Benching and Push Ups

Hey,
I was wondering if someone could help me out here.
If I am currently trying to increase my bench, not to the point where im massive, but i would like to have a nice "beach' body, being able to bench anywhere from 225-275.
However, I am currently lifting on Mondays and Tuesdays, and I was wondering, if i incorporated push-ups on the off days, if that would help my progress or slow it down.
I guess it would help the small twitch muscle fibers, however i think that it may slow recovery and re-building of my muscles.
Can someone help me?
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks
 
Hey NMS4912,

Push Up's will help with the explosive power used in pushing the bar away from the chest. Doing push up's will help for a while, after that they become less of an assistance.
DB bench presses help as a support exercise for the main press. You could also try inverted rowing which uses bodyweight.

Chack this site out for some useful Bencghing advice


Hope you get to where you want
R4
 
hey,
I understand that most of my power and strenght will come from lifting weights, however should i still do push-ups on my off days while im bored at work. I figure its better than nothing, or is it overworking my muscles and not allowing them to repair?
If you were me, benching two days a week, would you still do push-ups on the remaining 5?
Thanks
 
Hey NMS4912,

You need to allow your body to recover between sessions, normally this is done by training different body parts over the week. My advice is to have at least a day off between benching. Do press up's on one/two of the other day's at the most.

Alternatively find exercises that do not affect the arms/chest and do these on days off.

R4
 
You do understaand that doing just Chest(bench) isn't going to get you a beach body. And lifting 2 days a week isn't either. Search the forum for Full Body Articles and start from there. They have been talked about so much on here about every question you will ever have has been answered. Cheers!
 
contrary to popular belief, the fastest and best way to get the (chest, biceps, abs...) you want is probably to work the whole body, not just that individual muscle
 
benching

Hey
I know to achieve the desired beach body, that i must work out my entire body.
I know my routine is horrible, but please let me know what you think.
Monday-Bench heavy, 5x5, usual lifts
Tuesday-Light bis/back, 3x10
weds-power time, haha, deadlifts, squats, lunges
thursday-bench light for reps, 3x10
friday-heavy back/bis, 5x5, pullups, etc.
i throw in abs, calves, and shoulders on various alternating days.
Cardio is not a big concern, however i often throw it in when i can or on the weekend.
Also, is it good to have 1 heavy day a week, and 1 light day a week?
That way i can build strength, while still building definition.
What are your thoughts?
THanks
 
Yeah, read around. It's clear by some of what you say that you have a lot of misinformation in your head. You should never "lift light", so I don't really know what you mean by that. If you aren't pushing yourself everytime, there's kinda no point.

Also, are you eating enough to build muscle? You can lift your ass off and not get diddly squat results if you aren't eating in a surplus.
 
seriously, the thread i linked you to, as well as the links to other stickie around the forum are designed especially for people like you. you'd do yourself a favor to read them...
 
Yeah, read around. It's clear by some of what you say that you have a lot of misinformation in your head. You should never "lift light", so I don't really know what you mean by that. If you aren't pushing yourself everytime, there's kinda no point.

Also, are you eating enough to build muscle? You can lift your ass off and not get diddly squat results if you aren't eating in a surplus.

Why shouldn't you lift light?
 
hey, I know i may sound like an idiot, but i could not find your link.
Also, when lifting light, i dont mean actually lifting light, but rather lower the weights.
Say my max bench is 200 lbs
and in stead of doing 5x5 at 170 i was going to do higher reps and less weight, while still pushing it with everything i have.
Im not lifting light, just the weight wont be so heavy where i need 2-3 minutes rest. Instead i would be taking between 45 seconds to 1 minutes and 15 seconds to rest inbetween each set.
Sorry if i sound like an ignorant idiot.
 
What's wrong with lifting lighter loads but at higher reps? Doesn't that help build endurance, rather than strength?
 
It does, nothing wrong with that, but it should still be tough. I think what markmywords though you meant was not giving it your all and having a light workout.

However, lifting light, in the sense of not doing things until exhaustion can help to aid in recovery as it increases blood flow to the places you work
 
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