingswayze]

I'm not a big fan of flat bench presses...I much prefer decline bench, weighted dips, and feet elevated weighted pushups. IMHO, your chest will get a much more effective workout from these than with bench.

If you insist on doing bench, when you are going up and down, pretend you are trying to push your hands towards each other along the bar. It will signinficantly increase pec activation and you can get better results with lower weights.

I've been cleaning up my form a whole bunch. Getting much better reps and avoiding injury too.
I was having trouble understanding form until I saw this;

I'm getting into Incline Bench and Incline Dumbbell Press. I want to progress with those as well.
Just ordered a dip/pull-up belt, hasn't arrived yet.

Why do you prefer decline?

 

[marmel75]

I've been cleaning up my form a whole bunch. Getting much better reps and avoiding injury too.
I was having trouble understanding form until I saw this;

I'm getting into Incline Bench and Incline Dumbbell Press. I want to progress with those as well.
Just ordered a dip/pull-up belt, hasn't arrived yet.

Why do you prefer decline?

I have injured myself a bunch of times doing flat bench no matter how good my form is. I think I have some physiological issues with it...same with skullcrushers, causes tremendous pressure and discomfort in my elbows...decline puts your body in a much more natural position to push upwards from than flat bench.

 

[amazingswayze]

I have injured myself a bunch of times doing flat bench no matter how good my form is. I think I have some physiological issues with it...same with skullcrushers, causes tremendous pressure and discomfort in my elbows...decline puts your body in a much more natural position to push upwards from than flat bench.

How does decline compare to incline for you personally? Doesn't the blood rush to your head? Is it more dangerous than incline?

 

[marmel75]

How does decline compare to incline for you personally? Doesn't the blood rush to your head? Is it more dangerous than incline?

No, I find decline is much safer and far more effective than incline. You can lift heavier weight than flat bench as well because it pretty much removes your front delts from the equation comlpetely. In flat bench you rarely fail because your pecs fail, its almost always because your front delts fail.