*** The 2013 Gym Rats Thread ***

Need some advice on improving my BB benching.
Ive been stuck around the same weight on my bench for over two years now:eek:
I have done everything i can think of, ive changed the reps/sets/technique.
Could i be weak in one of my muscle groups that the benchpress works for like my triceps?
I train in the morning, and i always have breakfast so im fueled.
Im not strength training, im doing it to look pretty:p (sorry cant spell aestetics) I dont think im missing out as other chest exercises are improving. And when i look in the mirror i see im growing. But i just find it odd that my bench doesnt improve.
 
bakes0310 said:
Need some advice on improving my BB benching.
Ive been stuck around the same weight on my bench for over two years now:eek:
I have done everything i can think of, ive changed the reps/sets/technique.
Could i be weak in one of my muscle groups that the benchpress works for like my triceps?
I train in the morning, and i always have breakfast so im fueled.
Im not strength training, im doing it to look pretty:p (sorry cant spell aestetics) I dont think im missing out as other chest exercises are improving. And when i look in the mirror i see im growing. But i just find it odd that my bench doesnt improve.
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You're going to need to tell us what you've done already and the current plan.
 
elmarko said:
Nothing that great, did it on a large calorie deficit the whole time so didn't really progress much at all.

If I remember correctly about..

70 BP (5x5)
110 Squat (5x5)
60 OHP (5x5)
60 BBR (5x5)
140 Dead-lift (1x5)
Click to expand...

Still good numbers that!

What is it you want to do now? Strength training or majority aesthetics?
 
LiE said:
You're going to need to tell us what you've done already and the current plan.
Click to expand...

:D yesss LIE posted
I stick to a program for 6 weeks then go onto another one.
My current program for chest 4 weeks in:
BB bench
4 sets 6-8reps
Explosive benchpress (i think thats the name)
8 sets 3reps
db flys (flatbench)
3 sets 15 reps
dips
2 sets max
Lying on floor db press (probably wrong name)
3 sets 6 reps
Pulldowns
3 sets 12 reps
 
Begbie said:
Still good numbers that!

What is it you want to do now? Strength training or majority aesthetics?
Click to expand...
A bit of both really, would like to do some bulking but also want to make some real progress (on the bench, overhead mostly).

Just unsure about different routines, would a 5 day split routine yield better results than the 3 standard SL 5x5 workouts for muscle gaining? - which one works better with the "leangains" style dieting with up days/down days to go for body re-composition (instead of straight dieting).
 
elmarko said:
A bit of both really, would like to do some bulking but also want to make some real progress (on the bench, overhead mostly).

Just unsure about different routines, would a 5 day split routine yield better results than the 3 standard SL 5x5 workouts for muscle gaining? - which one works better with the "leangains" style dieting with up days/down days to go for body re-composition (instead of straight dieting).
Click to expand...

5/3/1 is worth a look, works round a basic strength training regime and 2/3 aux exercises.

Theres a spreadsheet floating around the web somewhere too.
 
Begbie said:
Have you advised them your not seeing a benefit out of your strength?

Are you upping the weight each week, or just guessing from what you done the week before?
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I hope i dont give the impression my instructors arent good at there job. Cause they do know there stuff, they do know my strength seems to suffer on my chest sessions. All my other sessions i see improvements i on average my weights go up by 2-5kg a month on most exercises, does that seem good or is that a bit slow?
I write down my weights so i know exactly what im doing. I dont up the weight if i cant lift it the amount of times im meant to rep for. So if i meant to do 6-8 reps and can only lift it for 5 then i lower the weight. The only time i let that slide a bit is if its my last set.
 
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bakes0310 said:
:D yesss LIE posted
I stick to a program for 6 weeks then go onto another one.
My current program for chest 4 weeks in:
BB bench
4 sets 6-8reps
Explosive benchpress (i think thats the name)
8 sets 3reps
db flys (flatbench)
3 sets 15 reps
dips
2 sets max
Lying on floor db press (probably wrong name)
3 sets 6 reps
Pulldowns
3 sets 12 reps
Click to expand...

If you want to get stronger at pressing you will need to start lifting heavy.

Start with 3x5, increasing the weight each week for 4-5 weeks until you hit a weight that is pretty much the max.

Add in some heavy CGBP. Do your dips with weight.

Essentially rein in the reps down to 3-6 and ramp the weight up.
 
A two year stall on benching at 50-60kg :eek:.

Sorry but your instructors do sound useless and this shows exactly why if you insist on using a PT, you should use it as a starting point and no more than that.

It basically comes down to two options when you start out - either you start to learn from the very ground up, or you use a PT to give you a little bit of a head start and then start to learn for yourself anyway. No one PT can compete with the vast amounts of knowledge that is out there waiting for you to learn if you would take the effort to look.
 
LiE said:
If you want to get stronger at pressing you will need to start lifting heavy.

Start with 3x5, increasing the weight each week for 4-5 weeks until you hit a weight that is pretty much the max.

Add in some heavy CGBP. Do your dips with weight.

Essentially rein in the reps down to 3-6 and ramp the weight up.
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Cheers LiE
So for 4-5 weeks ive GOT to increase the weight, what about if say by the third week i cant get to the minimum reps of 3?
 
wedgie said:
A two year stall on benching at 50-60kg :eek:.

Sorry but your instructors do sound useless and this shows exactly why if you insist on using a PT, you should use it as a starting point and no more than that.

It basically comes down to two options when you start out - either you start to learn from the very ground up, or you use a PT to give you a little bit of a head start and then start to learn for yourself anyway. No one PT can compete with the vast amounts of knowledge that is out there waiting for you to learn if you would take the effort to look.
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I know how it sounds like there useless but i really cant think how they can help any more than they do now.
I do read quite a bit on various sites to try and leanrn. But its quite hard to tell the difference between real knowledge and broscience.
Ive read logs on here and its all chest exercises ive done myself.
Ive thought about making a log myself but i dont know if its of any real benefit for myself.
 
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bakes0310 said:
I do read quite a bit on various sites to try and leanrn. But its quite hard to tell the difference between real knowledge and broscience.
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It's not too hard to filter out all the ****, as long as you're trying to learn as much as possible and not going to any one place expecting to have all questions answered.

Take your specific example - how to increase your bench press? You could put that into google right now and easily get 100 results that you can take something from, articles, forums, blogs etc, the trends become more noticeable the more you read.

You should also keep in mind that everyone is different, there is no one answer to suit all, and you know your body and what it responds to better than anyone else does. There's plenty of factors you can manipulate to find out what works best for you - frequency, how often do you want to bench? do you respond best to once a week, twice, three times? Do you want to focus on higher weight, lower reps (I'd go with LiE and say this would be a good place to start making changes for now) or drop the weight a little and stay within the hypertrophy 8-12 rep range? You could also have a think about tempo, are you simply pushing the weight as quick as you can to get it done, or are you really focussing on a slow and controlled rep, up and down, maximising the length of time your muscles work?

There's so much you can already do to maximise the gains you make, you don't need to knowledge of someone that's been lifting 10 years to make changes/improvements, and whichever way you look at it, 2 years is a LONG time to be stuck benching 50-60kg.
 
icecold said:
Your instructors have been giving you programmes for two years and those are your current lifts...

They are wasting your time mate.
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I would BET that extremely poor nutrition is at the heart of this. It usually always is, in my experience. The lifts are just too poor for two years' worth of training, even with the worst PT on the face of the earth.
 
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