question about my weakness in bench

[patitucci]

so i been stucked with my bench for some time aand i was pretty sure my weakness was in my chest so i decided to try paused bench. started warming up and worked up to a 5rep set (i didnt know how much weight i should use). i foun a weight which let me do 5 HARD reps , the problem is i thought i would have trouble "breaking" the pause, i mean the 1st portion of the lift would be the hardest but it wasnt, in the last reps i was really fighting to lockout the weight. even in the last set(i did 3 worksets) i failed doing the last rep (got 4 complete) and i failed when trying to lockout.
so my question is if my weakness is in the lockout or if im doing it right and its ok to find hard to lockout.
btw im benching raw in case you wonder.
thanks very much.

 

[musclesntx]

so i been stucked with my bench for some time aand i was pretty sure my weakness was in my chest so i decided to try paused bench. started warming up and worked up to a 5rep set (i didnt know how much weight i should use). i foun a weight which let me do 5 HARD reps , the problem is i thought i would have trouble "breaking" the pause, i mean the 1st portion of the lift would be the hardest but it wasnt, in the last reps i was really fighting to lockout the weight. even in the last set(i did 3 worksets) i failed doing the last rep (got 4 complete) and i failed when trying to lockout.
so my question is if my weakness is in the lockout or if im doing it right and its ok to find hard to lockout.
btw im benching raw in case you wonder.
thanks very much.

Hey bubba - is it possible to get a vid of your bench? I'd like to see your form overall.

 

[patitucci]

sorry cant get a video, if its helpfull i can say my technique is pretty much as described on elitefts.com
thanks for your reply

 

[Skarhead1]

If your LO is weak, then you need to train your triceps... Start doing some close grip benching,s ome high rep hammer grip db benches, and some find close grip incline helps, some don't. You just have to figure out what works for you in bringing up your bench.... But always keep working your triceps hard. Weak tris = weak bench

 

[pineapple]

If your LO is weak, then you need to train your triceps... Start doing some close grip benching,s ome high rep hammer grip db benches, and some find close grip incline helps, some don't. You just have to figure out what works for you in bringing up your bench.... But always keep working your triceps hard. Weak tris = weak bench

Triceps and maybe shoulders too. I'm wondering if he's doing bench only workouts.

 

[Skarhead1]

Its mainly tricep at the top and shoulder/pec at the bottom. Youre right though, it's also a good possibility hes using the same exercise(bench) and the same training load over and over and he's stalled.

 

[patitucci]

on wednesday i do:

flat bench variation(im doing paused bench) 3x5
incline bench 3-4-x8reps
military press or dumbell press 3x8
skull crushers 3x10


for triceps i used to do hammer grip db press, did CG bench some time, pusdowns, im doing skull crushers now.
i always had trouble locking out the press, from halfway to the lock, but i thought it was because i wasnt doing a pause at the bottom, i even bounced on my chest.
i think im gonna do 1 week full ROM paused bench and the other week bench lockouts , from midway to the top.
or maybe just add morre tris work at the end of my workout , like 2-3 sets
of CG or any other tris excercise.
thanks again for your help

 

[strictaddict]

yeah doing chest and tris on the same day is good, why da fuck skull crushers on chest day alone?

 

[supaman61]

When you strengthen your delts and tri's your chest should also increase in strength, it all goes hand in hand. You might want to try some slow push-ups for sets of 25 reps where you pause mid point for 3 seconds. I found that this has improved my tri's and delts.

 

[viceman316]

so i been stucked with my bench for some time aand i was pretty sure my weakness was in my chest so i decided to try paused bench. started warming up and worked up to a 5rep set (i didnt know how much weight i should use). i foun a weight which let me do 5 HARD reps , the problem is i thought i would have trouble "breaking" the pause, i mean the 1st portion of the lift would be the hardest but it wasnt, in the last reps i was really fighting to lockout the weight. even in the last set(i did 3 worksets) i failed doing the last rep (got 4 complete) and i failed when trying to lockout.
so my question is if my weakness is in the lockout or if im doing it right and its ok to find hard to lockout.
btw im benching raw in case you wonder.
thanks very much.

Try switching up your workout to dumbells only for a few weeks. Press hard with dumbbells and go back to bench, i think you'll be amazed with the results. Also remember that a lot of barbell pressing movements put the shoulder joint in a more strained and irregular position. MAke sure you take care of your rotator and do a thorough warm up and stretch

 

[supaman61]

Sound advice by viceman, try 2 x 8-10 incline db press, 2 x 8-10 flat db press and 2 x 25 slow push-ups with a pause. Only my 2 cents, hope this helps.

 

[viceman316]

Supaman this also reminded me of something i did to increase my flat bench. I broke down my chest workouts into 2 seperate phases. weeks 1 and 3, i did flat bench excercises (Not barbells). For example- flat bench dumbbell press, flat bench dumbbell flyes, hammer strength bench machines (iso-lateral, which is individually plate loaded) and cable flyes on a flat bench. On weeks 2 and 4 i did the same thing but only INCLINE position excercise i.e. Incline dumbbell press, incline dumbbell flyes... etc etc.

Try this for a month. DONT TOUCH a barbell, and i think theres a good chance that not only your bench will get stronger, but you may not want to go back to barbells period. Remember the rotator cuff work and proper stretching as well- part of creating a strong building is strong foundation.

 

[patitucci]

yeah doing chest and tris on the same day is good, why da fuck skull crushers on chest day alone?

on wednesday i do bench variation + all of the supplement work for it, delts, tris, etc. except lats.

thanks everybody for your help, i will keep updating any progress in bench

on viceman316: i allways do rotator prehab and i also do a full warmup before worksetss.
thanks again

 

[Skarhead1]

Doing dumbbells + push ups is great and all but what you body builders dont understand is that they wont have much carry over to the bench. Your main bench lift must be a barbell ift and a variation. The dbs and push ups can be used as auxiliary lifts.

 

[Mudge]

Rack lockouts, bands, chains - my lockout is my weak point as well. Shorten the range with arch and tightness and that also helps.

Also, BIG back training, rows rows rows!!

http://www.iherve.com/fitness/bench_press.html

 

[eastarr69]

Rack lockouts, bands, chains - my lockout is my weak point as well. Shorten the range with arch and tightness and that also helps.

Also, BIG back training, rows rows rows!!

http://www.iherve.com/fitness/bench_press.html

ditto..also, you could do board presses...use 4 boards if you can or need to...use bands above the bar in a power rack..you can load weight on that sucker and its a jiff from the chest up until you starte to hit where the tris hit for your lockout...i use a long ez bar also for close grip bench if your gym has one...on my tri days..and i also do tris on a seperate day not the same day as chest since i lift heavy, i wouldnt be able to hit the tris the way i wanted to if i did them on the same day, my tris are fatigued by the time i am done benching..

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