Question about Bench Pressing

[Blayzed4Life]

Hey I've been working out at a gym for a couple months now and I have been benching once a week. Problem is I think I might be doing it wrong because I havent really made any improvements in strength... Could somoene who knows how to properly bench tell me plz?

 

What I do is I bring the bar down alittle lower then my nipples. I herd from someone else that you should bring it down to your chin/neck area, but I dont really know how much that guy really knows about benching.

 

So if anyone here who knows the proper way please let me know thanks in andvance for any replies

[easyguy]

Umm... how heavy are the weights you are using?

[Blayzed4Life]

well I also do just the bar to start for a warmup, but anywhere from what the bar weighs to 130 pounds.

[QTpie87]

Well I'd ask someone who works at the gym.

And it might take longer then a month to see a difference. expecailly if you are only doing it once a week. are you trying to lose weight too, or just gain muscle cause also if you are trying to lose weight then the weight will come off before you can tell a difference.

Usually people I know will do cardeo one day and then muscle work out the next day. It's not good to do it everyday (muscle) (cardeo is ok though) it will actually harm your mucles by breakign them up and putting stain on them.

but you can do it more then once a week only make sure it's not two days in a row and you don't over do it.

[easyguy]

I've always been told to bring it down just below the neck. The key is to not go fast.

[benevolent]

You might be benching a weight that is just too heavy for you or not heavy enough at all. The key thing is that you have to focus on working your chest muscles in an isolated manner versus just pressing heavy weight. This is a common mistake I've seen almost everybody do, including myself.

 

As much as you might not like hearing this, you may have to reduce your weight and focus on slow, controlled movements with perfect form. You should also be benching using a free bar instead of a machine, because there are a lot of stabilizer muscles that will come into play and they need to be strengthened.

 

Another big point is that everyone's body goes through a plateau phase, which is due to the body's adjustment and eventual boredom to the movements of each exercise. If you have been going to the gym for x number of months and did the same chest routine over and over with the same weight and same reps, your body is no longer challenged and doesn't respond to this physical stress. What you have to do is shock the muscle into doing things so that it does not get accustomed and bored to your routines. This is called periodization and will vary among people, but you have to prevent your body from hitting that plateau phase. You may want to mix your work outs. Maybe do low rep, heavy weight for a month or two, then switch to a more aerobic type of routine for another two, maybe use dumbbells for various routines, etc. The key thing is variety and control.

 

I'm not a bodybuilder nor do I look like one, but I went from not benching for over 2 years, to going from 150 to 180 and now about 230 - not including the barbell, so in reality about 270 lb. It took me a little over a year, but it was well worth it. I focused on the muscle and my form, added 5-8 pounds per week if I was able to do so, varied my routines from low rep -heavy weight to high rep-low weight, and did not worry about benching so heavy. You also have to allow your body to recover and forget not to work out your other opposing muscle groups.

 

The other thing that has happened to me is that during this whole periodization phase, your body (well at least mine) will go through a point where you make some decent gains in strength. I've read that it can go on from as little as 2 weeks to over a month. This happened with my squats. I went from 230 to over 310 in about 2 months. Weird, but it happened. I'm not a huge guy - about 170 and I don't take steroids or anything of that sort, except for a post-workout protein shake. I'm just a firm believer in proper weight and proper form.

 

Good luck with your workouts.

[heloladies21]

Bring it down to the nipple. You're probably not doing enough weight, doing too many reps, and not taking enough protein in. Increase weights so you can only do 3-5 reps per set and do 4 or 5 sets. Go heavy so you have to press it out. And get a protein shake or bars. Any brand will do and consume immediately after your workout. And eat lots of natural protein as well like steakm chicken, dairy, etc. And grip the bar wide as well.

[RayKay]

benevolent and heloladies both had some good advice..

 

It is important to learn form, before you worry too much about heavier weights. When you first start lifting, your stabilizers need to learn how to well, stabilize, to get the most out of the movement. Early on, your stabilizers are still not used to it, so you won't be able to pile on lots of weight right away. A month, at only 4 total times lifting so far, is not a whole lot yet, give it time and be patient.

 

Grip bar wide, and bring down to chest/nipples. Concentrate on keeping your arms level to one another (a lot of people are weaker one side, so compensate by lifting more with one side than the other...you can try doing presses with dumbells to learn to even out a bit too). When you are starting, get someone to spot you to ensure this is being done correctly, or get a personal trainer even. A spot is also important when you start going heavier.

 

Work on form, proper nutrition (protein shake after workout, and a healthy diet overall) and then deciding what you are going for - size, or general strength to determine your weight/reps. There is tons of info out there on the internet or in magazines/books on what you should aim to lift for your goals (ie higher weights, lower reps for size....lower weights, higher reps for tone/strength).

[Markers]

What kind of strength you're after?

 

If you want to improve your max, do 2 sets with lot of weight so that you can do 3-5 reps. Also you need to do at least 2 sets with less weight, so that you can make 12 reps. Also you need to do something else than just bench. Practically work out all muscle groups (and 2 different moves for every muscle group). That way you improve your muscles, not just bench power.

 

If you want to improve your appearance (gain mass), do 3 sets with 5-8 reps.