Need help with my bench press

[watevrpal]

I am 38-215lb and in the army and have been working out off and on for some time now. Mainly for the past decade or so I have been concentrating on increasing my number pushups with me being in the army and all. Now I am concentrating on my bench press.

I am looking for some advice on a program that will give me the most gains in my bench press. Right now my max bench is around 230. I am looking to join the 300 club. any ideas?

 

[drsketch]

You hitting flat bench, incline bench, flat & incline flies and dips every chest day every week?

You taking in enough food to support the present muscle and grow new muscle?

You taking any supps? bcaas? creatine?

Is 230 your working weight or are you hitting that for 1?

Are you also doing proper routines for triceps and shoulders? These are your secondary muscles in the bench press.

 

[watevrpal]

here is my current routine I have been on it for a month.

chest- flat bench,incline bench, bi's

legs- leg press, calve raises, chin ups, tricep pulldowns and dips.

I do each routine above twice a week. my sets are usually 4-5 with low reps maybe 5 or so.

after each workout I run 3 miles.

 

[drsketch]

No squats, mil press, deadlifts.. Bro it looks like you need a whole new routine. The best looking body is the builder who equally works every body part.

 

[Scotsman]

Could you list out your exact routine? Like sets, reps, and weight splits.

Need some of this info to tell you what might help you out. Also what does your diet look like?

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[watevrpal]

here is my exact routine
mon- 4x4 flat bench, incline bench 4x5, curls 7x8 run 3miles
tue- tricep pulldowns 4x8, dips 5x8, leg press 5x8 calve raise 5x10 run 2 miles
wed run 4 miles
thur repeat mon
fri repeat tue

I try to stick to low reps heavy weights.

on My diet I just cut out all the bad food ie fast food. I try to stick to good foods like sandwhiches and alot of water low carbs. I am also taking creatine and multivitamin and drinking 2 protein shakes a day.

Also i am more concerned with strength and not size. I am going for power

 

[Scotsman]

A big part of your problem is you are neglecting a good part of your body with that workout. Back for instance needs a lot of work and will dramatically increase overall strength and helps a ton with bench at the bottom. You also need to work your shoulders. I can work something up for you but here is a general idea of what I think would help you.

Monday: Chest
Flat bench 5,4,3,2,1 rep scheme
Incline bench 3x5
Rear delt flyes 3x8
Heavy ab work (I do 4 sets of 8 reps with increasing weight)

Tuesday: Deadlift/back day
Deadlift 3x5
Bent over rows 3x8 (Increase weight on each set)
Seated rows 3x8 (Increase weight on each set)
Heavy pull downs 3x8 (Increase weight on each set)

Wednesday:
Heavy cardio day

Thursday: Shoulders/Tris
Overhead presses 3x5 (Increase weight on each set)
Close grip bench 3x5 (Increase weight on each set)
Lateral raises 4x6 (Increase weight on each set)
Front Raises (Increase weight on each set)
Tricep pushdowns 3x8 (Increase weight on each set)

Friday: Squats/Abs
Squats 3x5
Light abs 4x10

All sets listed are the working sets. Warm-up as you think necessary. Start eating heavy proteins like red meat if you can. Sandwiches are great for lunch but dinner needs to be a good mix of meat/veg/carbs/fruit. Take a high quality protein drink within 30min of working out you should also take your creatine at this time. Spread your meals out so you are eating every 2-3 hours.

There are three keys to getting bigger and stronger:
Eat big
Lift big
Sleep well.

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[fisttotheface]

^^ good advice right there

 

[seagrave]

Follow Scots advice for a few months and see if your poundages don't increase. I think that is a good program to start addressing the weak links in your bench and will keep you from overtraining.

 

[watevrpal]

Sounds good I am going to try it and keep everybody posted. thanks

 

[Blane]

Squat.....It will increase your bench.

The leg press isnt going to do it for you .......i know u hv to run a lot being in the army..PT test and all.

But you must squat......And DL....

 

[airsmith2k]

I am 38-215lb and in the army and have been working out off and on for some time now. Mainly for the past decade or so I have been concentrating on increasing my number pushups with me being in the army and all. Now I am concentrating on my bench press.

I am looking for some advice on a program that will give me the most gains in my bench press. Right now my max bench is around 230. I am looking to join the 300 club. any ideas?

naturally putting 70 lbs on ur bench is goin to be very hard if not impossible unless you are juicing....i juice and squat heavy that squating has not made my bench any better even tho everyone says it does...all i can say is eat eat eat but if u add weight to ur bench ur most likely goin go get heavier and fatter

 

[jstarr37]

Deadlift, i got nowhere until i started deadlifting. Deadlifting is a spiritual program driving the weakness out of your body in the form of pain (okay so maybe im a little enthusiastic about DL's). Also forget the pulldowns, pullups and chins are what you need my friend. As far as a bech program the most progress i ever made was a monday heavy day (reps 5-6) and a light day same reps 80% of mondays poundages. Also drop the running after your workout it will stip your muscles down. Go back to running after you have added some wieght to your bench - or at least do it at a diferrent time after youve eaten some food.

