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Best Approach to Benching?

jakew912

jakew912

Private
Minuteman
Aug 29, 2011
35
0
45
SW Virginia, USA
I had been stuck on a "plateau" with my ORM (one rep max) on benchpress for what seemed like a year or more. I cut out everything except for good ole standard benchpress. Seems to be working well for strength as my ORM has increased quite a bit in the last several months, but now I seem to be reaching another "plateau".
Anyone have any suggestions? Tips or techniques for busting through these snags and really building strength?
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jake912</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I had been stuck on a "plateau" with my ORM (one rep max) on benchpress for what seemed like a year or more. I cut out everything except for good ole standard benchpress. Seems to be working well for strength as my ORM has increased quite a bit in the last several months, but now I seem to be reaching another "plateau".
Anyone have any suggestions? Tips or techniques for busting through these snags and really building strength? </div></div>
whats your rep scheme? what kind of assistance movements are you doing for bench? how often are you doing heavy seated, and standing barbell shoulder presses?

its not a straight forward answer...lots of variables
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

Right now I'm working 5 on 2 off. I do chest only, twice a week...the first and last days of the week. The first day, I do 3 warm up sets of 5 to 10 reps, then jump into the heavy stuff. Usually ends up with 3 more sets of only 2-3 reps with increasing weight. I then to the backside of a pyramid while reducing weight and end up with about 10-12 reps @ 225.
The second chest day, is 5-6 sets of 4-5 reps, with as much weight as I can handle.
All of this is done on a flat bench with the standard 45 lb straight bar.
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

I work all other body parts, once per week. I do shoulders on the 3rd day to try to keep it in between the chest workouts. Shoulder workout consists primarily of seated military press and dumbbell raises, both lateral and front to back.
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

Believe it or not, I got into a good squat routine and it greatly improved my bench. A good multiple muscle multiple joint lift helps in many areas. Sometimes its as simple as that...
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jake912</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I work all other body parts, once per week. I do shoulders on the 3rd day to try to keep it in between the chest workouts. Shoulder workout consists primarily of seated military press and dumbbell raises, both lateral and front to back. </div></div>
stop doing front raises. from the sound of it you are going to need a lot of help in this department...most people do cause the info out there is to get bigger...never really stronger...so here you go

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_arti...athlete&cr=

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_arti...ressing&cr=

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_arti...ressing&cr=

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_arti...loading&cr=

these are complete with videos and everything....a big bench requires a lot more than just benching, and conventional wisdom...this should get you well on track
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

I would find a weight after warmup that you can do 4-6 reps of and do 4-6 sets. If you get at least 4 every set then the next week put on 2-2.5lb plates. You do this every week. It's a lot like periodization. You shouldn't try to max every week. You have to give your muscles time to recover. There is also the 5-3-1 workout where one week you do 5 reps, then 3, then 1. Everyone is different but when you get stuck you gotta mix it up.
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

lifting is like alot of sports, 90% mental... get a little crazy, slap urself up, and think positive, guarantee you get that rep up... tonight, literally, take a picture of the weight ur stuck on, print it off on paper, put it above your bed with a lamp/light on it so you can stare at before u go to sleep... and get pissed, you'll get it done.
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

When I hit a sticking point anymore I'll make a drastic change from what I'm doing , if you're training a body part 2-3 days a with very heavy weight low reps then swap to one day a week with a ton of volume and do that for a couple weeks then go back..

Also good advice on training other supporing body parts , like shoulders and triceps.

Personaly when I was power lifting I would stop flat barbell benching for two weeks and do dumbbells on a slight incline with 4-5 sets of 15-20 reps each to failure the move to weighted dips. Both of these exercise put alot more strain on the supporting muscle like front delts and triceps . After two weeks of this I would jump back to a heavy routine and do alot of forced reps and heavy negatives.

These days I find the best way to break through hard spots is to take a week off of EVERYTHING !! Give the body a break let the muscles totaly clear them selves of lactic acid and let the central nervous system and your joints have a break
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

have you looked into your form? solid numbers on the bench start with the proper form. from someone who tore my rotator cuff from trying to put up too much weight with bad form, i can tell you from experience. after my shoulder healed, i had to start all over. i hooked up with a power lifter who taught me how to bench properly. recently i entered a competition and pressed 425 with a body weight of 187
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

Where is your sticking point? That is the first thing to figure out then strengthen whatever muscle group is causing it, top=tricep, bottom chect/shoulders etc
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

you can also try using chains. the higher in the positive movement, the more weight it adds, helping you push through sticking points.

