[Blesum]

185 lbs.



Hey, it's a personal best. Yeah, I know you guys can bench that with your pinkies, but cut me some slack. I'm working my way there. Look at my chest in my avatar, it's pathetic.

Question: Does doing 1 rep max lifts have a place in my routine when I'm trying to become stronger? Or should I be focusing on multiple rep max lifts instead of one rep max lifts? I was also able to do 4 175's tonight. Which would be better to do for strength gains? I normally do 6x 155 for 3 sets.

-Blesum

[MGH1982]

Nice working bro.. once u get to 225 its a breeze ... Just keep training hard and for strength I like pyramiding my bench. ex: 5-4-3-2-3-4-5 -> those numbers repesent reps... every one is different and has different techniques.. hopefully more people will chime in

[canadian champ]

Originally Posted by MGH1982

Nice working bro.. once u get to 225 its a breeze ... Just keep training hard and for strength I like pyramiding my bench. ex: 5-4-3-2-3-4-5 -> those numbers repesent reps... every one is different and has different techniques.. hopefully more people will chime in

This seems like too many reps/sets... atleast it would be for me. It really depends on you and how you react to different numbers of reps. For me, 6 is the magic number. I prefer to actually pyramid up and down like MGH but with fewer sets.
I think that 1 rep sets do have a place (although I prefer negatives) but are best used to break plateaus then for regular routines.
cc

[Beowulf]

Originally Posted by Blesum

185 lbs.



Hey, it's a personal best. Yeah, I know you guys can bench that with your pinkies, but cut me some slack. I'm working my way there. Look at my chest in my avatar, it's pathetic.

Question: Does doing 1 rep max lifts have a place in my routine when I'm trying to become stronger? Or should I be focusing on multiple rep max lifts instead of one rep max lifts? I was also able to do 4 175's tonight. Which would be better to do for strength gains? I normally do 6x 155 for 3 sets.

-Blesum

Hey man, if it's good for you that is all that matters. I personally think you should always sacrifice weight for form. I don't even do flat bench these days b/c every time I do I get into a pissing contest with myself and end up having to back of b/c of RC pain

Trying to go too heavy is the surest way to put your training on hold. Try TUT; it is great for hypertrophy, and it is much kinder to the joints.

[kwyckemynd00]

Personally, I do ONE and ONLY ONE set of flat bench per workout session (not including warm ups). I just get my ego set out of the way, lol. From there I do a lot of smith incline.

But, these days I prefer to stick between 6 and 8 reps for my flat barbell bench and gaining strength. If I hit 10 reps, its time to add weight FOR SURE.

185 is a good 1RM, tha's when it looks like ur starting to get some heavy weight on there! I think that's probably the first big benchmark for most people, so you're on your way. Next thing you know, you'll be benching 315 and be bummed you only got it twice, lol.

[jminis]

Great work, congrats and keep it up

[ivydude]

Originally Posted by Blesum

Question: Does doing 1 rep max lifts have a place in my routine when I'm trying to become stronger? Or should I be focusing on multiple rep max lifts instead of one rep max lifts? I was also able to do 4 175's tonight. Which would be better to do for strength gains? I normally do 6x 155 for 3 sets.

-Blesum

1 RM maxes have a place in your routine if you train for a 1 RM (i.e. powerlifting). Even if you are more of a BBer, I still think every 6 or so weeks its good to max out to gauge your progress.

In general though, if you're looking to beef up your chest with strength gains as a side effect, I would look into DC training.

[Socrates44]

I am an ex-power lifiter and I found I increased strenghth the most when i used the Buckeye Chart
http://www.criticalbench.com/chart.htm
The number to your extreme left is the amount of weight you choose, and then follow the top number across to see what max you should be at. According to the info you gave you should be maxing out at 188lbs, which is almost dead on, so good job on that.

Bench press is a decent exercise, you will see a greater gain in your bench if you keep the bench-press a "B" exercise and replace it with flat-bench dumbells and more french presses and tricep extensions. The bench press is comprised of primarially 60-40 ratio, chest and triceps respectivly.