 

[V-Machine]

You do not need to juice to add 70lb to a bench press. Too many people are too eager to use chemical enhancement when a bit of hard work and smart training would suffice.

naturally putting 70 lbs on ur bench is goin to be very hard if not impossible unless you are juicing....i juice and squat heavy that squating has not made my bench any better even tho everyone says it does...all i can say is eat eat eat but if u add weight to ur bench ur most likely goin go get heavier and fatter

 

[Blane]

putting 70 lbs on your bench will happen..its the next 70 lbs id be thinking about.

 

[Seattleite]

Scotsman - I have a few questions regarding the routine you listed below.

1.) Why do the rear delt flyes? Do barbell rows and pulldowns not provide enough work for the rear delts?

2.) Why do you suggest doing seated rows in addition to the barbell rows?

3.) Are lateral raises and front raises necessary? I thought that overhead barbell presses worked all aspects of the shoulders.

Just trying to learn a bit from you experts. Thanks!!

A big part of your problem is you are neglecting a good part of your body with that workout. Back for instance needs a lot of work and will dramatically increase overall strength and helps a ton with bench at the bottom. You also need to work your shoulders. I can work something up for you but here is a general idea of what I think would help you.

Monday: Chest
Flat bench 5,4,3,2,1 rep scheme
Incline bench 3x5
Rear delt flyes 3x8
Heavy ab work (I do 4 sets of 8 reps with increasing weight)

Tuesday: Deadlift/back day
Deadlift 3x5
Bent over rows 3x8 (Increase weight on each set)
Seated rows 3x8 (Increase weight on each set)
Heavy pull downs 3x8 (Increase weight on each set)

Wednesday:
Heavy cardio day

Thursday: Shoulders/Tris
Overhead presses 3x5 (Increase weight on each set)
Close grip bench 3x5 (Increase weight on each set)
Lateral raises 4x6 (Increase weight on each set)
Front Raises (Increase weight on each set)
Tricep pushdowns 3x8 (Increase weight on each set)

Friday: Squats/Abs
Squats 3x5
Light abs 4x10

 

[Scotsman]

Scotsman - I have a few questions regarding the routine you listed below.

1.) Why do the rear delt flyes? Do barbell rows and pulldowns not provide enough work for the rear delts?

2.) Why do you suggest doing seated rows in addition to the barbell rows?

3.) Are lateral raises and front raises necessary? I thought that overhead barbell presses worked all aspects of the shoulders.

Just trying to learn a bit from you experts. Thanks!!

Same answer for all three questions. It is assistance work that helps strengthen stabilizers and work on weak points. Each motion works a specific muscle path and is very beneficial to stability and control.

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[Devastation]

here is my exact routine
mon- 4x4 flat bench, incline bench 4x5, curls 7x8 run 3miles
tue- tricep pulldowns 4x8, dips 5x8, leg press 5x8 calve raise 5x10 run 2 miles
wed run 4 miles
thur repeat mon
fri repeat tue

I try to stick to low reps heavy weights.

on My diet I just cut out all the bad food ie fast food. I try to stick to good foods like sandwhiches and alot of water low carbs. I am also taking creatine and multivitamin and drinking 2 protein shakes a day.

Also i am more concerned with strength and not size. I am going for power

what'd i'd do if i was you:

1. eat more carbs for the amount of cardio you do - brown rice, sweet potatoes, 12 grain breads, oatmeal, grits, etc
2. scrap your workout you listed here if you haven't already.
3. bench 2x a week. i.e. monday and friday. or tuesday and saturday. or sunday and thursday. it don't matter when just so its spaced out like that.
4. on your first bench day of the week, work up to 90% of your 1rpm and do 3 reps with your index fingers on the rings. if you get it, go up 10lbs and try it again. this should take you 5 to 7 sets to accomplish it.

after flat bench, do declines for 5x5. and this should be around your 5 rep max for all sets. if you miss any on your last set, keep doing sets until you get all 5 in one set

next do some floor presses working up to a set for 3 to 5 reps. this should take about 5 to 7 sets to accomplish.
5. on the same day as bench, do front raises, side laterals, and dumbell presses, one exercise right after the other for 3 sets of 10. if you suck at doing these so does your shoulder strength, and that's prolly why you can't bench jackshit right now
6. next after shoulders do some tricep extensions laying on the floor using either a barbell or dumbells, 3 sets of 10.
7. after that, do 4 sets of 12 on the tricep pushdowns


1. on your second bench day, do close grip bench and work upto a 3rpm just like you did on your first day.
2. next get in the power rack and do some rack lockouts making sure you are getting about 4" to 6" of travel on your lockouts. use heavy weights. way more then your 1rpm. work up to a heavy triple
3. do some military presses, 3 sets of 8 or 10 reps
4. do some jm presses. working up to 3 sets of 8 reps
5. rope pushdowns for 4 sets of 10 or 12 reps

on the days after bench, work your back and biceps. and the days after that work your lower body. do lots of rows, pulldowns, rear delts, and shrugs onyour back day. do lots of squats, good mornings, and deadlifts on your lower body days. eat more food in general but carbs especially since you sound like you don't eat them much. eat a minimum of 220 grams of protein a day. stop worrying about your 1rpm. when you can do 275 or 280 for 3 easy reps you'll likely get 300 with no problem. in other words stop testing your 1rpm. good luck

 

[watevrpal]

Great advice. I have been doing heavy lifting twice a week and I have seen some improvements. Would like to see it faster but I not juicing. anyway. Thanks everybody for the help. Wolf