Yet another weight lifting question

[Grim/Don]

What's the standard method of benching? I'm trying to get stronger, not bulk up (but if that happens, I won't complain). It's not for weight loss either; I could do with a bit more.

I've got a bench with a lat-pul-down bar and a bunch of dumbbells. I don't really have a set warm up routine, usually just mess around with the dumbbells for a bit. I always bench first, trying three sets of ten. Usually 5-10 minutes rest between. One thing that concerns me is that I really don't have a spotter as the wife is usually watching TV or carting our daughter someplace. I can do 2-4 reps of my own body weight and have down 30 pounds over once. (just once, tried again tonight after asking the wife for a spot.)

If someone could suggest a routine/schedule for me, I'd really appreciate it. I try to work out every other night and take a multi vitamen every day. My wife's cousin who's done a bunch of lifting asked about incline/decline but my bench isn't set up for those.

Thanks in advance.

 

[roughedges]

its been awhile since I've lifted weights...10 years, arthritis and a trick shoulder actually. and hey, I'm sttil young yet!

what I always used to do is stretch first, I was always told 30 minutes of stretching but was only good for 15 myself. as far as bench pressing goes, form is more important than the actual weight you lift. just like any muscle exercise they tend to develop memory so that the form will become second nature. when I was wrestling I'd lift 5 days a week (probably too much in hindsight) alternating 3 days of 3 sets 10-12 reps at a low weight with 2 days of 2 sets of 6-8 at a higher weight. I'd do that with all exercises as well, not just bench.

and on the lower weight days, to help with explosive power, I'd concentrate on doing the reps as quickly as possible while still keeping it smooth and maintaining control.

one last thing, I've always heard that you lose a lot of the benefit if you wait to long between sets. most of the time our team trainer would make sure we didn't get much more than a minute or 90 seconds rest between sets. I guess its supposed to help with muscular endurance.

anyways, hope my rambling helps!

 

[PhilL]

Bench presses are a wonderful exercise, the problem is that usually your weaker triceps give out before the pecs get the full workout you want. Being that your working out unassisted it can be dangerous to push your bench-presses to their limit.

One technique you may want to try is to pre-exhaust the pecs with dumbell bench flies and then move imediately into your bench presses. Start with light to moderate weight dumbells do a set of 15-20 bench flies. As soon as you put the dumbells down start doing your bench presses, again with a moderate weight for 15-20 reps. This will give your muscles a good warm-up.

Resting more than a minute is a waste of time. Add some weight to the dumbells and bar and go back and do another set of flies and then bench presses, 10-15 reps per exercise. You can add a third set if you like.

Add weight slowly, keep your reps high and you should never be in a situation where assistance is needed. Be safe not sorry.

 

[bob bowie]

1) There is no standard Benching pattern. Without writing a long post on the subject here are a few basics:

A) The closer the grip, the more recruitment of the triceps muscles. The wider the grip, the more pectorals come into play.

B) The Barbell and Dumbbells are best for benching as they don't require a fixed pattern of movement. You should be able to handle a greater amount of weight using the barbell, so the barbell benching should be placed first in an exercise program.

It's also a bit of a pain the ass to get a set of large dumbbells into place.

But, it's also important not to forsake the dumbbells as they recruit more of the stabilizing muscles during a lift. They're also safer to us as you get tired during the workout.

C) It a bit too bad that your bench isn't adjustable, as I still believe it is best to work the pecs from a variety of angles to get full development. In the interest of fairness, there was a study that felt it wasn't all that important.

D) Just a few other things about benching.

Do not put your feet up on the bench. Some folks do this as they feel it helps better recruit the pecs and takes the leg drive out of benching. What they don't tell you is that you'll waste quite a bit of energy balancing yourself on the bench. It also wrecks your focus. This idea is an accident waiting to happen.

You should be able to firmly plant your feet while benching. If you can't do this comfortably, then either lower or raise the bench till you can.

Don't use a false(thumbless) grip while benching. While I haven't seen a accident during flat or incline* benching that was that horrible when a person was using a regular grip, I have when people were using a false grip. The bar slips and it eiter crashes into your throat or mouth most of the time . * The Decline bench is the cause of most deadly accidents. Due to the position of the lift the bar always winds up accross your neck during these accidents, choking you out. Always use a rack, spotter(s) or dumbbells for decline pressing.

If you find yourself caught under the bar during a press, don't wait, try to get the weight as far away from your face and throat as possible. Most of the time after that, you can roll the bar off you(still painful, but better than the other option).

Some folks leave the collars off the bar, that way if you run into problems, you can tilt the bar and dump the weights off one side.

With time, you'll be able to reasonably predict when you'll fail while lifting.

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Generally, when setting up for a bench:

1) Lay down, get comfy.
2) Plant your feet.
3) Remove the Barbell(or have it handed off to you).
4) Lower the bar to your chest under control.
5) As you get ready to lift the weight-

A) Push down on the floor with your feet.
B) Flair your lats.
C) Keep your head firmly against the bench pad.
D) Explode the bar off your chest in a controlled fashion.

* If you find your head or feet coming off the bench or floor, the weight is a bit too heavy. lower it. If your back arches to much, the weight is also too heavy, lower it.

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Since you want to workout for pure strength, here are a few things to remember:

1-5 reps is the optimal range for the most strength gain, as this range increases neural drive(Simply put, your nervous system and muscles learn to work better together, plus a few other things).

6-12 reps is best for both strength and muscle gains.

12 reps+ is used to gain muscular endurance.

