Help my bench - stronger than workout parter in pretty much everything else.

[treadlite]

So I got a slight problem, and I am unsure how to solve it, and it could be I just need to get used to the range.

I have been training on a bowflex for the last 5 months and decided I needed to get to the gym to really push myself further, and besides, the bowflex was causing shoulder problems.

My parter can bench a good 20lbs more than me, and incline 10lbs more than me. Decline we are about the same. On dumbell flys I can do 15lbs more than him, and triceps about 10%-15% more weight on any given lift.

What gives, and what do I need to do to fix this?

 

[Hellawulf]

Well if your partner is used to the motion then he's going to be stronger. You'll prob catch up eventually. But I find it funny when guys that are way more jacked than me can't get up the weight I do on certain lifts (particularly bench), but I keep it to myself and go on with business. Don't worry about it! Though it does sound like ya'll are doing quite a few sets on chest alone. IMO, that may be a problem for you.

 

[treadlite]

just want to know if there is a paticular isolation lift I can do to improve whatever it is. If not, I will just be patient, only been hitting the actual bench for 3 weeks now over bowflex.

We switch off between incline/decline, we don't do both of them on the same day.

Workout goes:

Flat
Incline or decline
dumbell fly

Although not always in that order to maintain a higher shock value.

 

[Hellawulf]

just want to know if there is a paticular isolation lift I can do to improve whatever it is. If not, I will just be patient, only been hitting the actual bench for 3 weeks now over bowflex.

We switch off between incline/decline, we don't do both of them on the same day.

Workout goes:

Flat
Incline or decline
dumbell fly

Although not always in that order to maintain a higher shock value.

Now that sounds better! Haha, I mean I've just done it personally, where I'd come off flat bench for a while in my workout, only doing Incline for a couple months, then coming back to flat, I'd be weaker than when I'd left, and it'd take a couples weeks to get back but once I did, the gains just didn't stop coming, it was a while before I plateud again. I would think you could probably expect something like that.

 

[JDid23]

"shock value"????? Do flat BB Bench first because that's the lift you want to improve. Therefore, you should be prioritizing it. Don't worry, as hellawulf said you're just not used to the movement whereas your friend is. You'll catch up to him. Also, learning the correct bench press form can really help you lift more.. Since you've only been benching for 3 weeks, i would go to youtube and check out dave tate's bench press video (i think that's what it's called)

 

[CoBra666]

no offense but if you have only been training for 5 months i would say your routine could use an entire overhaul. isolations arent what you need right now. stronglifts 5x5. lol i love when more ripped ppl cant lift as much as me too. i just got off a 2 year back and shoulder injury/horrible poisoning so im pretty chunny right now, bout 20% bf and i can still crush my workout partner who is super lean, because he never trained proper. all isolations, all the time, with piss poor form. ppls looks are priceless at the gym.

 

[JDid23]

no offense but if you have only been training for 5 months i would say your routine could use an entire overhaul. isolations arent what you need right now. stronglifts 5x5. lol i love when more ripped ppl cant lift as much as me too. i just got off a 2 year back and shoulder injury/horrible poisoning so im pretty chunny right now, bout 20% bf and i can still crush my workout partner who is super lean, because he never trained proper. all isolations, all the time, with piss poor form. ppls looks are priceless at the gym.

I hear that. I'm 5'9, 180, and i don't even look that strong with a shirt on. When i pulled 375 in front of the football team who had their DL day at my college, everyone literally stopped to watch me. The starting safety next to me had the same max that i did

Having said that, some people don't care about how much they can DL, squat, bench, but how good they look. everyone has different goals

 

[treadlite]

no offense but if you have only been training for 5 months i would say your routine could use an entire overhaul. isolations arent what you need right now. stronglifts 5x5. lol i love when more ripped ppl cant lift as much as me too. i just got off a 2 year back and shoulder injury/horrible poisoning so im pretty chunny right now, bout 20% bf and i can still crush my workout partner who is super lean, because he never trained proper. all isolations, all the time, with piss poor form. ppls looks are priceless at the gym.

Funny you should say that. After some hard thinking about this(I am not a newbie, just coming back from a 10+ year vacation) I have already modified my entire routine to reduce the amount of isolation workouts and increase the intensity on the compounds. I will say that my isolations are very good form though, I don't ego lift at all, I am very anti ego lifting.

 

[treadlite]

Well, over a month has gone by and there really has been very little improvement. I am having a hard time lifting the bar from the chest. Once I get half way the rest becomes easy(due to bowflex no doubt).

My diet is good, my sleep has been ok, and I have had 10-30% increase in pretty much every other lift in the past couple months with the exception of bench. I just don't get it. I even took 2 weeks off from doing any chest workout to remove some tension off a stiff shoulder(which is better now), but only minimal increase.

 

[themondtster]

Well, over a month has gone by and there really has been very little improvement. I am having a hard time lifting the bar from the chest. Once I get half way the rest becomes easy(due to bowflex no doubt).

My diet is good, my sleep has been ok, and I have had 10-30% increase in pretty much every other lift in the past couple months with the exception of bench. I just don't get it. I even took 2 weeks off from doing any chest workout to remove some tension off a stiff shoulder(which is better now), but only minimal increase.

I was having the same problem with the bench. First I did the Ed Coan bench program and now on SL5*5. My bench has gotten a lot better since the doing the two but still struggles at times but I believe that's due to long lankey arms. Too long range of motion which may be hampering you!



From My Droid!

