48
votes
How much will I be able to bench press?
Given your height/weight, you are fairly lean and your running will not have done much to develop your chest muscles. Unless your other activities have worked them, I think it is unlikely you will be ...
- 956
26
votes
How much will I be able to bench press?
First off, props to your daughter. That's very respectable for a girl that age & size.
Second, unless there's money on this, start with an empty bar (45 lbs).
Even if you can lift more than ...
- 778
18
votes
How much will I be able to bench press?
Bench pressing your body weight is actually quite impressive and would take several months of training to achieve. In my experience, someone new to weight training might be able to lift 50-70% ...
- 540
11
votes
Program for people with crappy genetics?
Yes, you do need a new program, because Starting Strength is not intended to be run for any more than 3 months, and if you've been doing it for longer then you're not actually doing the program. ...
- 13.7k
9
votes
Is Rich Piana's strength achievable without anabolic steroids?
To get some idea as to the maximum you will be able to lift while being drug tested and maintaining 75kg we can look to the IPF (International Powerlifting Federation) records. They perform checks for ...
- 6,972
9
votes
Accepted
Bench Press Form Check
First: Good work on your bench so far. The form is quite good and you've clearly worked hard. I'm also very happy to see you trying to do anything you can do to get better (for example making the ...
- 470
8
votes
Recurring muscle pull in Upper-back/Neck when doing overhead press/bench press - form advice
There can be many reasons for muscle spasms/pulls in the neck area, including (in no particular order):
Insufficient food: the muscles lack the glycogen stores required and overcompensate
...
- 42.6k
8
votes
How much will I be able to bench press?
Thank you all for your answers/advice/contributions - can't say that I was expecting such a flurry!
We went to the gym this evening, and it was a new experience, to say the least. Clarification: I am ...
- 311
7
votes
Recurring muscle pull in Upper-back/Neck when doing overhead press/bench press - form advice
This has happened to me a lot over the years. I found it was caused by tightness of the levator scapulae and middle and upper trapezius and a weak lower trapezius and serratus. All largely sorted ...
- 71
7
votes
Increase bench press 1RM
I bench press once a week
I personally would not expect my bench press 1RM to increase past the absolute novice level if I only bench pressed once a week.
Consider bench pressing three times a week....
- 24.9k
6
votes
Increase bench press 1RM
Try micro loading, benching 2-3 times a week, and eating more. See if you can find some 1 or 1 1/2 pound plates in these trying times. Speaker magnets work well if you have iron plates and can’t find ...
- 1,297
6
votes
Will reducing rest between sets make push ups better for hypertrophy?
When I do the feet elevated push ups, I did about 25 to get close to
failure. If the scale says I'm pushing around 100-105 pounds, that
seems to conflict with bench press 75% 1RM @ 110 lbs. for 10 ...
- 2,432
5
votes
Accepted
Holding weights on bench press flyes
I'll preface this by saying this is purely my opinion based on many years of training and experience as a trainer.
I, personally, would not perform “one more set with heavy weight stretching my ...
- 6,641
5
votes
Accepted
Bench press grip, thumb placement
This topic can be as divisive as whether training deadlifts with straps is effective or not. Since powerlifting is my background, and powerlifters tend to be the biggest proponents of the false grip (...
- 42.6k
5
votes
Why big weight bench press makes me feel less sore?
Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is what what we usually mean when we talk about soreness. Let me explain some basics before going to the bench press example.
DOMS is caused in general by ...
- 398
5
votes
Bench 225 in two months?
My current bench press 1-RM is close to 170 lbs. Is it possible to
bring my 1-RM to around 225 lbs in just six weeks?
As with everything, the answer is somewhere between "yes" and "no", or, as I ...
- 4,733
5
votes
Accepted
Should I bench press without an arch during training?
Stick with the powerlifting style benchpress. Do supplementary higher rep/lower weight dumbbell benchpresses afterwards.
As you figured, benching with arched back has its benefits:
it helps you ...
5
votes
Accepted
Analysis of the bar path in bench press
The bar above the front delts at the bottom makes flare the elbows and cause shoulder impingement. Why isn't it a problem at the top (where the bar is above the shoulders)?
It's not only debatable ...
- 13.7k
5
votes
How does a "seated chest press" machine differ from a regular bench press?
Generally, the main difference between free weights and machines is the use/non-use of stabilizing muscles. When you do any free weight exercise, you have to work to keep the weights on the correct ...
- 189
5
votes
Program for people with crappy genetics?
I've got a couple points to add and I didn't want to tack them onto David's answer as comments. For the record, I believe David has hit quite a few great points. I do believe the mental game in ...
- 4,538
5
votes
How to up my bench?
You've got two pathways to increase your bench press: more muscle and better technique. Both have quite a few answers on the site so you can browse around but the summary of each is this:
More muscle ...
- 4,538
5
votes
Accepted
Can bench pressing an unevenly loaded bar lead to injury?
Given that the one arm dumbbell bench press is a reasonably common exercise that puts all of the load on one arm and yet doesn't seem to have any elevated risk associated with it, it seems extremely ...
- 13.7k
5
votes
Accepted
What is the bench press form for every day life?
Arching on the bench press creates a favorable position for the shoulders.
The shoulder is the most mobile joint in the entire body. Benching with a flat back allows the whole shoulder joint to move ...
- 3,786
5
votes
Accepted
What is the rationale between the ninty degree at the elbow for pressing motions?
It’s fine to go past 90 degrees.
There is no reason to avoid degrees of elbow flexion beyond 90 degrees in pressing movements. Your elbows and shoulders were made to do that just fine. One thing to ...
- 3,786
5
votes
Maximum bench press
It is impossible to say.
Interindividual variation in well controlled strength training studies is already tremendous. Stop controlling variables, as in, just live your life, it is simply impossible ...
- 3,786
4
votes
Recurring muscle pull in Upper-back/Neck when doing overhead press/bench press - form advice
Their answers hold weight... I've noticed the pull or tear when the weight was a little heavy or a lot heavy. Also every time you actually move your head forward or look down to do the weight, it's ...
- 41
4
votes
Will incline press target shoulders more than chest?
It does both. The amount of chest involvement depends on the width of your hand placement. Experiment with that and make note of where you feel it in your chest most.
Flat bench also works your ...
- 42.6k
4
votes
Bench press - arm position
I highly recommend reading the following two articles by Paul Carter:
Developing Your Raw Bench Part 1
Developing Your Raw Bench Part 2
They cover all that you really need to know about the bench ...
- 42.6k
4
votes
Accepted
Does proper incline bench form require pinched shoulder blades?
We usually refrain from offering diagnoses here, for obvious reasons, but you touch on something important: Bench press prep. So I'll touch on it too.
I would caution against doing the exact same ...
- 17.9k
4
votes
How much will I be able to bench press?
According to the charts linked below, you should expect yourself to be able to bench press between 74 and 110 lbs as your one rep max. When doing sets, you’ll be doing less weight.
You will be “...
- 4,412
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