Keep training hard and hitting the gym, good luck bro.

[Blesum]

TUT, DC, Buckeye...

Okay, I'll look into all of these charts and methods.

Many thanks for the input and the postive encouragements. I was kinda expecting to get flamed for being so weak compared to you guys though.

Ive been dreaming of benching 235 for years now. Someday, someday...

-Blesum

[kwyckemynd00]

TUT, DC, Buckeye...all great to read up on, but, you can't leave out the good 'ol fashioned: eat, sleep, and just freggin' lift method either

Some people increase bench by finding weak spots, tris, delts, chest, etc and doing more exercises with those bodyparts. Or, look for overtrained bodyparts and give them a break. I'd say one thing that tends to help everyone--a very simple thing--in increasing bench would be to start doing some pause benches. Slow eccentric, pause on the chest (no momentum) and them explode up. That simple.

The most important thing is just to get in there and do it.

[guyfromkop2]

Originally Posted by kwyckemynd00

TUT, DC, Buckeye...all great to read up on, but, you can't leave out the good 'ol fashioned: eat, sleep, and just freggin' lift method either

The most important thing is just to get in there and do it.

best advice anyone can ever give anyone when it comes to lifting weights

[WannaGro]

Congrats man, and like they were saying it will get easier after a while but definitely use good form, my weights actually increased faster once my form was really good. And the TUT is great thats what I do, I use 3-1-3, and I have my weekly power bench day which I use the same TUT cadence and do 10 sets of 3 reps, pyramiding the like last weeks looked like this, 225-245-265-275-295-305-295-295-275-265 were the weights I did. I was off though, I should have been at 315, but wasn't feeling super great. When I first started 4 years ago 135 was the top of my pyramid. When you first start doing this though start low in weight and get your form and timing down, and make sure you have a spotter whenever you are close to your max. Good luck.

WannaGro

[piepiezzz]

I can remember 10 yrs ago when I couldn't even do 185....and I was in college at the time..........now I'm throwing around almost 5 bills......Keep at it and remeber NUTRITION is 60% of your training.

[bodebldr2000]

Hey great job bro! I remember when I first started working out, I tried to bench 95lbs and it dropped on my chest like it was 500lbs lol Now I am glad to say I am part of the 300lb club. Work hard but smart, leave the ego at home or you will pay dearly. Good luck!!

[LCSULLA]

Congrats on the on the lift, bro. Pretty soon 225lbs!

[Socrates44]

Yea just with lifting remember one thing:
KISS- Keep it simple, stupid.

When you walk in the door of the gym, check your ego there and just lift for your body, not for the people watching. I forgot to check the ego one day and dropped 315 on my chest because i told my buddy i didnt need a spot. Fifth rep and my hand slipped (doing reverse grip) and boom....broken sternum. Now im struggling with 285 once, so just listen to your body and not anyone else. We can throw you tons of information but ultimately you have to listen to your body.

Good luck man, 225 will be a thing of the past in no time. Youll be set on 3 bills before you know it

[BHERTZ]

There is some awesome advice in here. I just want to add a couple of stories of encouragement for ya to think about...

I am only 21. When I was 18 I was stick thin. At 6'0+ I was only 160 lbs. I had already been lifting for a year or so and got my bench up to a pathetic 135x1. Think about that one for a second.

Today (3.5 yrs of college later) I am almost 200 lbs, and still naturally cut. Ok great so I put on some bodyweight....What you also need to know is that I just stuck 335x1 last week on bench. That means I gained almost 40lbs of lean muscle and increased my bench 200 lbs!! (no needles needed either)

If you put your dues in, the results will come. What you put in is what will come out. Good luck!

[Blesum]

Great posts again, everybody. Looking very much forward to 225 some day soon. Going to start putting my feet up on the bench to keep my back from arching. I read that by doing this, the pecs will get more simulation and a better workout each time.

-Blesum