Benching- why do i suck??

[Deciever]

p03t1c , your right. Mental factors do play a large part in the lifts. and to be honest also, im not always there, and i sometimes doubt my self. I know that 200 is a big ass mental barrier for me, and its been a bitch ttrying to break it. Thanks for your input.

 

[benchmonster]

Do more board presses, get a tighter shirt, and do speed work. Unless you are naturally fast, or have figured out some way to have great bar speed without doing dynamic effort bench (PowerlifterJay comes to mind) then I think you are really shorting yourself by not doing speed work.

If that bar is moving fast as Hell when it gets to your sticking point, what do you think is going to happen? You will fly right through it. I know myself, if I am not moving the bar fast, a weight 50 lbs below my potential max will pin me down, whereas if I am moving it at proper speed, it "looks" easy.

I have never seen you bench, but most people's bar speed sucks donkey balls, even at powerlifting meets I have been to. Speed kills. This cannot be overemphasized.

You said something about benching with too wide a grip earlier, I don't understand this. Wide grip equals short stroke. I am only five seven or eight but shirt bench with my index fingers on the rings.

Make sure you are working on your rotators, this is often overlooked. Hit upper back hard, work your triceps hard on heavy barbell movements that emphasize the lockout (5 board press, rack lockouts, JM Press) these IMHO are much more important than dumbell tricep extensions and barbell tricep extensions, for contributing to lockout.

Also, train with the mentality that 200 aint shit. What the Hell does 200 have to hold over your head? That is a warmup weight to you. You are on the hunt for 300. 200 is something you hit in warmups backstage before you even bother putting your shirt on. You have to really beleive that. Don't just tell yourself this to fire yourself up. Make this "YOUR NEW TRUTH" . It just has to be that way. Beleive it first then acheive it soon thereafter.

B.

 

[Deciever]

Bench- I do dynamic work each week, and it has been helping w/ my bar speed.
And about benching w/ too wide of a grip , what happened was the bar that i was using to train withhad the power rings closer than the competition bar. SO when i went to grab that bar i went pinky to the power rack, and didnt realize how wide i was until i watched the video, and realized that i sucked horribly.

I've been working my rotators like you said, especially cause i think i may have tweaked it doing illegal wides one day, not really a big deal, as it doesnt even hurt in most cases.

Now with the board presses, what grip should i use for 4 and 5 boards? Should i use a close grip, a normal grip a wide grip...???
And i should do the 4 or 5 boards as assistance and the 1,2,3 boards as ME Exercises, right?

Thanks for the help.

 

[goldenone]

Just like to add that the mental aspect , like p03t1c posted above is important.I was stuck at the 400 mark awhile back.I didnt have the right mindset and confidence that I could do it

I starded doing static holds (425-450)range, which helped me get used to the feel of the weight.Once I did these,405 went up with no problem.

But like everybody else said there is so many factors-form,speed,elbows tucked,triceps etc.....

Good luck!

 

[Twitched]

You could try heavy static holds.. your body needs to be coaxed into handling more weight..

 

[Deciever]

i've tried static holds before.. didnt get much out of them. I normall get used to my heavier weights doing rack lockouts, reverse band presses..etc . The static holds did make the weights feel lighter but didnt help much in the actual lift.

 

[goldenone]

Deciever,where are you getting stuck at? The bottom of your lift?The top?

 

[Deciever]

right in the middle, right about where my arms form a right angle i think. I hate it

 

[Arioch]

IIRC, you are one of the noble souls who posses a deadlifter's build?

 

[Deciever]

IIRC?? what does that mean? And i do not possess a deadlifters build.. im one of the people who isnt specialized in any of the lifts... im just not as developed in the bench as i am in the squat and deadlift (which still need much improvement)