J.Myers, where at in Columbus are you? I'm in reynoldsburg.
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

Well, I've tried changing up some of my techniques and took some of the pointers from this thread.
I had been doing a "progressive" cycle workout which is basically the first half of a pyramid, and had been getting stuck at 315 lbs for weeks. I would start strong from the bottom of the lift and then just peter out near the top of the lift.
I changed my grip by widening it just a bit and used some of the other tips and easily pressed that weight and have been moving up.
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

I know what you mean. i re injured my rotator cuff and slowed down in the gym. trying to get back into it though
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

Jake, different muscle fibers activate under a maximum load lifted in a certain amount of reps. You have heard of fast and slow twitch muscles, types I, II, IIa, and IIb, I am sure. You seem to be lifting a lot of heavy weight for only a few repetitions, working mostly your fast twitch. Do a little reading on twitch muscles and figure out which one(s) you might be missing. A few things helped cause jumps in my bench were doing as many plyometric push-ups as I could until failure, using a weight vest and doing push ups on gymnasium rings(this requires massive use of your synergists and stabilizers incurred the worst case of delayed muscle soreness EVER), <span style="font-weight: bold">negatives</span>, and finally, pushing a weight until I could get 30-40 reps out of them. I remember when I plateaued like you, with less weight albeit, pushing the maximum amount I could for 10-12 repetitions and for weeks getting no results. I decided to start with lower weights with high repetitions and surprisingly enough, I found I could lift ~X amount of accumulated weight in a day before needing to recover and it would take a week or so. It led me to believe I was building mostly fast twitch muscle, as they take the longest to repair. Since, I have begun paying attention more to the aforementioned and have yet to hit a platuea in the 4 or 5 months I have been practicing this routine.

I felt like a bit of a pansy when I first started this until the next few weeks when I could only press a pair of 80 lbs dumbells for 10-12 reps in 5 sets, never getting past 12, and two weeks later I was pressing them 25-30 times and my max jumped a good 10-15%. The gains have slowed of course, but the fact remains, I was not taking advantage of every aspect my muscles had to offer.
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

Everyones different but for most people training a specific body part more than once a week and maxing out is not the greatest approach. Id try just 1 chest work per week for a month or two.

I use to follow the same workout schedule as you 5 days on 2 days off, mainly because thats what all the bodybuilders did, what I didnt take into account is that they are all on massive amounts of steroids and can recover faster than your average natural weight lifter.

Good rest and recovery time is very important.
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jake912</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Well, I've tried changing up some of my techniques and took some of the pointers from this thread.
I had been doing a "progressive" cycle workout which is basically the first half of a pyramid, and had been getting stuck at 315 lbs for weeks. I would start strong from the bottom of the lift and then just peter out near the top of the lift.
I changed my grip by widening it just a bit and used some of the other tips and easily pressed that weight and have been moving up. </div></div>

board presses and lock outs. do em
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

Anybody ever use bands? or try throwing 50% of your max as violently and forcefully as possible. If you hit a plateau you probably need to change something in your method...
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

like bruttus1776 said, do board presses and other lockout work. If you are failing at the top your triceps are week. also try adding in bands or chains one day a week and then one day go to max on a bench assistance work ie board press, floor press, pin press with singles or doubles. the fast day use light weight and keep the bar speed up, do 10-12 sets of 3.

Louie Simmons does this with all the lifters at Westside and word on the street is that they are pretty strong.

The guy above that said to do a weight that you can get 30-40 reps if he met in a set is an idiot, you are training completely different aspects, at that point you are working on strength endurance which doesn't matter unless you are trying to see what you can bench press 40 times, you will not get stronger if you do that.
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

Jake- A couple of thoughts... do you have micro weights? Sometimes you can't make the 5 lb jumps in a movement but you can continue to make 2lb, 1lb, or 1/2lb jumps for a long time. Also, are you only doing bench press? If so, I would add squats, deadlifts, and presses back in before you go down a more complicated accessory exercise route. It's just really hard to create enough stress on your entire system to get a hormonal strength response with the BP alone.
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

Sometimes you have to just switch it up. When I get life this I will usually switch to incline benching heavy. I never got into the whole Pyramid ordeal. My father was a competition bodybuilder, and got me into a good training regiment at a young age.

Benching was always my weakspot, but I over came this by working my shoulders and tri's. Eventually my chest caught up with the rest of my body. I am now a solid bencher. My typical routine is 4 sets 10 reps heavy incline, 4 sets 15 reps incline, 4 sets 12 reps peck deck, 4 sets 10 reps dumbell flys.

I also work triceps on benching days, and I do legs. For triceps it is 4 sets 10 reps dips increasing weight, 4 sets 10 reps tricep push downs,4 sets 10 reps skull crushers.

