My bench press sucks

[t3c]

My bench press is horrible.

I hit the tris by doing BB extentions. 3x10

Should I maybe include a close grip bench?

What are other good ways to strengthen the triceps.

 

[louden_swain]

Forget the bench press!! It is an over-rated exercise. Perform tons of incline presses and watch your chest grow and your strength increase.

 

[JOKER47]

4/5 board press and CG press do the most for me as far as compound movements go. I have also heard, but never tried, floor presses. They are supposed to do a lot for the lockout portion of the bench as well.

If I am trying to increase my bench, I go for more compound movements rather than isolation movements.

I would ask Hannibal and Spatts for ways to increase tri strength to increase bench. There are a lot of other muscles involved than just the tri's in increasing the bench as well. I am still learning all of this myself.


.02,
Joker

 

[RipDsel]

i'd say to do a lot of push ups to try to increase ur bench, also tricep pushdowns work well to build up ur triceps. be sure to mix up ur routine as well and try to include a variety of different lifts, incline, flat, decline, etc. close grip bench will also help strenthen the triceps greatly

 

[The Shadow]

close grips
floor presses
dips
seated rows with a close grip

 

[spatts]

Alot of this depends on form...benching wide vs benching like a PLer. PLer's primary bench movers are the tris, lats and shoulders. How do you bench?

I get the most carry-over bydoing accessory work in the plane the lift is in. So rolling extensions, barbell push-ups, close grip bench, floor press, reverse band press, JM presses....etc....all have put a boost behind my bench.

I think speed work is CRUCIAL too. Especially if you're pausing at the bottom. Gotta be able to generate some inertia.

 

[JOKER47]

Spatts> The last couple weeks I have been trying to start BB bench pressing, PL style. Mainly due to intense pain in my shoulder when lifting "body builder" style. My question is: What is the grip width in relation to your body supposed to be? I have heard grips referencing power rings on the bar. I lift at home with standard 1" weights and bars. So, I don't have those rings to reference.

Currently, I am placing my hands one thumb length from the ends of a 12" smooth portion in the center of the bar. Seems comfortable so far, and I am able to keep my elbows in.

Is there any other ways of determining hand placement without referencing rings on the bar?

Thank you,
Joker

 

[spatts]

When you're benching for max effort, use the grip that you can push the most weight with, whether it corresponds to the rings or not. When in practice, we rotate grips: Close (where the knurling starts), Medium (midway between the smooth and the ring on the knurling), Wide (pinkies in the groove a.k.a. "power ring") and Extra Wide (index finger in the groove).

It's possible that PLers focus on the rings because there are competition guidelines for how wide your hands can be, and the ring placemement corresponds with that.

No matter what your grip is, the the bar should come down to the sternum with elbows as close to the body as possible. Obviously on wide grip, your elbows will be further away (45 degrees) from your body than in a close grip.

For Pl purposes, it's about finding the shortest distance between two places where you are also strong and fast. I have long arms, so I use an Extra Wide grip because the bench stroke from top to bottom for me in a CLOSE grip is 18 inches. In an extra wide grip it's only 8 1/2 inches....that's 10 fewer inches for me to ghave to push the bar. I also happen to be faster and stronger extra wide, so it works for me.

 

[JOKER47]

When you're benching for max effort, use the grip that you can push the most weight with, whether it corresponds to the rings or not. When in practice, we rotate grips: Close (where the knurling starts), Medium (midway between the smooth and the ring on the knurling), Wide (pinkies in the groove a.k.a. "power ring") and Extra Wide (index finger in the groove).

It's possible that PLers focus on the rings because there are competition guidelines for how wide your hands can be, and the ring placemement corresponds with that.

No matter what your grip is, the the bar should come down to the sternum with elbows as close to the body as possible. Obviously on wide grip, your elbows will be further away (45 degrees) from your body than in a close grip.

For Pl purposes, it's about finding the shortest distance between two places where you are also strong and fast. I have long arms, so I use an Extra Wide grip because the bench stroke from top to bottom for me in a CLOSE grip is 18 inches. In an extra wide grip it's only 8 1/2 inches....that's 10 fewer inches for me to ghave to push the bar. I also happen to be faster and stronger extra wide, so it works for me.

Thanks. I will give a few different grips a try.

Joker

 

[t3c]

spats why can't i pm you?

 

[spatts]

Oh shoot...I had them turned off temporarily, and forgot to turn it back on. Give me a min, and I'll PM you.

 

[grafix-GNC]

try hittin the tri's a lil harder, if you can do 3 sets of 10 reps, its not enough wait, go till failure, if i can do 7 reps, then its not enogh wait, thats how i train, just my 2 cents

 

[RusPA81]

If you want to get to your bench up you are gonna have to lift heavier. I would do all my compound lifts in the 4-6 rep range some times even going down to 1-3. Pound your triceps with heavy close grip presses, dips and skull crushers. Don't waste time on isolation work. It will give you no added strenght. Also make sure to do rows for you back in the same plane as you would bench. This is very crucial. I don't know if you do have leg work, but if you don't start. Heavy squats and dead lifts will make you whole body stronger and your bench will go up.

 

[erickthegreat11]

Push downs, in my opinion, let you cheat too much. That is, they

let you use your lats and chest to cheat it down instead of

mostly tris. I know this b/c I got to a certain weight and couldn't

get stronger on pushdowns. I went and tried db extensions and

discovered how weak my tris were. skull crushers never did it for

me either. After benching, throw in a shoulder, chest, and triceps

exercise. I do, overhead barbell presses for shoulders,

dumbell flyes for chest, and overhead dumbell extensions for tris.

 

[spatts]

Okay, let's figure out what his goal is here, cause the advice is all over the place. Size? Strength? What's the ultimate utility? BB? PL?

 

[t3c]

size and strength...more so strength

 

[mekannik]

So if you are going for strength - follow Spatts' guide and LOWER your reps with multiple sets.

And to further aid the more knowledgeable lifters/instructors - give us your height and weight, current bench (max), and training age (how many years lifting).


THEN you will get both the answer and path you need to follow.

 

[t3c]

i'm 16, my max must be around 180...I feel like i've actually degressed in the bench cause I could have sworn it was a lot higher.

I've been training seriously for a year

 

[mekannik]

Again, your height and weight. We need to have a better understanding of your body type and dimensions to at least recommend a starting point.

On a side note - with just a year of training - you shouldn't be expecting to pop 315 with no problem.


The iron game takes time and patience.

 

[t3c]

i'm 5'10 i think, and around 170 now, my weight fluctuates a lot

I have a really small frame