Couple Honest Questions.. things i just dont get.

[brownstown89]

1. Ok everytime in the gym i happen to strike up a conversation on chest day how i cant raise my bench. everyone suggests FORM FORM FORM. as in shoulder blades squeezed and elbows tucked. Once i tell them i do that the next is you must be over training flat barbell bench do dumbell bench and heres what REALLY makes no sense...

Ok im flat dumbell benching because my shoulder hurts from barbell bench press. When you bench with barbells you tuck your elbows in ur side, why the hell wouldnt i do that for dumbell bench? why is it ok to bench with ur elbows 90 degrees and flared out on dumbell bench but not barbell?

Now i always DB bench with my elbows in 45 degrees. I can do the same weight and reps on both. both give me the same ROM. but if your goal is to raise ur flat bench or hell keep ur shoulders healthy why does anyone bench with there elbows out on flat DB bench?

also another thing.

my diets not the best. i mean i get 150 (at the minumum really bad day) or 200 ( real good day). 180 usually grams of protien... now i always will eat skittles maybe ice cream or something a day some junk.... but yet it doesnt effect my gains? i mean not bieng ****y i look pretty damn good for 175. Im not trying to bodybuild just trying to stay lean and get bigger but my main focus is still on the Squat bench and deadlift.

 

[WeakPoint]

I never thought it was proper to have your elbows flared when doing dumbbell bench, where did you hear that? Personally I just try to get as much of a stretch as possible by bringing the dumbbells far down. Really squeeze and feel it, drop weight and just do it nice and slow. Have you tried doing any sort of drop-sets? Do a weight thats a bit more then you usually do (on barbell), then do as many reps as possible. Then get the person spotting you to drop the weight down to something you can do a comfortable 10 reps of, quickly do as many reps as possible. Try this on your 3rd or 4th set.
You shouldn't feel it as much as your saying on your shoulders, maybe go farther down with the bar, along the nipple or a little below the nipples, or bring your shoulders/tri's up a bit first.

 

[at1010]

one tip i could give that helped boost my bench was doing slow half reps on a smith machine....do ten rep half way up then ten reps half way down then ten full reps nice and slow....i mean i prob dont have perfect bench form but i weight 195 and can push over 300 and can do 225 for 19reps....and i have used thaat half rep method to get those gains because they have come recently

 

[NovaZ]

The people who are advocating that you do Flat DB Bench in the "crucifix" style with elbows high are misinformed. Do it with the elbows tucked, as as you said thats what makes sense. Be conscious of where you are getting your information.

Im not sure I understand what you are asking with your diet, but it seems that you are blessed with being genetically able to eat a little loose in terms of good calories and dont see any deficit from it. And thats good for you, a lot of people cannot do that and not see the added bodyfat from it, like myself.

 

[Resolve]

Regarding the bench, bear in mind that maximal effort is only part of the equation. Plyometric and Speed movements can and will help break a plateau, as will supplemental antagonistic movements.

What does this mean? One day a week might be dedicated to heavy bench for low reps (5-1) and maybe some partial ROM supramaximal work, while another day of the week could be explosive push ups and speed bench.

The antagonistic movement would be to incorporate barbell or db rows into your bench day as well, working towards matching your row weight with your bench weight. Having a strong back contributes more than you might think to a good bench press.

 

[at1010]

Regarding the bench, bear in mind that maximal effort is only part of the equation. Plyometric and Speed movements can and will help break a plateau, as will supplemental antagonistic movements.

What does this mean? One day a week might be dedicated to heavy bench for low reps (5-1) and maybe some partial ROM supramaximal work, while another day of the week could be explosive push ups and speed bench.

The antagonistic movement would be to incorporate barbell or db rows into your bench day as well, working towards matching your row weight with your bench weight. Having a strong back contributes more than you might think to a good bench press.

great post man...lats are very important

 

[brownstown89]

well the guy spotting me often try to tell me to tucking my elbows during DB bench is cheating to move more weight. and i tell them i dont wanna reck my shoulders and to go mimmick the motions elbows out and elbows in.. in the mirror they both feel the same ones better for ur shoulders.. a no brainer too me.

and yea i been slacking on the diet so far and its going ok.. still doing light weights tho hopefully getting back to real heavy and mind back onto my diet after vacation

 

[jcp2]

Brownstone i do dumbell inclines sometimes to make my chest a little bigger, but not really for my bench. To be honest when i have done dumbells in the past i have done them with palms facing each other. That single program i posted on here is what makes me the fastest. I concentrate on speed when doing that program and my bar speed skyrockets. Last time i finished the program i missed my last bench around halfway up after a pause. That may have been the first time in my life i missed a bench anywhere but off my chest. What i gathered from all this was it was more important for me to get super explosive than to continue to try and work a ton my low end bench.

 

[soseg]

tucking in your elbows and shoulders is more of a power lifting style to help you push up more weight (correct me if im wrong?)

I find if i flare out a little more i get more muscle burn.... but push out a good 10-20lbs less