Legs are 4 sets 10 reps squats, 4 sets 10 reps seated calf raises, 4 sets 10 reps leg curls, 4 sets 12 reps leg extensions, 4 sets 10 reps hack squats, and 3 sets 25 reps lunges.
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Cinch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Believe it or not, I got into a good squat routine and it greatly improved my bench. A good multiple muscle multiple joint lift helps in many areas. Sometimes its as simple as that... </div></div>
This in not at all uncommon and worth you trying. Think of your body like a building and your legs the foundations small foundations small building big foundations big building. If you have chicken legs you top half will plateau easily. Another thing is working complimentary muscles so primary muscles in chest are chest and triceps as a secondary so try as part of your warm up on your first chest day ( as I guess you start your week with it ) try warming back and biceps aswell and train back and bies the day before your second chest workout and training legs like a mad man on leg days also changing up your chest routine to work other chest zones to build a fuller chest which in turn builds a stronger chest and if you have chicken legs pack a heap of size on the legs and you'll gain again I had the same problem as I have blown knees and ankles so it took ages for me to gain strength in my legs cos I had to take it easy on my legs so as not to do more damage but after a while my legs got alot bigger and I ended up with my top alot bigger with the max I ever benched being 380lbs
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Big Cal</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Cinch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Believe it or not, I got into a good squat routine and it greatly improved my bench. A good multiple muscle multiple joint lift helps in many areas. Sometimes its as simple as that... </div></div>
This in not at all uncommon and worth you trying. Think of your body like a building and your legs the foundations small foundations small building big foundations big building. If you have chicken legs you top half will plateau easily. Another thing is working complimentary muscles so primary muscles in chest are chest and triceps as a secondary so try as part of your warm up on your first chest day ( as I guess you start your week with it ) try warming back and biceps aswell and train back and bies the day before your second chest workout and training legs like a mad man on leg days also changing up your chest routine to work other chest zones to build a fuller chest which in turn builds a stronger chest and if you have chicken legs pack a heap of size on the legs and you'll gain again I had the same problem as I have blown knees and ankles so it took ages for me to gain strength in my legs cos I had to take it easy on my legs so as not to do more damage but after a while my legs got alot bigger and I ended up with my top alot bigger with the max I ever benched being 380lbs</div></div>

Call it a different philosophy, but I disagree with a part of what you said. While Benching, Squatting, and dead lifting will make you strong. Those exercises improve core strength and are imperative if you power lift, or just want to get big. However, genetics play the biggest role in limiting size, growth potential. I have seen guys squat over 700lbs and not have legs proportioned to their upper body. I myself have always had large legs, and a big back but my chest was small. Knowing that my chest was my weak point I worked my Chest 3 days a week, forcing my chest to catch up.

I agree with you about working surrounding muscle groups, as it will help your bench grow. However I don't use my legs to bench. In fact I tend to bench with my feet suspended in the air, to not cheat. Try it, and see for yourself. I don't push of the ground with legs. I also bench with my hands a bit narrower than shoulder's width as in narrower by an inch to an inch and a half. Work your shoulders, and your triceps. They are important in maximizing your bench.

Also it should be noted that it depends on your goals. You don't have to lift heavy to get big. Benching 380lbs is respectable.. If you aren't trying to compete in World's Strongest Man Competitions then it's not about weight. It's about form, and reps.

I coach power lifting for the local high school. I also have been in power lifting for 12 years. My grandfather and and father were both into bodybuilding, so weightlifting is deeply bedded into my roots.
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

I was not a power lifter I was bodybuilding so I was not really concerned with weight as compared to form as I wanted the muscle shape and development the strength came with time and was only tested as a pissing comp with a few guys at the gym and it was a good feeling when I was natural and out lifted alot of the guys who weren't natural. I think alot of being able to lift is proportion aswell I thing you can only grow as big as your weakest part allows you to. Form is very important to me good form on light weight is better then bad form on heavy weight as cheat lifting is cheating your results it also comes down to time I'll never be able to get back to what I was as I used to train 4hrs a day 6 days a week and sleep a minimum of 8 hrs now I'd rather play with my kids.
 
Re: Best Approach to Benching?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Big Cal</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I was not a power lifter I was bodybuilding so I was not really concerned with weight as compared to form as I wanted the muscle shape and development the strength came with time and was only tested as a pissing comp with a few guys at the gym and it was a good feeling when I was natural and out lifted alot of the guys who weren't natural. I think alot of being able to lift is proportion aswell I thing you can only grow as big as your weakest part allows you to. Form is very important to me good form on light weight is better then bad form on heavy weight as cheat lifting is cheating your results it also comes down to time I'll never be able to get back to what I was as I used to train 4hrs a day 6 days a week and sleep a minimum of 8 hrs now I'd rather play with my kids. </div></div>

+1 on not juicing!
 
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