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Rest periods also vary with the type of training you'll be doing. The heavier the weight you'll be using, the more rest you'll need. The longer rest periods allow your nervous system to recover. Generally, when one is doing heavy Powerlifting type training, the rest periods are at least 2 mins+.

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[Wunderbar]

Don't use a false(thumbless) grip while benching. While I haven't seen a accident during flat or incline* benching that was that horrible when a person was using a regular grip, I have when people were using a false grip. The bar slips and it eiter crashes into your throat or mouth most of the time . * The Decline bench is the cause of most deadly accidents. Due to the position of the lift the bar always winds up accross your neck during these accidents, choking you out. Always use a rack, spotter(s) or dumbbells for decline pressing.




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How true. A few years ago, there was an article in Muscle-Fitness magazine about a man I worked with by the name of Kevin Black. He was a Central States Powerlifting champion from this area. He was using the "thumbless grip" and he did drop the bar on his face, knocking out his teeth. He's lucky he didn't get killed.

 

[hawkpatriot]

I started lifting a few months ago in the summer. I'm stronger/bigger than most kids my age, but I've only benched 112 at most. I do 4 sets, 1 warmup with a light weight and high reps, then start at a good weight, say 100lbs, for a set. I do 8 reps of that, and repeat that set. Then I add 6lbs and do 8 more reps. This is the routine I'm in now, but it varies to give my chest a better workout and keep my body waiting for a change.
Like I said before, I'm bigger than alot of kids my age, but when we talk about our "strength" (high bench weight=high machismo?), I hear small guys saying, "yeah, I bench 130," or 125, or 140, that you would not expect to hear from smaller kids, I weigh 180 but I've only benched 112. So when I hear that talk, I think it's a load of BS. So don't pay attention to what others are benching. And dont try to "max out", because you'll hurt yourself.

 

[Chiro75]

Make sure you're doing lots of back workouts, too. A lot of tough guys bench all day long and forget that there are muscles in their backs, and they get their shoulders rolling really forward and their posture is all screwed up. So, work those posterior shoulder muscles, lats, and especially rhomboids really well. Same thing goes for abs and low back muscles. Too many people crunch all day long and don't balance it with low back exercise.

 

[RH]

in addition to the good advice you will no doubt get here, may I suggest checking out bodybuilding.com They are pretty extensive forum setup just like this one, and a good library of articles. the only 'downside' is they are primarily focused on bodybuilding, not pure strength building, but lots of good info.

 

[Grim/Don]

Thanks for all the replies! Lots of good info here.

Bob Bowie, my feet are always on the floor. I've tried with them sticking straint out, resting on the leg curl pads, but that didn't feel comfortable to me. When I was in highschool (lo, those many years ago...) I saw a kid benching and his back was bent arched 8-10 inches off the bench! I didn't think it looked right, and a trip to the library provided the proof that he was stupid. I don't do the thumbless grip either; IMO, that's just looking for trouble.

Chiro75, Crunches and lots of different exercises for the back, arms and shoulders. Dips, lat pull-downs, shrugs, farmer's walk, bent-over rows, "good mornings", Military press. Just remembered to add flys and sometimes I throw in Isolation curls. Also took a piece of PVC and drilled a hole in it, knotted some rope through it and use it to roll up a 5 pounder.

hawkpatriot, I didn't mention and specific pound-ages, not wanting to make my post seem competitive. I don't post to compete with anyone but myself. My 'ultimate' goal it to bench 200 pounds, so that's why I'm trying for maxs. I make sure I'm good-and-warmed-up and have a spotter whenever I try anything like that. Though it does stir a warm feeling to say "I benched XXX last night"

Again, thanks for all the replies. I'm thinking I'm going to adjust my routine a bit. Not sure how yet, but I've got some ideas. Thanks!

 

[Blackwatch]

I'm not the biggest bencher in the world, by any stretch of the imagination. I usually hang out around the 200Lb lift range. Then I switch over to dumbbells for awhile, cuz I try to break the plateau, then something comes up and I don't get to go the the gym for a bit, so I do pushups with my kid sitting on my back. When he cooperates.

I think a slightly arched lower back, arms somewhere past shoulder width (I usually put my middle finger on the little line that is on most olympic bars...3-4" past shoulders I would think, on each side), breathe through lungs (what a pain after being taught for lots of things to "breath with diaphragm"), and be sure not to bounce it off your chest. Controlled down, controlled, but faster, up.

For a fun workout (with spotter...always spotter with bar, IMO) stop the bar for a second on your chest at bottom of lift. If I cannot find a spotter, I may do dumbbells, except I still rem my tri giving out and almost wearing a dumbbell as a hat...so, i may suffer through machines. blech, machines.

As for a routine, I would go with, personally, 8reps, 6reps, 3reps. That's what I do. So, figure out what you can do for those, then do them each time you do chest. When the last set ends up around 6 reps, it's time to move up...bump it up a bit, then do 8, 6, 3 again. 1-2 times a week, I'd say. If you can do it, switch to dumbbells after 3 weeks, and for 3 weeks...then switch back. It keeps your muscles "guessing."

I'm never too worried about it my specific bench weight, trying to go with more overall strength (and weight loss).

I'd say one of the most important things is to make sure your core is strong. Hips, abs, lower back. very important.

I would recommend the core be decently strong before doing things like good-mornings, to anyone who hasn't done them. It can put large amounts of stress where it's least liked.

It's nice to see lotsa people working out on the forums. It kinda motivates me...though I still haven't been to the gym in a month. Big E around here gums up the traffic to my gym area for a month.