Bench Press..help needed

[mchicia1]

Hi first time poster here, but I have been reading for about a year.

Anyway, I have been having issues with my bench press and it seems to be only localized to the gym I go to...

For instance, I began lifting about 1.5 years ago and I got my 5x5 bench up to 225 with no issues. But then suddenly, out of no where, my bench began to decline...I began struggling with 225 and eventually I could only do 215 by 5 and even that was a struggle. The weird thing is, when I lifted at my school I could do 225 with no problem. The bar there seemed A LOT thinner. The bar at my gym is very thick.

I took about 5 months off and stuck to dumbbells only. I worked my way up to 100's for 5 sets of 6 reps and it is fairly easy. I even got my close grip bench up to 205 for 5 reps on my last set.

Today I went ahead and tried 225 again for a set...and it was even harder than it was when I stopped. I was expecting it to feel light, especially since I got my close grip to 205, but I just had so much trouble getting it off my chest. Once it got off my chest, the weight flew up.

I am beginning to believe that it may be my right shoulder. I was a college pitcher for 5 years and my right shoulder is very loose so it may have trouble stabilizing the weight.

I will list my workout and hopefully I can get some advice. I have been eating 4500 calories a day for the last month and have put on 6 solid pounds, but still no gains in bench it seems. I am 6'5" 217. I will only list the weights on the compound exercises. Most of my accessory exercises are in the 8 to 10 rep range.

Monday Arms:
Close Grip: 135 X 12, 175 X 8, 205 X 5
Preacher Bar Curls: 3 Sets
Rope Pulldowns: 3 Sets
Seated Hammer DB Curls: 3 Sets
Straight Bar Pushdowns: 3 Sets
Standing DB Curls: 3 Sets

Tuesday Legs:
Deep Squats (I get down there): 225 X 8, 265 X 6, 315 X 3, 265 X 6, 225 X 8Standing Lunges: 3 Sets
Calf Raises: 3 Sets
RDL's: 3 Sets
Leg Extension: 3 Sets
Leg Curls: 3 Sets

Thursday Chest/Back:
DB Bench: 5 sets of 100 X 6
T-Bar Row: Heavy weight for 3 sets
One Arm DB Bench: 3 Sets of 80's to 90's.
Bent Over Rows: 3 Sets
DB Shrugs: 3 Sets
Seated Cable Rows: 3 Sets

Friday:
Deadlifts (Sumo): 225 X 6, 275 X 5, 315 X 5, 335 X 4, 355 X 3


I see gains in my deadlifts and squats every week...

I have some theories on why my bench won't go up..

1) I don't do any shoulder isolation except for rotator cuff band exercises. Reason is because it puts stress on my loose right shoulder.
2) Maybe bench just seemed difficult today because I was only doing dumbbells for the last 5 months.
3) I have extremely LONG arms...could this make it harder than the average male?


Let me know what you guys think. Thank you very much.

[jbrin0tk]

I don't feel qualified to give you routine advice, but I do know that long arms can make benching harder. I'm 6'4 and I know that my arm length has made benching feel really awkward in the past.

[BigTallOx]

DB Bench: 5 sets of 100 X 6

From my experience, doing dumbbell bench doesn't really transfer to barbell bench. If you want your barbell bench to increase then you should do barbell bench. I'm not saying don't do dumbbell bench, but don't expect it to make your barbell bench stronger.

One Arm DB Bench: 3 Sets of 80's to 90's.

Why do these? Maybe I'm missing something. Personally, I don't see it helping your barbell bench.

2) Maybe bench just seemed difficult today because I was only doing dumbbells for the last 5 months.

Yes. This is the reason.

3) I have extremely LONG arms...could this make it harder than the average male?

I'm 6'8" and also have long arms. Yes, i believe it makes benching harder, but it's not a reason ( or excuse ) for not making gains. Even if you have long arms, if your bench isn't going up, your workout routine is wrong, or your form is wrong, you're overtraining, not eating right,...

[Kastro]

Your bench doesn't go up because you don't bench.

[smokinHawk]

I doubt he is overtraining.


I dont think your used to the heavy weight, try the barbel bench more, getting some sets of ten, 5, 3, 2, and 1 (not necessarily all those rep ranges the same
day, like one week do a set of 10, then a 3 sets of 5 (you need to figure out though how many sets your body needs so dont go by my exact sets)
then next week do a set of 10 or 8 then maybe 3 sets of 3, and you get the idea,
basically you need to get your body trained to do different, and heavy weight ranges.

also where do you grip, hopefully max legal which would be index on the outer rings.

[mchicia1]

Thanks for the responses...

I will just try to do more bench I suppose. I agree, I think it is just all in my head because I am not used to the heavy weight. The same thing happened to me on squats..I got stuck at 225 and one day I just said **** it and started piling on the weight doing like 3 reps at a time.

Now the question is...I like my gains in my DB press over the last few months...do I continue doing these still?

[smokinHawk]

i think dumb bell presses are a waste.
go heavy or go home.