Bench question - am I too weak?

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retired_Jazz addict

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Hi

I am 22, male 184cm and I weight 74kg.
I have been working out for bout 6 months.

My question: I do bench press with a 40kg bar. Reps are 15 13 12.

I mean, 40 kg isn`t so much, I think I should be able to push some more to the air by now, don`t you think?
 
yes, thats true, but I can´t go over 45kg.

I know there are people younger, skinnier than me who are doing 60 reps with 60 kg...
 
size doesn't necessarily equal strength. do what's right for you. who gives a shiat what other people can do?
 
The importance is not on the actual amount, other than the fact that you can track your strength increase. What is important is that you are progressively increasing the weight as time goes on.

I want to throw something out there for you, you can give it a shot if you like.
try benching a max of 2 times per week. When you bench, lower the bar slow to your chest, make it take 3 WHOLE seconds, then fire it up. DO not lock out your elbows at this point, just slowly lower it again.
Try to focus on your pec muscles doing the lift, not your arms.
bring the bar down to about 2-3 inches above your chest (DO NOT BOUNCE IT)

Try doing those for as many reps as you can.
By slowing the eccentric motion you will actually recruit more larger/stronger muscle fibers. Dont be too embarassed to ask for a spotter either alright?
People dont want to see you drop a bar on your head, just say "hey my name is (name), could I ask for a spot?"
Should be fine.
Try this out man. Form and tempo are really important!
3 seconds down,
no rest at bottom
1 second up (no lock out)
no rest at top.
repeat.

Take 2 and call me in a week. :)
 
Thanks niceone

hey Niceone,

Just tried you bench press technique and it makes a differnce for me. I found I was trying to lift to much and was a chest bouncer and would hold it up with arms locked. I would end up arching my back to lift the weight.

I lighten my load by ten pounds and then followed your method, it worked well and I was able to do it with slight strain, as in I was working my chest and not my back.

Thanks for the advice
 
Glad it helped. I used to bench by just kind of dropping the weight and mainly focusing on the concentric motion. Once I started lifting this way, my strength and size went up much quicker! :)
 
niceone said:
The importance is not on the actual amount, other than the fact that you can track your strength increase. What is important is that you are progressively increasing the weight as time goes on.

I want to throw something out there for you, you can give it a shot if you like.
try benching a max of 2 times per week. When you bench, lower the bar slow to your chest, make it take 3 WHOLE seconds, then fire it up. DO not lock out your elbows at this point, just slowly lower it again.
Try to focus on your pec muscles doing the lift, not your arms.
bring the bar down to about 2-3 inches above your chest (DO NOT BOUNCE IT)

Try doing those for as many reps as you can.
By slowing the eccentric motion you will actually recruit more larger/stronger muscle fibers. Dont be too embarassed to ask for a spotter either alright?
People dont want to see you drop a bar on your head, just say "hey my name is (name), could I ask for a spot?"
Should be fine.
Try this out man. Form and tempo are really important!
3 seconds down,
no rest at bottom
1 second up (no lock out)
no rest at top.
repeat.

Take 2 and call me in a week. :)
Click to expand...

great advice.

Yea I do sets with max reps of 2 for my last ones and i always need a spotter to help me up on the 2nd one but i don't care.
 
thanks niceone, I ll try your method first thing tommorow.
 
ok, I tried it, it feels better...but my arms still get tired quickly and I don`t think much pressure is applied to my chest.
 
Can I recommend you grab some dumbells next time?
When you lower the weights keep your arms parallel (like a T).
lower until you feel the stretch slightly in your pecs then imagine your elbows being pulled towards eachother. Try to do this mainly with your chest. I know its hard at first. But as soon as you can target your chest and take more of the load off your arms, you will have MUCH more effective chest workouts.
Just try to visualize your pecs doing the work (of course your arms are holding hte weight and aiding.. but your pec is the prime mover)

Practice man. Even try with lighter weights until you feel your pecs really engaging. My bench was stagnant until i began really focusing on the form and which muscles were working. I upped the weight almost 100 lbs within 6 months. Some of that was just newbie strength i guess, but I have to say:
FORM IS KEY!
 
nice advice there niceone, so its importaint to lower it slowly? when i go back to heavy bencing ill try that advice ;) right now im doing them explosivly, trying to get as much weight on the bar for 5 reps under 6 secs as possible, so i dont have time for 3 secs lowering :p
 
Im not saying that slower is better all the time. I just think that the eccentric motion of the bench is OFTEN overlooked. people consider the motion of benching simply pressing the bar upwards. You can really maximize your chest workouts by controlling the lowering motion as well. I personally do the 3/0/1 tempo while massing. When I am doing 10x10's (ten sets of ten reps) I do a 1/0/1 tempo and when I do my fatloss training I also do 1/0/1. Explosive lifting is also awesome. I still would recommend giving the 3/0/1 a shot. Guarantee you cannot press out as many reps and as much weight if you really slow that eccentric motion.
 
hmmm

ur method sounds interesting and id like to five it a try. i can bench 160 for 8 reps, like, doing it the standard way. if i tried ur method, would i have to lower the weight at all? if so, am i still getting a good workout from the lower weight?
 
I am confident that you will be placing your muscles under greater stress if you control the negative motion. If this requires you to lower the weight down, I wouldnt worry about it.
the key is to not rest at any point during the exercise. I can throw heavier weight around with crap form, but I know I am getting a good workout, when i keep things controlled, don't lockout and stretch out that eccentric motion. :)
 
Essentially..
Progressive overload (continuously raising your weight as time goes on) is important because as you lift over time, your strength should be increasing. This style of lifting is designed more for size gain, it is not a technique for powerlifting. If you are looking to get a bigger chest, I would say give it a try for a while.
I do:

2 warm up sets..
set1: 6-8 reps
set2: 4-6 reps
set3: 2-4 reps
set4: 1-2 reps

I lift to what I say is failure. I dont lift until I have lost control of the bar, but I stop lifting when I can no longer maintain that 3/0/1 tempo correctly. To me, struggling to fire out 2 sh*tty reps at the end is useless. Thats just my opinion though.
 
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