How to lift for STRENGTH only

[Jayhawk21]

I have just turned 24 and got a deskjob so it's been easier to me to pack weight on lately. I've gained some weight, but it hasn't really equivalented into great strength gains. I have been stuck in between 175 and 185 for the last 3 years. NOTHING I do in the gym matters. It really doesn't. As long as I lift and eat I maintain. If I don't eat, I lose weight and strength. That is all there is too it. I've tried to lift bodybuilder like with no luck, actually losing strength and weight.(I don't know how guys gain weight with bodybuilder routines, I can't even fathom it) Tried 5x5, and a bunch of other training methods. No luck really. So I've had it, all I want to do is bench 300 pounds one time in my life. That is all. Sure, if I eat more I gain more weight and bench more. But when I weigh 175 I benched about 250, now I'm 185 and I bench 260. So 10 pounds of BW and 10 pounds on the bench is not a good ratio. I'd have to weigh 240 before I could bench 300. How do you train STRICTLY for strength training only on the bench. I already do very little isolation mainly focusing on military presses, squats, deads, rows, etc. I'm sick and tired of being stuck in the jam. It seems if I eat more, I get stronger, but more fatter.

 

[anotherbutters]

Good training ought to get you stronger whether you're eating more to get bigger or not. I suspect you're not following the programs you've tried properly and you're probably being too optimistic with the weights and you're starting too high, not giving yourself enough of a lead up to your existing PRs. Tell us what weights you used during one of your training attempts.

 

[mad dipz]

I have just turned 24 and got a deskjob so it's been easier to me to pack weight on lately. I've gained some weight, but it hasn't really equivalented into great strength gains. I have been stuck in between 175 and 185 for the last 3 years. NOTHING I do in the gym matters. It really doesn't. As long as I lift and eat I maintain. If I don't eat, I lose weight and strength. That is all there is too it. I've tried to lift bodybuilder like with no luck, actually losing strength and weight.(I don't know how guys gain weight with bodybuilder routines, I can't even fathom it) Tried 5x5, and a bunch of other training methods. No luck really. So I've had it, all I want to do is bench 300 pounds one time in my life. That is all. Sure, if I eat more I gain more weight and bench more. But when I weigh 175 I benched about 250, now I'm 185 and I bench 260. So 10 pounds of BW and 10 pounds on the bench is not a good ratio. I'd have to weigh 240 before I could bench 300. How do you train STRICTLY for strength training only on the bench. I already do very little isolation mainly focusing on military presses, squats, deads, rows, etc. I'm sick and tired of being stuck in the jam. It seems if I eat more, I get stronger, but more fatter.

I wish I can squat 600 one day

 

[Protobuilder]

I feel your pain on this one. Big time.

If you're eating, and gaining weight, and training, but not going anywhere, your training sucks. Plain and simple. You will have to find what works for you. The hard part is, it might be a moving target. It might work for you "now" but not work for you two months down the road. I don't know what to tell you. Take what you're doing, and do the opposite for awhile. See what happens.

 

[Steviemh]

Try lifting heavier weight with less reps...for example if you max bench is 260 try going 3X3 with 210 lbs.,230 lbs., and 250 lbs. you probably wont get the last set, butif you don't push your muscle to the exhaustion point you will never get stronger you will just maintain, also try to throw a negative in there about 1 EOW.
Thanks,
Stevie

 

[Micker]

I have the same problem as you basically. I weigh between 180-185(5'7") and can't get past 275 for the bench press. All my other exercises seem to increase, but BP is at a ceiling. I can deadlift over 450lbs, curl 120 for 10 good reps etc., but I also can't reach my goal of 300lb bench.

I know with the BP, leverage is a huge issue. Some peoples bodies have the right shape to really get maximum leverage while bp'ing and some are not designed very efficently for the BP. I also read an article long ago about wrist size and bp max. It said you can tell someones max bp potential by the size of their wrist, the bigger the wrist the more weight they could potentially bench. I have VERY small wrist, not making excuses, but it makes me wonder.

I'm sure if I went gung ho and did westside BB routines, I would go up, but the bench is something that my body just doesn't naturally excel at.

 

[beerdrinker]

I'm sure if I went gung ho and did westside BB routines, I would go up, but the bench is something that my body just doesn't naturally excel at.

Well, either you want it or you don't.

 

[Micker]

Well, either you want it or you don't.

Well, I go as gung ho as I can and still keep my motivation to lift. My point was that if I wanted it bad enough I probably could have done it, like you said, but I didn't feel I should have to break my balls to bench 300lbs., when my other lifts seem to go up fine. I did a 5x5 and upped my max from 245 to 275, did another 5x5 and went down to 270(colds etc). Been lifting since and my bench kinda hits this ceiling and without a special focus/training, it just doesn't go anywhere.

I don't let it bother me too much. My main goal is to keep lifting and keep my body looking good. Its so easy to stop lifting due to colds, work, burnout etc.. I have been working out for over 3 yrs now(35 yrs old, took about 10yrs off) and I will never quit again. I'm not going to use steroids or kill myself to reach a bp goal and jepordize my health or my outlook on lifting. I hope to get there someday, but if I don't, at least I will be a very muscular 70yr old man who can still get an erection ;p.

 

[jackangel]

a few general things occur to me. they may or may not apply to you:

1. form. specifically, benching form. from what little i've read or experienced, i gather there are a few things that one should do in order to use the force his muscles generate most efficiently in the bench press. examples include: bringing your arms in to the body (approximately 45 degrees), bringing the bar down to your lower chest/upper abs, activating your lats and actively using them to help press the weight up at the bottom of the movement, using leg drive, etc.

2. training approach in general. if strength is your only concern, then you're going to train more like a pl/wl as oppoosed to a bber. as others have mentioned, that does mean working in a lower rep range and with heavier weights. the important thing to keep in mind here is that you don't want to over-train by exhausting your CNS. so that means you'll either need to go heavy for a few weeks, and then back off according to some schedule...to give your body (not just nervous system, but joints, etc.) time to recover. if not that, then you'll need to vary the specific kinds of exercises you do from workout to workout or week to week. powerlifters (west side, for example, i think) train heavy year-round, but they don't just max out on bench every week...they variations which serve as max effort movements for a given day, with each one working a different part of the bench press ROM.

3. assistance work. the bench press requires the cooperation of various sets of muscle groups together...triceps, shoulders, chest, lats. doing specific work to target weaker muscles will help strengthen 'weak links' in your bench.

4. diet. as an aside to the above points, if your diet can use improvement, it may allow you to get stronger through increasing muscle mass as well, but without unnecessary fat gain. you will, of course, gain some fat, but there's no need to gain a lot. perhaps you can post that up on the diet board and get feedback. if you can eat more cleanly and build muscle, then perhaps lean out and maintain strength for a while, you can find a way to get stronger while staying between 180-200 (as an example).

 

[Oceano]

concentrate on dumbells and cable to develop your core power

this will pay dividends in the long run