How to bench more

cockkksucker · 2020-05-28T13:02:11+00:00

increase ur volume dude, i was plateaued on bench for years n when i started benching 3x a week was when i finally started repping 2 plates

i ran stronglifts and added 3x8 bench at a lighter weight on my B days

Flamethrowa21 · 2020-05-28T11:34:57+00:00

Learn to arch your back (slightly) gives you more leverage and is easier on your shoulders. Also widen your grip.

MarylandLion · 2020-05-28T13:16:31+00:00

This is the opposite of what reddit says but I will drop the weight and start cranking out sets of 10-12. Once I add 10-15 lbs to the bar at that rep range, I switch back to a lower rep range and have busted through the plateau

Ebrii · 2020-05-28T10:22:21+00:00

are you following a program?

2020-05-28T14:02:25+00:00

You have to change it up. Drop the weight and start doing 3 sets of 10-12 reps with dumbbells. Also go hard on incline bench before the flat bench.

docent3434 · 2020-05-28T11:51:29+00:00

I would try this.

Spoto press. Good variation to implement in training program.
Play with TUT, time under tension that is. Make tempo work for you. For instance you could do 1 training heavy ones, like 2-3 sec eccentric, 1 sec pause, fast concentric. Other time you could do lighter weight and do 3-3-3
Check your form. Make use of the floor and leg drive. If you do not contract glutes and use irradiation (google it) you potentialy miss on a lot of force. DO NOT LOCK YOUR SHOULDER BLADES DOWN. When lowering yes, keep em tight and in depression, otherwise when going up let em move freely. Brace is important. If you wanna hypertrophy and not so much powerlift stuff I would recommend lesser arch
Paused bench variations. Depending of position where you are weak (lockout, lower poisition..) you could do pauses there. For 2 - 3 seconds. That will translate into more weight.
Bench more with proper form. Use the system of neuroplaysticity.
Find good grip depending on your body type.
Reschedule program. Dump some volume on other exericses in favour of the ones benefiting your bench.
If you have possibility hire a coach who has experience or atleast bribe a friend to check your form and keep an eye on you.
Get some blood in lats before doing bench press. That way you will have more stability. You could do some isometrics with a elastic band or some low weight lat pull downs. Do not do them straight arms, slightly flexed so you take out the triceps out of the equation.
If you have more questions, just reply I'll do my best to help (:

SpacedRepetition · 2020-05-28T12:01:54+00:00

Get leg drive into it. Put some resistance bands longitudinally on the bench to provide more friction (so you can use more leg drive without flying off the top end of the bench).

Retract and depress scapula, squeeze your lats during the bench (lat pulldowns prior to bench to warm-up)

Widen your grip. I usually go for ring finger on the little notches on the bar

I literally went from benching 80kg for 6 reps on a good day to benching 100kg for 6 reps in a month by doing these three things. My body weight only went from 80kg - 81kg btw

JzKy24 · 2020-05-28T15:37:32+00:00

You have two options. I saw in another comment that you're still in a 5x5 program. I assume you've been in this program for a long time since you said you've been benching 10kg above your bodyweight for 6 months. 5x5 programs are not meant to be done long term. The average is around 3-6 months. So I recommend you change into another program, specifically an intermediate one. If you don't want to change programs, then the other option is to deload. Also, please do follow the set and rep schemes.

Yolo-Tomasi · 2020-05-28T18:42:07+00:00

Enough calories - enough protein per day - and sleep. And if you're doing 5x5 then stick to the program, load the StrongLifts app and don't deviate from what it tells you.

ENTPunisher · 2020-05-28T21:06:44+00:00

Do a drop set after your BP. Do bicep exercises, do some ab exercises, and add some cardio. That's what worked for me. Report back with results.

povertymayne · 2020-05-29T02:27:54+00:00

Im not the strongest dude, i max my bench at tree fiddy and this are the things that helped me. 1.- eat more, put more meat on your bones. 2.- find accessories that will directly help YOU and YOUR bench. This may take time. I like incline benching, 3 sec pause bench, & slingshot bench. Close grip bench never did shit for me. 3.- increase bench volume per week. My sweet spot is about 3-4 times per week. 1 day is competition bench and the other days are usually pause bench & slingshot bench. Also my sweet spot for rep ranges is usually 3-6 reps per set. 4.- this one is very personal. I used to barbell squat before benching and often when I would move to bench afterwards, my shoulders felt kinda weak, so I started doing SSB squats on the days i had to squat before bench and my bench feels great.

Good luck homie

2020-05-28T11:52:49+00:00

5 x 5, try increasing the weight each time

BroSplit1 · 2020-05-28T11:57:08+00:00

5/3/1 slow and steady progressive overload that utilises deloading

boy_named_su · 2020-05-28T17:02:24+00:00

go to doctor, get blood work for vitamins, minerals, hormones. fix any deficiencies with diet first

what is your height, weight?

calorie intake, protein intake on lift days? need small calorie surplus on lift days. if you're 175 lb, you want at least 111g protein per day, up to 262g

supplements? magnesium and zinc are T precursors. creatine good. vitamin D necessary. Omega 3s can help. B12 if you don't eat fish

how often lifting? should be 3 days a week max. how much trying to increase weight by (should be 2.5 lb per side)

try rolling back 15 lb or so, then start adding weight again

since you're on 5x5, consider switching to Mad Cow now that you've plateaued (you should be able to find link on the 5x5 site)

Title	How to bench more
Author	amphix339
Upvotes	8
Comments	27
Date	May 28, 2020 10:16 AM UTC (6 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/gs3m8j/how_to_bench_more/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/how-to-bench-more.669616 https://theredarchive.com/post/669616

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