# Why does my barbell bench press suck?



## MakeItMethylated (Jul 23, 2012)

I have been training two years and I started out real weak I have multiple sclerosis 

I can max bench 165x2 on a good day

Last week I could barely get 135x5 3 sets 

I'm 140 pounds 5'6

Why does my bench suck?


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## cube789 (Jul 23, 2012)

strengthening my upper back helped me tremendously.


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## SVT03DAL (Jul 23, 2012)

Need more information than what you have given bro.  First things first...how does your diet look?  Are you eating enough calories/protein etc on a daily basis?


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## harmanrainu (Jul 23, 2012)

strenthen your triceps and back muscles this will automatically help you in increasing your bnch press try using How to get huge triceps


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## Roaddkingg (Jul 23, 2012)

As the guys prior mentioned triceps and back are great suggestions along with more protein in you'r diet. 
You are a bit on the light side so if you try to bulk up with you'r diet that will certainly help aswell. 
One thing I did a while back was to switch up from barbell to dumbbells. Do all you'r pressing with dumbbells, flat, incline, decline, pull overs, dips, and I think you will notice a increase when you go back to barbell benching. 
For a long time I didnt worry about flat bench with barbell and when I came back to it I was amazed at the differance.
Besides that I personally feel with dumbells you have to use a lot more stabilizing muscles and that will help in more strength gains.


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## the_predator (Jul 23, 2012)

^These are all great suggestions. If you are stuck, you need to switch up your routine. Along with above statements you could also start doing floor presses, rack presses, and chain work. Just don't keep doing the same routine over and over. You have to change it up! Whether it is sets, reps, weight, exercises, rest between sets, etc, you have to keep the body(muscles) guessing.


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## vicious 13 (Jul 23, 2012)

Dumbbells that helped me tremendously I forgot about barbell for 2 or 3 months got up to the 95 lb Dumbbells then went back to barbell I went from 135 12 x to 185 12x I mix both in now and a lot of buddies that can go real heavy on barbell cant go heavy w Dumbbells so I like to rub that in I also worked a lot on form so I was able to explode but keep goo form


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## MakeItMethylated (Jul 23, 2012)

SVT03DAL said:


> Need more information than what you have given bro.  First things first...how does your diet look?  Are you eating enough calories/protein etc on a daily basis?



3000-3500 cals a day
Protein at least 1 gram per pound of body weight
Carbs like 300 a day


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## MakeItMethylated (Jul 23, 2012)

Roaddkingg said:


> As the guys prior mentioned triceps and back are great suggestions along with more protein in you'r diet.
> You are a bit on the light side so if you try to bulk up with you'r diet that will certainly help aswell.
> One thing I did a while back was to switch up from barbell to dumbbells. Do all you'r pressing with dumbbells, flat, incline, decline, pull overs, dips, and I think you will notice a increase when you go back to barbell benching.
> For a long time I didnt worry about flat bench with barbell and when I came back to it I was amazed at the differance.
> Besides that I personally feel with dumbells you have to use a lot more stabilizing muscles and that will help in more strength gains.



I like dumbells better anyway
 Did 60x12, 70x12, 75x6 today


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## MakeItMethylated (Jul 23, 2012)

vicious 13 said:


> Dumbbells that helped me tremendously I forgot about barbell for 2 or 3 months got up to the 95 lb Dumbbells then went back to barbell I went from 135 12 x to 185 12x I mix both in now and a lot of buddies that can go real heavy on barbell cant go heavy w Dumbbells so I like to rub that in I also worked a lot on form so I was able to explode but keep goo form



Yeah I'll stick with the dumbells for a little while or do 1 week db one week bar


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## Intense (Jul 23, 2012)

Switch to dumbells, weighted dips, strengthen your tris, get a spot if you dont have one so you can lift as heavy as possible.


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## MakeItMethylated (Jul 23, 2012)

CalebRM said:


> Switch to dumbells, weighted dips, strengthen your tris, get a spot if you dont have one so you can lift as heavy as possible.



