Bench Press!!!

[Hockey Playa]

ok i thouight i had benchpress figured out until i started plateauing...I have heard SO MUCH CONTRADICTION in benchpress advice lately, im completely confused. First off my goal for BP is to obviously make it go up, and to have nice pecs...IVe been stuck around the same weight for about 2 months...Hear are the contradictions ive been told

FAST VS SLOW : some people say lower the weight slow for the tear, and go up slow for tear...some people say go down slow and explode up for power ( which is hard with heave weight btw)...
HEAVY WEIGHT LOW REPS VS LIGHT WEIGHT MANY REPS: people have said to up your benchpress, lower the weight and pump and tons of reps... some people say do 1-2 reps on a heavy weight, and u will make gains...
WEIGHT VS # OF SET: Some people said go 12,10,8,6 reps, and upping the weight as you get less reps...some people said stick on to 4 X 8 reps of the same weight...
# OF SETS: some people say do warmup sets, some people say they make you tired, some people say, 3,4, or even 5 sets....

with all this swirling in my head, and my recent plateauing, my workout today seemed hardly productive. I just want to know the best way to do organize your sets for optimal gains!!!

 

[blinkwatt]

FAST VS SLOW : some people say lower the weight slow for the tear, and go up slow for tear...some people say go down slow and explode up for power ( which is hard with heave weight btw)...

Powerlifters lift fast,bodybuilders lift slow(most of the time). Do you want strength(powerlifting) or looks(bodybuilding)?

The rest,the sets,reps is all up you. Do what you feel comfortable doing,try each style switching every months and see which gives you the most results/size/whatever you are looking for. Good luck!

 

[Mjazz]

Yo mang, when you start going heavy, you need to just exert lots of power when you press up, it may not go fast, but you need to have the power to press it up as fast as you can, dont worry it will be very slow. Lowering slowly and powering up is the best way to go overall.

 

[donjuanjovi]

Keep varying your rep ranges for best results. Try switching to flies for something different and to help push through the plateau.

 

[Flyer]

FAST VS SLOW : some people say lower the weight slow for the tear, and go up slow for tear...some people say go down slow and explode up for power ( which is hard with heave weight btw)...

Powerlifters lift fast,bodybuilders lift slow(most of the time). Do you want strength(powerlifting) or looks(bodybuilding)?

The rest,the sets,reps is all up you. Do what you feel comfortable doing,try each style switching every months and see which gives you the most results/size/whatever you are looking for. Good luck!

yes. this is true.

and my current quest is to try getting them both at the same time. (bulk + str)

is that even possible? or should i spend a month bulking. then strength?

 

[EFFORT]

First get your form together, search for a post by me about correct bench press form.

If your bench isnt up there then strength training is what you need to be doing to increase your main lifts. Bodybuilding style training is for when your big lifts are reasonable but until then strength training is what you should focus on.

Go to ironaddicts.com and read on the Westsidebarbell section and get started on a WSB routine.

 

[Hockey Playa]

thanks effort..my strength is fine i think, im benching more than my own body weight, and i weigh 185...alot more than guys bigger than me, i just want to know how to set up my sets, for the best gains..

 

[blinkwatt]

To build strength and muscle(w/ a little fat) just eat and eat,keeping the fat under 60 grams a day. Load up on rice/bread whenever you get a chancce. I gained ALOT of strength and size when I did that. Now I just want to build for looks and I only take in 20 grams of fat a day,200+ grams of protein. By the way I have only been lifting for a year and I weight 148 and do sets(8,6,6,5 reps) benching of 185,195,202.5 & 207.5,so I think I know what I'm talking about. Good luck!

 

[musclyjerk]

Try dumbells for 4 weeks, rotate exercises with the barbell etc.

Also, are you eating enough? Don't forget the importance of caloric surplus. The more muscle you put on, the more you are required to eat to keep the gains coming.

The Muscly Jerk

 

[blinkwatt]

Try dumbells for 4 weeks, rotate exercises with the barbell etc.

Good tip! I hit a wall barbell benching and couldn't increase the amount I was lifting for a month. I switched to dumbbells for a month and went back to the barbell and I could do more,it kinda put me over the hump.

 

[Charm]

Very good advice...you won't lift as much weight on DB's...which is good because you learn to stabilize more effectively and thus will up your barbell BP...I'll add that you should peform incline and decline bench press, too (DB)...these will strengthen and hypertrophy the entire pec region...and that can lead to a higher barbell BP.

However, I wouldn't be concerned about upping the bench weight. Focus instead on form...most guys lower and raise the weight too quickly. Slow the reps down...focus on squeezing your pecs at the top of the movement.

In my mind, incline DB press is what builds a nice chest. THAT should be the money exercise.

This is very good advice. Form is so important and I see tons of people in my gym focussed entirely on pushing up huge amounts of weight and forgetting that form is what develops nice muscles!

 

[Skilla_Staz]

yes. this is true.

and my current quest is to try getting them both at the same time. (bulk + str)

is that even possible? or should i spend a month bulking. then strength?

Look at strongmen and powerlifters. Do you think they waste time with the little "pretty boy" stuff? Doubt it. Those are prime examples of strength and size. Training with reps 4-8 and packin on more weight each week will give you some serious size/strength.


Ignore the fact that most of them are fat. They don't need to have a 6 pack to be effective. Unless you're Marius Pudzianowski

 

[Charm]

René Minkwitz is a pretty ripped guy too. But not like Marius wow

 

[Charm]

http://www.realdutchpower.nl/nieuwsoverzicht2003/mariusz3.jpg

 

[blinkwatt]

This is very good advice. Form is so important and I see tons of people in my gym focussed entirely on pushing up huge amounts of weight and forgetting that form is what develops nice muscles!

Form is good,don't get me wrong,but it's not everything. I know x-bodybuilders who even tell me to push hard so that my last rep or two on my last set aren't perfect,and when my last two are perfect then I know it's time to put on more weight. Just something to consider.

 

[Skilla_Staz]

If it's easy, it's not work..

 

[Raikojo17]

yes. this is true.

and my current quest is to try getting them both at the same time. (bulk + str)

is that even possible? or should i spend a month bulking. then strength?

it's impossible to bulk without gaining strength also. and it's impossible to just gain strength without also gaining some mass. not matter wat ur tryin to get, you'll get the other as well. Just lift heavy with proper form and slow reps and u wll gain.

 

[Flyer]

it's impossible to bulk without gaining strength also. and it's impossible to just gain strength without also gaining some mass. not matter wat ur tryin to get, you'll get the other as well. Just lift heavy with proper form and slow reps and u wll gain.

consider it done.

 

[Charm]

http://www.born2bbig.com/mariusz-pudzianowski.html