Best way to get a higher Bench Max?

[edgecrusher]

Juicy Fruit, we need more info, as to your total workout. I'd like to know what you do for muscles like your lats, tri's and delts as well.

B-fold, I don't want to sound like a jerk, but are you attempting to help Juicy Fruit, or challenge Debaser?

 

[Jxaxsxe530]

do less warm up sets. i found that since i dropped all warm up sets to just one or two, 33% of 1rm then 66% of 1rm, then i hit the heavy set, my bench has gone thru the roof. also if u use a spotter, make sure he DOES NOT help you lift the weight in any of the reps any given set. a spotter's job is to get the bar off ur chest when ur set is over. find ur max weight at 4 reps and work from there. no spotter, 1 or 2 really light warmup sets, take a 2, 3 minute breather, then get a guy to stand there to watch, then lift all the weight yourself. if u can only get 4 or 5, thas fine. dont attempt anymore set. time to eat and rest. i went from 225 to 265 (and it was EASY) in 2, 3 weeks. this week i'm going to do 285 and i think i can do it.

 

[st8k_lover]

I would suggest that you work your triceps with the same intensity and desire that you put into your bench routine. Heavy close grips, weighted dips and skull crushers will have you where you want to be in no time. Maybe try to warm up thoroughly and then jump up to the most weight you can handle for reps of 5-6 then pyramid the rep/weights down as you become fatigued. At least that is what I would do

Peace

 

[MidwestJ]

close grip bench...skull crushers. Emphasis on the close grip bench. Check out the powerlifting forum...search and then read. That's where you'll find the info

 

[PolishHammer1977]

Bump for Juicy

 

[b fold the truth]

B-fold, I don't want to sound like a jerk, but are you attempting to help Juicy Fruit, or challenge Debaser?

Well, actually, probably a little of both. I challenge his view of adding weight to the bar every week over focusing on your weak points..

Did that make sense?

B True

 

[juicy fruit]

Sorry guys.....heres my routine......

1) Monday - Chest and bi's

Flat Bench (4 sets as i mentioned above)
Incline Bench (Also 4 sets)
Incline Dumbell Presses (3 sets)
Fly's (3 sets)
Dips

2) Tuesday - Legs

3) Thursday - Tri's and shoulders

Shoulders - Military Press, Upright Rows, Dumbell Shoulder Presses, Dumbell Laterals

Tri's - Tricep Curls, Close-grip bench, Overhead Extensions, Skull Crushers, And inside dips for the tri's.

Friday - Back day, Rows, Pulldowns, Deads, Shrugs, Pullups, etc.

I hope this gives you guys some idea of my routine.
I started working out 9 months ago, I was benching 95 lbs. Today I am up to 205 on my last set for 4-5 reps or so like I said.......Cant wait to hit that 225 point. So...any more questions, let me know. Thanks again

 

[Debaser]

What you don't seem to understand is that he might not have a "weak point."

He may simply just need to increase his bench progressively till he hits that mark.

If someone said, I need to get my deadlift from 200 lbs to 500, would you tell them:

Ok you'll need to do a lot of back extensions to help your lower back, lots of shrugs to strengthen your traps, squats to help your leg strength, pullups for your lats, etc.

Uh, you do most of these exercises anyway. I would tell them "how about adding some weight to the bar every week? If your poundage is that low you don't have a sticking point, and I doubt your strength increases in that exercise have stagnated"

His question was NOT "I have a 350 lb bench and I need to get to 375, and I just CANNOT do even ONE POUND MORE, I'm STUCK"
and he said nothing about having problems adding weight to the bar (or reps) every week. So if he's naturally progressing, why would he need to work on all this accessory stuff?

 

[Debaser]

Sorry guys.....heres my routine......

1) Monday - Chest and bi's

Flat Bench (4 sets as i mentioned above)
Incline Bench (Also 4 sets)
Incline Dumbell Presses (3 sets)
Fly's (3 sets)
Dips

2) Tuesday - Legs

3) Thursday - Tri's and shoulders

Shoulders - Military Press, Upright Rows, Dumbell Shoulder Presses, Dumbell Laterals

Tri's - Tricep Curls, Close-grip bench, Overhead Extensions, Skull Crushers, And inside dips for the tri's.

Friday - Back day, Rows, Pulldowns, Deads, Shrugs, Pullups, etc.

I hope this gives you guys some idea of my routine.
I started working out 9 months ago, I was benching 95 lbs. Today I am up to 205 on my last set for 4-5 reps or so like I said.......Cant wait to hit that 225 point. So...any more questions, let me know. Thanks again

I see the problem right away. WAY TOO MUCH VOLUME. How can you expect to keep adding weight to the bar when you're overtraining your chest so badly? I just recommended something like this to someone else, and it would benefit you highly as well:

Monday

Bench press 2 x 6
Close grip bench 1 x 10
Overhead press 2 x 8
Barbell curl 2 x 8
Pullup 2 x 10
Hammer row 1-2 x 10

Thursday

Squat 1 x 20 OR 2 x 10-15
Stiff legged deads 1 x 12
Back hyper extension 1 x 10
Shrugs 1 x 10
Calf raise 1 x 12
Ab work

THE FOCUS SHOULD BE ON ADDING WEIGHT (or reps) TO THE BAR EVERY SINGLE WEEK. When you hit the muscles with over a dozen sets and train so often that you can't recover, this becomes impossible.

 

[edgecrusher]

First let me say, that 110 pounds in 9 months is great progress. I hope you are not doing all of those exercises you listed in one workout. Here is what i would recomend.

1) If you are staing w/ this split, pick 3 exercises for large muscle groups 2 for the smaller ones (ie arms.)

2) Keep your reps low and your weights high. For example, drop that last set of 135 till you fail on the bench. That will not help increase your overall power.

3) Keep the same exercises for at least 6 workouts, then alter them. Do not do barbell bench press every time you workout.

4) And probably most important, get plenty of rest. Your gains are made when you recover, no other time.

5) Stay focused and be persistent. Gains will come, they just take time.

Hope this helpful, and keep up the good work.