Tris are pretty strong already
Got 90 pound db up for 11 reps 
Not saying I'm supe strong but that's strong for a 140 pounder im guessing

Barbell bench press never seems to agree with me


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## SVT03DAL (Jul 24, 2012)

MakeItMethylated said:


> 3000-3500 cals a day
> Protein at least 1 gram per pound of body weight
> Carbs like 300 a day



How are you calculating this? I'm havign a hard time believing that at 140lbs you are consuming this macro content on a consisten/daily basis and not gaining weight, Case in point, your current calories/potein intake (with the exception of the carbs) is what I consume on a daily basis to MAINTAIN my current BW and condition at a 200-205lbs bodyweight.  I also rely on almost all whole food sources. What exactly do you consume on a daily basis to hit the numbers you claim?  Please be specific because it could be the reason for your lack of strenghth/weight increase.


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## PushAndPull (Jul 24, 2012)

The difference in strength between your DB and BB lifts is probably related to a difference in your ROM between the lifts.


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## ALBOB (Jul 24, 2012)

MakeItMethylated said:


> Tris are pretty strong already
> Got 90 pound db up for 11 reps
> Not saying I'm supe strong but that's strong for a 140 pounder im guessing
> 
> *Barbell bench press never seems to agree with me*



Then don't do it.  Seriously, some guys think they HAVE to do barbell presses or the world will stop spinning.  Screw that, if something's not working for you, don't waste your time with it.  Find what works and stick with it..............until it stops working.


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## SVT03DAL (Jul 25, 2012)

ALBOB said:


> Then don't do it. Seriously, some guys think they HAVE to do barbell presses or the world will stop spinning. Screw that, if something's not working for you, don't waste your time with it. Find what works and stick with it..............until it stops working.



EXCELLENT ADVICE right here. I can't back squat due to chronic lower back issues and a bone structure not conducive to squatting. I improvise and do hack squats and various leg presses and extensions and my quad/ham development is better than it ever was when I squatted heavily and in pain all the time.


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## CaptainNapalm (Jul 25, 2012)

Tweaking your form can help tremendously. Years ago I was always strong on db presses but barbell bench stunk big time, so I just didn't do it. Three years ago I realized that it was my grip which was slightly too wide. So I adjusted it, read up on proper form, started off light from square one and now my bar bench is good. Not to say this is your issue but doesn't hurt to check.


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## ashoprep1 (Jul 26, 2012)

ALBOB said:


> Then don't do it.  Seriously, some guys think they HAVE to do barbell presses or the world will stop spinning.  Screw that, if something's not working for you, don't waste your time with it.  Find what works and stick with it..............until it stops working.



^^^this


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## dirtbiker666 (Jul 26, 2012)

Dumbbells..chains...5x5 heavy medium and light days. there are tons of things even the smith machine will help. Try an get a serious buddy in there so you can get on the rack do some heavy negatives. Also heavy inclines will help your bench.


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## bigbill69 (Jul 26, 2012)

i would like to say i stoped doing squats and when i did thta my bench went from 275 to 215 so if your not doing squats or heavy squats i would reccomned doing that also if your bench press is to high and your feet cant sit flat that will make you lose a good 15-20 lbs on the bench press


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## alexinchains (Aug 5, 2012)

Im at 155 b.w. (~10% bodyfat because im trying to bulk and add strength) and my bench strength isn't that great either. 1rm is probably 195, I do 185 for 3 reps. I don't think strength in bench really matters that much as opposed to deadlifts and squats. However, I'd also like to improve it just for personal goals. My diet is perfect with 300-400g of carbs in sweet potatoes, brown rice, and dextrose with 300g protein coming from eggs and protein powders, plus i use lots of quality supplements (no garbage blends) but somehow my bench strength will hardly ever go up and i DO switch it up every week. any other tips from those more experienced?


