Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below OK about two months ago i was posting here asking about how to get past my sticking spot on my bench press. I tried a few things like changing my form, but there wasn't much differnce. So finally some people were telling me to try DB Presses, and inclines. Ok, so the past 2 months i have been doing that and it was really feeling good. I had made progress while doing these, moving up on my weights with the DB's and was thinking sweet i can't wait to do some Flat Benching to see what im up to. Well holy shit i did it today and my flat bench has gone DOWN!!!! I was about to throw a fucking Db through a fucking WALL!!!! I dont get it, my Hammer presses have gone up, my DB presses were going up, and my inclines had gone up a little, BUT MY FLAT SUCKS!!! Has this happened to anyone else?? I'm never wasting my time with DB's again!
HOLY Shit I'm PISSED at DB Press!!
- Thread starter luto199
- Start date
I'm not sure who would have told you to do dbell presses to bring up your flat bench...the majority of everyone I have ever heard of says that it goes down from them...
B True
B True
rippedtrojan
New member
flat db will not help bb bench. incline bb bench can help flat bb bench IF your upper chest is not as strong as it should be. if you want to improve flat bench, you must throw in some flat bench.
gettinlarger
New member
Tris, lats, shoulders ... stengthen them all.
How does your training look? Like, give us a run down of how many reps/sets/rest time in between, etc for your bench.
How does your training look? Like, give us a run down of how many reps/sets/rest time in between, etc for your bench.
So you haven't touched a flat barbell in 2 months and you expect it to jump up? I don't know for sure, but the previous recs were probably to mix in some dumbells. It has helped me... but I am weak and have a low bench anyways.
I find it weird that my max BB is about 245, but I can DB press the 100's. The biggest help that I have gotten was when I started doing squats and deadlifts.. made my whole body feel stronger.
I find it weird that my max BB is about 245, but I can DB press the 100's. The biggest help that I have gotten was when I started doing squats and deadlifts.. made my whole body feel stronger.
Haz
New member
Flat barbell bench is weird like that. Doing dumbell work will hardly improve it much. I had to stop using the barbell for awhile because of two sprained wrists. My dumbell numbers improved quite a bit, but when I went back to barbells, I was pretty much where I left off. However, there is a decent carryover when you are talking about inclines.
Right now i'm doing the opposite of most people, by doing inclined barbell presses along with dumbell flat presses. Its a nice change of pace, that has been working nicely. However, I'm afraid to see what my bench press is. Its probably gone down if anything, but as long as my chest looks better, I'm happy.
Right now i'm doing the opposite of most people, by doing inclined barbell presses along with dumbell flat presses. Its a nice change of pace, that has been working nicely. However, I'm afraid to see what my bench press is. Its probably gone down if anything, but as long as my chest looks better, I'm happy.
well what exactly do BB presses work that DB's dont? I men i reaaly feel my chest the next day when i to DB's, so i assumed it was working.
I Bench once a week in my rountine. ITs on Mondays, where i work bi's and chest. I do, or did, 185 x 10, 195 x 9, 205 x7. Now its like 175 x 10, 185 x 10, 195 x 7. I put a 2 min rest between each set. Later on in the workout i also do inclines and Hammer presses.
I Bench once a week in my rountine. ITs on Mondays, where i work bi's and chest. I do, or did, 185 x 10, 195 x 9, 205 x7. Now its like 175 x 10, 185 x 10, 195 x 7. I put a 2 min rest between each set. Later on in the workout i also do inclines and Hammer presses.
You should be back to your old strength shortly.. don't be discouraged.. it could even have just been a bad day.. did you eat anything different? My guess is that you will be back to your old strength, and possibly passed that in a couple weeks.
I usually do flat BB, then Incline DBs.. then every 4th week, I will do incline BB and flat DBs.. or something on that matter. plus either the hammer, flyes, or dare I say, cables. followed by 2 sets of dips.
