why can't I bench?

B

bitterdregs

New member
My whole life I've been unable to benchpress much. I can stack 1200lb on a leg press without training, max out just about any leg machine (at least before my acl surgery), but I've never been able to bench my body weight.

So with my test boost I've gone back to trying upper body work. Unfortunately I don't have a training partner, but even the plain bar wiggles around on me... I wouldn't dare try putting any 45s on it. Yet on the machine press I can reasonably do 200lb.

In the past I've had shoulder and back issues ( sheesh, got the raw deal on the joint tissue gene pool!), but if I can do the weight on the machine, why can't I even approach it on the bench? For the time being I've assumed it's weakness in the ancillary muscles, so I've resorted to high reps on the bar, heavier weight on the machine, and a lot of pushups. But just once I'd like to lie down with something approaching real weight on the bar and hammer out a few reps.

Anyone else deal with this? Any constructive suggestions? Biomechanics-wise I have very long arms... so the lever arm is long for me.
 
How about with dumbbells? My bench use to be horrible a long time ago bad form and crooked my left side would hang way lower than the right but I built my strength up with dumbells
 
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How strong are your triceps? I know i had to strengthen mine up a good bit to progress with my bench. I would honestly stay away from the machine. Reason being youre not having to stabilize the weight. So its not really helping too much if at all imo. When i started i couldnt do 135, and barely could on the damn machine. Used the machine for a while, then tried 135 on bench, since i could do it on the machine, and it royally screwed me. I just left the machine, started doing regular benches and dumbells. Like 49er said. They are very good to help you progress. Best of luck
 
I have long arms too and when I started I couldn't hit 135 either. So I started with something like this
1st set-115x10
2nd set-120x8
3rd set-125x6

And so forth progressively adding weight. I got stronger pretty quickly using this pyramid technique
 
well, I decided to apply the 5x5 primciples since I just read that thread again. today I did chest and back and looked something like this:

bb bench (5x5)
db bench (2x10)
db flies (2x10)

widegrip rows (5x5)
pull downa (2x10)
bb rows (2x10) [this proly has a real name I'm not thinking of. I basically bent at waste w back straight and lifted the barbell from my thighs to my sternum area. used the smith machine in case back cramped up]

odd thing was, the entire workout went fast... seemed too fast. is that expected with a 5x5 routine? I was on the bench at 530 this morning, and walked out of the facility by 610. If that's expected w 5x5, that rocks.
 
My bench lacks as well, I also am tall with long arms. I always wondered why my bench lacked so much but I realized its because I have long arms therefore further to press... Genetics, eh...
 
flat bench press is a useless exercise unless you are power lifter, there are much better exercises for building the chest
 
Ya the bench is an ego lift, as you can work your chest/tri's in so many different ways that stimulate more muscle growth. Your problem seems to be stabilization (seeing as you are strong on the smith machine, but lose your stabilization with just the 45lbs bar) I would just continue to flat BB bench if you really care about it. Youll improve over time.
 
u cant bench cause u used or still do , machines amd smiths . only one way to build power is with free weights bro ..
stay on the 5x5 and you wil see improvments .. in a 8 wk period i went from 450 to 525 natty , with just chalk and wrist wraps .good luck !
 
just an update, been playing with body position a bit and found that if I squeeze my shoulders together in the back it really relieves the pressure on my shoulder joint. It also seems to help engage my core more and the bar is much less unstable even as I approach my max. So in short time I've gone from struggling with 115(seriously) to 5x5 at 150. I continue to supplement the basic bench with dumbell presses and flyes. If I'm done with the workout and want to get a better chest pump I'll use the machine press at moderate weight and higher reps in a final set. maybe it's just mental but I feel better leaving with the pump intact. And if I can continue to add 5lb a week to the 5x5 routine, I'll be quite satisfied.
 
Try strengthening your shoulders and triceps, seems like you have a hard time stabilizing the bar. You may have weak rotator cuffs? Have you tried simple rotator cuff exercises to help stabilize your shoulder? If you're trying to target your chest though, you can try a variety of other workouts such as flyes, dips, incline DB press, cable cross overs...
 
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