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## alexinchains (Aug 5, 2012)

Also a note, I do heavy negatives every few months and incline bench press always hurts the outer parts of my chest, any tips? Not tryin to hijack your thread, bro, the info is relevant


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## nby (Aug 5, 2012)

You don't need to bench to get a thick chest. I've heard of some bodybuilders who never did a bench press in their life, flys/dips etc and they got pretty big.


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## Bowden (Aug 5, 2012)

The problem may not be diet related, could be genetics.
Let me guess.
You have long arms and your torso is not barrel shaped?
If so you are at an anatomical disadvantage for flat bench pressing.

Flat bench is more of an ego lift anyway.
It is a great way to destroy shoulders if you are not anatomically suited for bench and try and use too much weight over a long period of time.

Check this site out for suitable alternatives.

Exercise & Muscle Directory


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## CowPimp (Aug 7, 2012)

You haven't really laid out your program in full.  It's hard to make any suggestions as to why your progress has stalled if I don't know what you're doing.  I don't just mean bench, but the program as a whole.  If your program as a whole isn't setup properly, then switching to dumbbell pressing or dips isn't going to fix that.


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## NVRBDR (Aug 7, 2012)

DBowden said:


> The problem may not be diet related, could be genetics.
> Let me guess.
> You have long arms and your torso is not barrel shaped?
> If so you are at an anatomical disadvantage for flat bench pressing.
> ...




This ^^^ is a very cool site, thank you very much.


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## chesty4 (Aug 7, 2012)

Roaddkingg said:


> As the guys prior mentioned triceps and back are great suggestions along with more protein in you'r diet.
> You are a bit on the light side so if you try to bulk up with you'r diet that will certainly help aswell.
> One thing I did a while back was to switch up from barbell to dumbbells. Do all you'r pressing with dumbbells, flat, incline, decline, pull overs, dips, and I think you will notice a increase when you go back to barbell benching.
> For a long time I didnt worry about flat bench with barbell and when I came back to it I was amazed at the differance.
> Besides that I personally feel with dumbells you have to use a lot more stabilizing muscles and that will help in more strength gains.



Focusing on dumbbells helped my bench and overall chest development and strength tremendously. Not to mention being easier on the shoulder joints.


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## pieguy (Aug 8, 2012)

Dave Tate Teaching The Bench Press - YouTube

David Tate teaching a PLer bench press form. For a lot of people, bench pressing just isn't all that great. You might have arms that are too long, bad shoulder flexibility, funny insertion points, etc etc. Also, any time you hear about a pro injuring a rotator or tearing a pec, you can guarantee flat bench caused it. Think a lot of people gain a significantly more amount of mass doing weighted dips when compared to flat benching ad nauseum.


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## MakeItMethylated (Aug 8, 2012)

SVT03DAL said:


> How are you calculating this? I'm havign a hard time believing that at 140lbs you are consuming this macro content on a consisten/daily basis and not gaining weight, Case in point, your current calories/potein intake (with the exception of the carbs) is what I consume on a daily basis to MAINTAIN my current BW and condition at a 200-205lbs bodyweight.  I also rely on almost all whole food sources. What exactly do you consume on a daily basis to hit the numbers you claim?  Please be specific because it could be the reason for your lack of strenghth/weight increase.







This is what most days look like
Minus the ice cream lol


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## Curt James (Aug 8, 2012)

MakeItMethylated said:


> Yeah I'll stick with the dumbells for a little while or do 1 week db one week bar



My bench sucks, too, so, hey, at least you're not alone.

If you don't mind my asking, how is your MS? When and how were you diagnosed?



DBowden said:


> The problem may not be diet related, could be genetics.
> Let me guess.
> You have long arms and your torso is not barrel shaped?
> If so you are at an anatomical disadvantage for flat bench pressing.



This.

I have narrow shoulders, tinker toy bones, zero triceps on a pair of super-long arms, the list goes on.  

My max is 200. 

200 lbs. bench PR - YouTube


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## MakeItMethylated (Aug 8, 2012)

Curt James said:


> My bench sucks, too, so, hey, at least you're not alone.
> 
> If you don't mind my asking, how is your MS? When and how were you diagnosed?
> 
> ...