I usually do flat BB, then Incline DBs.. then every 4th week, I will do incline BB and flat DBs.. or something on that matter. plus either the hammer, flyes, or dare I say, cables. followed by 2 sets of dips.
louden_swain
New member
You will be fine my friend. Since you have had some time off, it will require some time to get back into flat bench pressing. I always thought that dumbbells were supposed to help you in the long run, as they emphasize developing stabilizer muscles. How did your strength increase on dumbbell presses?
i was very pleased with the progress in DB presses. When i started i was doing 55x10 for my last set, and now my last set is 65x10. I also saw my inclines move up as well, and together this is why i thought my flat bench would be increasing also. Can someone help me to understand what muscles flat bench work that DB presses apparently do not. I just want to figure it out for future reference.
bignate73
New member
my guess in this situation is that you have dramatically improved your coordination and stability of your shoulders...but your bench didnt improve because you havent trained for an increase in strength. the general consensus is that with increased stability you should be able to exert more force. not necessarily true...you have to learn to now produce more force...the stability is there.
there was a study done a while back on stable vs. unstable exercise and force output. the unstable exercises produced less force output due to the inhibition the body feels via proprioception. your body basically turns off its "max" effort in a tradeoff for coordination.
let your body get back into flat benching again and you will find you should be able to push harder due to your stability gained. you basically have to reestablish your motor patterns for that exercise.
the things im learning about strength training lately are very interesting. not all of them i will quote yet, because alot of it im implementing into my own workouts first. dbells were a viable option for a while but now its time to get back to the bench if you want that number to go up.
there was a study done a while back on stable vs. unstable exercise and force output. the unstable exercises produced less force output due to the inhibition the body feels via proprioception. your body basically turns off its "max" effort in a tradeoff for coordination.
let your body get back into flat benching again and you will find you should be able to push harder due to your stability gained. you basically have to reestablish your motor patterns for that exercise.
the things im learning about strength training lately are very interesting. not all of them i will quote yet, because alot of it im implementing into my own workouts first. dbells were a viable option for a while but now its time to get back to the bench if you want that number to go up.
supersizeme
New member
yeah i went through a period where i did basically all dumbells and little to no barbell benching. when i finally did get back to using the barbell, the weight i could use had dropped. all it takes is a few weeks of hitting the barbell again to get it back up.
right now i alternate barbells and dumbells. like one week i'll start off with db incline, then hit bb bench, and then then the next week i'll start off with bb incline, then hit db bench. the only thing i don't mix up is that i like doing incline first. but the alternating dbs with bbs has been working out nicely for me.
right now i alternate barbells and dumbells. like one week i'll start off with db incline, then hit bb bench, and then then the next week i'll start off with bb incline, then hit db bench. the only thing i don't mix up is that i like doing incline first. but the alternating dbs with bbs has been working out nicely for me.
ant256
shit i have been doing dumbells for like the last 6 or so months. I left off at working my sets with 185lbs. Then I switched to all db's using the 60's. Now im doing my sets with the 80's. Im going to try and go back to bb in a few weeks, ive been looking for a massive increase in the amount i bench. I hope this plan doesnt backfire on me. Ive been working shoulders legs and back a lot too. Im looking to be able to work my sets with 215-225. I mean my db bench increased 40 lbs, shouldnt bb increase a portion of that?
shit i have been doing dumbells for like the last 6 or so months. I left off at working my sets with 185lbs. Then I switched to all db's using the 60's. Now im doing my sets with the 80's. Im going to try and go back to bb in a few weeks, ive been looking for a massive increase in the amount i bench. I hope this plan doesnt backfire on me. Ive been working shoulders legs and back a lot too. Im looking to be able to work my sets with 215-225. I mean my db bench increased 40 lbs, shouldnt bb increase a portion of that?
louden_swain
New member
Ingram listed a good routine for you. Your projected max is around 235lbs to 240lbs.