 

[the.gladiator1987]

I would def do a 5x5 bro. Or at least something that has you benching heavy twice a week with little assistance work. My bench last time I did 5x5 went from 275x3 to 315x2

 

[pdaddyII]

No offense bro but it's not everyones goal to be able to lift a car off the ground. I personally want to be strong AND look sexy as hell. Some people don't want to risk an injury and are just going for the functionality of the muscular physique, I don't see a problem with that.

 

[pdaddyII]

Well, over a month has gone by and there really has been very little improvement. I am having a hard time lifting the bar from the chest. Once I get half way the rest becomes easy(due to bowflex no doubt).

My diet is good, my sleep has been ok, and I have had 10-30% increase in pretty much every other lift in the past couple months with the exception of bench. I just don't get it. I even took 2 weeks off from doing any chest workout to remove some tension off a stiff shoulder(which is better now), but only minimal increase.

What are all of your lifting numbers like?

 

[gstacker]

Post up your set and rep scheme, might be able to tweak somthing there... Include the lbs

 

[SPEKTOR-AAA]

Bench. Make sure form is good. Start weights that are functional. Take your time, and make sure you understand your body. Good luck bro

 

[JDid23]

Well, over a month has gone by and there really has been very little improvement. I am having a hard time lifting the bar from the chest. Once I get half way the rest becomes easy(due to bowflex no doubt).

My diet is good, my sleep has been ok, and I have had 10-30% increase in pretty much every other lift in the past couple months with the exception of bench. I just don't get it. I even took 2 weeks off from doing any chest workout to remove some tension off a stiff shoulder(which is better now), but only minimal increase.

what's your diet? a lot of the time, even though you think it's good, there might be some ways to improve it.

Also, the fact you took 2 weeks off could be a reason why your bench has suffered. I went on vacation and didn't lift for 2 weeks, and it drastically hurt my DL #s.

how is your form? tell us how you set up for your bench and what you do during the lift.

 

[stevesmi]

start running pushing splits and vary the workouts

1. do 10X10's (these are called centuries) do these maybe once every month
2. heavy sets with heavy weights for 4-5 reps, 15 sets total
3. lots of dips, lots of pushups, lots of tricep pushs

 

[johnnyrockit8665]

So I got a slight problem, and I am unsure how to solve it, and it could be I just need to get used to the range.

I have been training on a bowflex for the last 5 months and decided I needed to get to the gym to really push myself further, and besides, the bowflex was causing shoulder problems.

My parter can bench a good 20lbs more than me, and incline 10lbs more than me. Decline we are about the same. On dumbell flys I can do 15lbs more than him, and triceps about 10%-15% more weight on any given lift.

What gives, and what do I need to do to fix this?

whats up bro? welcome to EF. I started my rehab from a broken leg on a bow flex. When I was finally able to make it to a gym again I have had a tough time getting my main lifts back up. Watching Dave Tate's training videos on you tube has helped me out alot with my technique and the weight has started to go up again. Here is a link to one of his videos. Most important is to be patient shoulder injuries are a pain in the ass......good luck bro! I hope this helps out.

‪Dave Tate's Six-Week Bench Press Cure‬‏ - YouTube

 

[treadlite]

Thanks for the responses guys and I have taken some advice as well a just personal knowledge. I believe it has been a combination of too many variables all at once.

current stats
178 ~15-16% BF 5'11"

My diet up until 2 months ago was 3000-3500 cal a day. I then dropped it to 2800-3000 a day to attempt a cut. This hurt me bad and gains across the board were. I hit 170 3 months ago and was stuck at that weight for 2 months. I then decided to add calories back in about a month ago and got awsome gains on all but chest, so I took two weeks off on doing any chest. Two weeks later...no gains in chest at all. I have tried 5x5's, supersets, 3x8, deloading, pyramid's, nothing has worked......UNTIL my last workout earlier this week.

only change

SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!

I made it a goal to get a min of 7 hours. If I went to bed too late, I would switch working out in the morning to working out in the afternoon so I would get 7-8 hours of sleep.

WOW, did that make a HUGE difference. Just in the past 2 weeks it feels like I have gained what I would have in the past 2 months of minimal gains and I jumped nearly 20% on my bench.

Current diet and routine

Diet - average cal is 3400 cal with a 40-40-10 protien-carb-fat ratio
3-6 eggs a day, mostly whites
12-16 oz of chicken
4 servings of whey
1 serving of casien
48 oz of milk
650 cal wieght gainer
1 beagle with cream cheese
1/2 cup of cottage cheese
1 spinich salad
pre-workout shake(glyco/bcaa's)

My diet does not vary much from this at all, over the years I have adapted well to eat ing the same things over and over and over again.

my current workout - I am going to create a new thread for this but I will post it here as well.

Monday - chest/tri's
flat bench - 5x5
incline or decline - 5x5
narrow grip bench - 3x8
dumbbell flys - 5x5
dips - 3x8
skull crushers 3x8

tuesday - back/bi's
widgrip pullup - 3 sets to get between 40-50
deadlift - 5x5
bent over barbell row 5x5
narrow revers grip pull-down 3x8
v-bar(not sure v-bar is best) seated cable row - 3x8
shrugs 3x8
dumbbell curl 3x6
hammer curl 3x6
incline seated curl 3x8
preacher curl 3x8
wrist curls(whatever they are called) 3x8 for each direction

Wednesday - Legs/shoulders
squat - 5x5
leg curl 3x8
leg ext 3x8
leg press 5x5
calves 3x8
Dumbbell shoulder press 3x8
Dumbbell front raise 3x8
dumbbell lateral raise 3x8
dumbbell reverse raise 3x8

Thursday - Rest

Friday - repeat Monday
Saturday - repeat Tuesday