MS isn't too bad, I take good care of myself 

Was diagnosed my junior year of high school summer of 08 

They diagnosed me off of an MRI 



Just have bad cognitive problems and half of my body is numb

Haven't had a relapse in a long time though 

The AAS I use helps me feel better than normal and helps strength 

It's hard to get strong with a CNS Disorder 

I like dumbbell pressing better so fuck barbell


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## Curt James (Aug 8, 2012)

Thanks for your reply. ^^^^

And I definitely focus on dumbbells for my benching and inclines. That barbell bench was a rare event and I only did it to see what my max was.

Best wishes with your bench!


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## Luxx (Aug 8, 2012)

I have the same problem. I'm 200lb benching 200lb. This week I started going lighter on the BB bench. When I bench I do 7 reps half way up then 7 reps half way down and then I do 7 reps full motion. About 4 sets of that. Not sure what it's called but, my chest is so sore from it. I've never had my chest this sore. I hope this will help my BB bench.


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## oceancaldera207 (Aug 8, 2012)

My strategy was to try to figure out which was the weakest, shoulders tris or chest and train accordingly. in my case it was my tris that were holding me back. keep the hope up, I have freaky long arms and terrible genetics for bench. and when I first benched in high school, i was vastly inferior to almost everyone in my class. now im getting 3 sets at 5 reps at 295 easy on flat bench w/o a spotter. 
another thing that I did that might have made a difference is tons and tons of dips. tons of dips.


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## HDROB (Aug 17, 2012)

It's just the way it goes. We can suck at some exercises yet thrive on others. Find and stick to what your good at.


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## theCaptn' (Aug 25, 2012)

DBowden said:


> The problem may not be diet related, could be genetics.
> Let me guess.
> You have long arms and your torso is not barrel shaped?
> If so you are at an anatomical disadvantage for flat bench pressing.
> ...



I have long arms and a wide chest with a thick developed back but my bench sucks. At 230 I can barely bench my BW. Advices????


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## LAM (Aug 25, 2012)

most likely it's your biomechanics.  many can not drastically increase performance in certain exercises regardless of the time in training and intensity of training.  everyone is built differently with tendons and ligaments of different lengths, thickness, variation of insertion points of skeletal muscle, etc..etc..etc..


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## jimm (Aug 25, 2012)

theCaptn' said:


> I have long arms and a wide chest with a thick developed back but my bench sucks. At 230 I can barely bench my BW. Advices????



u srs?


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## theCaptn' (Aug 25, 2012)

jimm said:


> u srs?



????


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## Bowden (Aug 26, 2012)

theCaptn' said:


> I have long arms and a wide chest with a thick developed back but my bench sucks. At 230 I can barely bench my BW. Advices????



Some people are simply not 'designed' for flat bench pressing.
Sounds like you may be one of them.


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## Bowden (Aug 26, 2012)

theCaptn' said:


> I have long arms and a wide chest with a thick developed back but my bench sucks. At 230 I can barely bench my BW. Advices????



Have you ever used a structured strength program like 5/3/1 to try and increase your bench?
If not check it out.
It's one of the best programs I have ever tried for increasing strength in all compound lifts.


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## cck99352 (Sep 1, 2012)

If you want to improve your bench, review the regimens of power lifters, not bodybuilders. Rack presses, floor presses, dumbell work - plus a regimen that is specifically designed for strength (including rep speed).


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## jimm (Sep 2, 2012)

you get big respect for just training with MS im not sure how bad your is but my sisters boyfriend has it and he is wheel chair bound for life now.. be thankfull you can train full stop mate 


all the best.


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## MakeItMethylated (Sep 2, 2012)

jimm said:


> you get big respect for just training with MS im not sure how bad your is but my sisters boyfriend has it and he is wheel chair bound for life now.. be thankfull you can train full stop mate
> 
> 
> all the best.



Thanks man I have relapse/remitting MS

I take care of it better than others

All the best to your sisters boyfriend


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