Help With Increasing Bench Press

[anewguy]

Hey everyone,

So I have been seriously lifting for about two years now. I have gone up on every lift significantly except for bench press. I have some weak forearms, which i recently began training with biceps. I think that contributes to a lot of it... But I also have a bad back (scoliosis).

I want to know how I can increase the weight that I rep. I usually only rep like 135 when I'm doing lifts. To be fair, I am doing a lot of reps on my current routine. But even still, I am feeling like a bitch in the gym because of this.

Can anyone give me any tips to really isolate the chest and get that bench press up? Yesterday was chest day and I did a couple of negatives, but was dead at that point... It was after a 28 method workout.

Suggestions?

Thanks

 

[donjob]

post your exact chest routine. i feel ya man, my deadlift and front squats continue to skyrocket (along with other lifts) but my bench is whatever. your form could suck. work on your lats, they activate during the lift and help with the pressing motion. do exercises that "oppose" the bench, they carry over into it. like bentover barbell rows for example. place your hands the same distance apart you do for bench, make sure your upper body is almost if not completely parallel to the floor, row to the bottom of your chest, focus on the lats in the movement. you say you are still repping 135 but alot huh? have you ever tried increasing the weight? if you don't push yourself you will never grow. if you are repping 135 twenty times then why the hell aren't you loading it up with 185 and pushing it 10 times? 205 6 times? load up a weight you can only push for 4-6 reps, stop when your form starts breaking down. when you can hit 7 up the weight next time. progressive loading brother, look it up.

 

[bigherm2121]

I had a weak bench for a while too. I started doing dips for chest and dips for tis day. Eventually got up to weighted dips. 230lb dude doing weighted dips is pretty good if you ask me. My bench has started to rise a shit ton with this routine.

 

[donjob]

i also do weighted dips, helped a little but compared to the progress of my other lifts my bench is pitiful.

 

[AndroSport]

do more bench lol

no - i don't even do bench anymore - a trainer i once worked with while playing football at a high level told me that he could increase my bench by 15 or 20% or something in less than a month (i think he said 3 weeks) if i followed his exercises only. He moved me from flat regular barbell bench to flat dumbbell bench to dumbbell presses while rolled back on a yoga ball. once my weight started going up while pressing on the yoga ball he told me to go test my heavy sets on bench and they had skyrocketed. I never went back to bench!

If you do this start low... even if it FEELS light get PERFECt form (the ball will force form or force you OFF the ball mid-press if you're doing it wrong) if you try to go too high too fast you can get hurt.

anyways that helped me a lot...

 

[donjob]

i remember you saying something about this a couple months ago, i tried it. yeah it was harder man! i haven't done it since though. i just like benching on a bench if you know what i mean

 

[NotoriousVic]

Lay off the bench press and start doing Dumbells on a bench.. Incline bench dumbell press... do 3 sets at rep of 12/10/8 and your last set should be the heaviest you can do while keeping a clean form.
FLAT bench, do fly's using dumbells as well, slow, steady and proper posture and push yourself to the max, keep proper form lift as heavy as you can on your last set and max PUSH yourself.
For decline use a machine, they have decline bench press, stack the weights on my friend to the max... The machine will help keep posture.

Example.... Let's say the heaviest bench you can do using a dumbell on each hand is 75 lbs... start with 65, then 70 and max out at 80 and don't stop at 8 if you can do 9 push yourself... Every last push you do while you're struggling, just pretend you have a gun to your head and you have to do it... It's those last pushes that give you great gains.

Good luck

 

[Mrrippedzilla]

I would recommend lowering your reps first, if your pumping for 20 reps your not really going to lift high, but 5 reps really focuses on strength.
Also remember the bench is a compound exercise, make sure your triceps (especially at the bottom of the lift) and shoulders are performing. Shoulder press, tricep pushdowns, kickbacks, etc will help. You'll notice a big difference especially once your tricep are stronger.
If your really focusing on lifting heavier, I would also suggest exploding at the bottom of the lift, none of this "take your time for full contraction" stuff.

 

[D-Cal]

think someone already said switch tio dumbells instead of barbell but yes i would go with that i did and after i switched back like 2 monthds after was able to move cosiderably more weight on the barbell

 

[Sir Anabolic]

Try benching on the smith. It really improved my overall.

 

[apetrills]

Raise your weight and drop your reps

 

[rippedliving]

Do a 5x5 program

 

[Rosco FleX]

I personally increased my own bench by doing 5sets/5reps with heavier weight, AND by ditching the barbell for dumbbells. Challenge yourself each week with more weight. I weigh somewhere in the 185-190 region (my mirror is my scale) and hit 335 for 3 reps last week...all because of the 5x5 routine.

 

[SquadLeader]

I personally increased my own bench by doing 5sets/5reps with heavier weight, AND by ditching the barbell for dumbbells. Challenge yourself each week with more weight. I weigh somewhere in the 185-190 region (my mirror is my scale) and hit 335 for 3 reps last week...all because of the 5x5 routine.

I have done this in the passed it does help I would recommend it to anyone.

 

[speeddemon]

Yeah do a 5x5 program

 

[meloyelo7337]

get a spot and go for some forced reps. dumpbells will build you stabilizing muscles..... WIDE grip dips leaning forward. i do forearms twice a week

i just got a workout partner and look forward to doing forced reps and heavier weights i could not do alone.

dam i cant sleep

 

[Rosco FleX]

get a spot and go for some forced reps. dumpbells will build you stabilizing muscles..... WIDE grip dips leaning forward. i do forearms twice a week

i just got a workout partner and look forward to doing forced reps and heavier weights i could not do alone.

dam i cant sleep

Forced reps are a must in my chest routine.