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napsgear
genezapharmateuticals
domestic-supply
puritysourcelabs
Research Chemical SciencesUGFREAKeudomestic
napsgeargenezapharmateuticals domestic-supplypuritysourcelabsResearch Chemical SciencesUGFREAKeudomestic

sticking point on bench

Eno

New member
okay, my problem is i can easily lock out more weight than i can get off the initial 1-3 inches of my chest - so i guess it isn't an issue of tricep strength. since i don't use any type of shirt, what exercises focus on this part of the lift. i don't think it's an issue of bar speed either, but i might be wrong.. as always, thanks a lot.
 
That is prob a weak chest problem......unless you have a serious arch in which case it could be shoulders.
This used to be my weak spot too. I cured it with, dumb-bell bench presses and wide-grip bench presses. If you have a cambered bar you could try benching with that.

The point is to lower the bar further than you normally would so strengthening the bottom of the lift.

Eno said:
okay, my problem is i can easily lock out more weight than i can get off the initial 1-3 inches of my chest - so i guess it isn't an issue of tricep strength. since i don't use any type of shirt, what exercises focus on this part of the lift. i don't think it's an issue of bar speed either, but i might be wrong.. as always, thanks a lot.
 
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I'm with those guys....dumb-bell flies will work great. You might also want to throw some pec-deck flies in there. Good Luck!!!
 
Are you guys powerlifters? Screw dumbell flys for chest strength!

Try floor presses and presses off the pins in the rack. Floor presses work your particular sticking point well. Lay on the floor in the rack, bring the bar down until the back of your tri's rest on the floor, pause for a split second letting some of the weight rest on your tri's, then squeeze your chest hard and lock out. You can also do this with dumbells--great stretch and pump.

Illegal (wide grip beyond rings) grip is also good. Just do higer reps, like 5 or so, so you don't pull anything. I tried a heavy single twice, and twice slightly pulled my pec insertion.
 
If you do the lifts I listed correctly, then you'll be isolating your chest which is what you need to do. pm me if you need any advice!!!
 
bigmag said:
If you do the lifts I listed correctly, then you'll be isolating your chest which is what you need to do. pm me if you need any advice!!!

If you are strictly a powerlifter....you want to move as much weight as possible...then don't worry about the chest. The chest is not really that important to the bench press. Triceps are #1, then lats, then delts, and finally pecs.

I would have to agree that floor presses and illegal wides would be good for this particular sticking point. Not being able to see you lift I would also ass-u-me that some of it is a function of bar speed that needs to be addressed.

Another thing for that particular low sticking point would be 2 or 3 board presses...both great moments. Perhaps even better would be 2 board press with a cambered bar so that you are only an inch or two below chest level. Using the whole camber can really wreck your shoulders.

You also should consider bringing up your lats...they are a probable culprit when it comes to a sticking point just off the chest. Make sure that you are working them in the same plane as you bench...ie rows, rows, rows.

Good Luck
 
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Just for the record I didnt mention db flies.......they never did anything for me when done strict or otherwise. I believe in using lifts that are similar to tthe squat/bench/dl....I get far better results that way. Flies are an unrelated movement to me.


bigmag said:
I'm with those guys....dumb-bell flies will work great. You might also want to throw some pec-deck flies in there. Good Luck!!!
 
ok....he's asking about moving the weight for the first 1-3 inches off the chest. There are no tri's in this part of the lift, so he needs to work on his chest and shoulders. I'd say mainly chest but there are obviously people in here that would argue with me. That's just my .02
 
I think this might come down to individual builds. I have long arms so I have to work chest to hit the bottom of my lift. Others either use a big arch or have a shorter range of motion for some other reason, so they tend to use more shoulders at the bottom. Thats my humble newbie opinion :)

Isolation exercises such as flies have never worked well for me. For me it works better to use a lift that is very similar to the one used in competition.....hence the suggestion of db bench, wide grip bench etc.


bigmag said:
ok....he's asking about moving the weight for the first 1-3 inches off the chest. There are no tri's in this part of the lift, so he needs to work on his chest and shoulders. I'd say mainly chest but there are obviously people in here that would argue with me. That's just my .02
 
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