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Thomazo
Thomazo g Tuomas Kivioja
3 Post(s)
3 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: January 1, 2017
Posted

I can't seem to increase my weight on bench press. My sticking point is at around half way through the movement. (I can get theb weight off my chest no problem, but cnat't get it past where my arms are at or a little over 90 degrees). I think my shoulders are extremely weak as I haven't had a professionally structured program before(doing the 12 week challenge now). 

 

Could my sticking point be due to weak shoulders? (Or triceps?) If so, would working shoulders twice a week be too much? I really want to get past my bench plateau.

jorgeegroj
jorgeegroj g Jorge Villarreal
106 Post(s)
106 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: January 1, 2017
Posted

I train OHP, shoulder press and arnold press for my shoulders (and other stuff that wouldn't impact my bench)

and dips, pushdowns, overhead extensions and close grip bench for my tris.

 

 

I have the exact same sticking point. Try getting more speed off your chest in order to get past that sticking point. At least that's what has worked for me in the past. Also, try to engage your lats and train your lats harder! they're super important for that point in the bench and I know I could use more lat engagement.

 

 

Best of luck getting past that plateau!

Frat bro turned barbell boss. Two black belts. (Tae-Kwon-Do and Ai-Ki-Do)
mnshahzad91
mnshahzad91 g Naveed Shahzad
16 Post(s)
16 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Lose Fat Date Joined: February 2, 2017
Posted
strongly agreed with jorgeegroj, I also had a time when I was stuck in bench press I felt pain in shoulders and thought my shoulders are too weak but the problem was actually with my form I kept the bar near to my neck and gone far wide grip on bar. then I watched scott's dumbest bench press mistakes video and it helped alot then I tried lighter weights and hit 20+ reps with controlled movements and got back on lifting heavy again in just a week.
Adawg38
Adawg38 g Aaron Henry
563 Post(s)
563 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: December 12, 2013
Posted

Stronger front Delts and Tris will definatly help your bench. Form is important like stated, pushing through your heels on the way up help. If you can't increase the weight try and add reps that's what I do then after a couple seshes drop the reps back down then increase weight.

I have been training coming up on 6 years and have made some great gainz. I've done a lot of trial and error on myself as well as learned from others and through research online. I've come along way in strength and size since I've started. I will continue to learn and make myself better each day. MS Athlete/Super Hermanite BEING CHALLENGED IN LIFE IS INEVITABLE, BEING DEFEATED IS OPTIONAL.
uyenly3010
uyenly3010 g Uyen Kly
1 Post(s)
1 Post(s) Gender: Female Goal: Lose Fat Date Joined: March 3, 2017
Posted

Hi, when I'm doing presses, I feel like I'm not activating my chest but am using my shoulders instead. How do I fix this?

Adawg38
Adawg38 g Aaron Henry
563 Post(s)
563 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: December 12, 2013
Posted
Posted By: uyenly3010

Hi, when I'm doing presses, I feel like I'm not activating my chest but am using my shoulders instead. How do I fix this?

Your front delts will be used to a degree. If you have your arms at 90 degrees instead of 45 degrees you will feel stress more on the shoulders. Also as you bring the weights up squeeze your chest more and concentrate on mind muscle connection.

 

I have been training coming up on 6 years and have made some great gainz. I've done a lot of trial and error on myself as well as learned from others and through research online. I've come along way in strength and size since I've started. I will continue to learn and make myself better each day. MS Athlete/Super Hermanite BEING CHALLENGED IN LIFE IS INEVITABLE, BEING DEFEATED IS OPTIONAL.
BryanSun0924
BryanSun0924 g Bryan Sun
4 Post(s)
4 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: March 3, 2017
Posted
Posted By: Adawg38

Your front delts will be used to a degree. If you have your arms at 90 degrees instead of 45 degrees you will feel stress more on the shoulders. Also as you bring the weights up squeeze your chest more and concentrate on mind muscle connection.

 

I just went to the gym the first time, and I bench pressed the fisrt time.

The trainer told me to widely open my arms at least onw-arm length. when I was doing it I felt nothing in my chest but burning on my shoulders.

I asked him if I was doing it wrong but he said my shoulders and arms are not strong enough. I do not know if he was right because he also told me I should workout EVERY SINGEL DAY and will get ripped soon, what a BS.

 

I was benching 0kg, just the bar, was I doing it wrong or just weak shoulders?

jorgeegroj
jorgeegroj g Jorge Villarreal
106 Post(s)
106 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: January 1, 2017
Posted
Posted By: BryanSun0924

I just went to the gym the first time, and I bench pressed the fisrt time.

The trainer told me to widely open my arms at least onw-arm length. when I was doing it I felt nothing in my chest but burning on my shoulders.

I asked him if I was doing it wrong but he said my shoulders and arms are not strong enough. I do not know if he was right because he also told me I should workout EVERY SINGEL DAY and will get ripped soon, what a BS.

 

I was benching 0kg, just the bar, was I doing it wrong or just weak shoulders?

Since you're new, it could just be weak shoudlers or something like that. However, I would argue that if you're using your shoulders that much to get burning, you're probably not in the right position. You want to retract your scapula to generate a solid foundation so that you can press up. Also, if your shoulders are not retracted, they can easily take over the movement (this is what I'm guessing happened to you). Additionally, try to hold the bar so that you're not excessively wide. I'm 6'1", with the same as my wingspan and hold the bar with my pinkies about half an inch inside the rings. This set up uses more tricep than a wider grip, but it helps me bench more weight which is what I'm after right now.

 

Look for form videos on the internet and try them out to see how you can fix this. (I like Alan Thrall's channel and Brian Alsruhe's as well for form videos. I find that they break the cookie-cutter form videos everyone makes and actually explain the mechanics involved, which works great for me).

As far as mind-muscle connection, I would suggest using dumbbell flyes so you can feel the chest stretching and contracting and thus generate that connection and can exploit it later on!

best of luck!

Frat bro turned barbell boss. Two black belts. (Tae-Kwon-Do and Ai-Ki-Do)
BryanSun0924
BryanSun0924 g Bryan Sun
4 Post(s)
4 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: March 3, 2017
Posted

English is not my native language, this sentence I do not quite understand:"I'm 6'1", with the same as my wingspan and hold the bar with my pinkies about half an inch inside the rings."

Are you saying you grab the bar very wide that your hands are just half inch away from the disks? Or just my misconception. That is so wide, is that the world of being over 6 feet? Damn every thing is smalleryell.

jorgeegroj
jorgeegroj g Jorge Villarreal
106 Post(s)
106 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: January 1, 2017
Posted
Posted By: BryanSun0924

English is not my native language, this sentence I do not quite understand:"I'm 6'1", with the same as my wingspan and hold the bar with my pinkies about half an inch inside the rings."

Are you saying you grab the bar very wide that your hands are just half inch away from the disks? Or just my misconception. That is so wide, is that the world of being over 6 feet? Damn every thing is smalleryell.

Nono, you did misunderstand a little bit. I am 6 feet 1 inch and my wingspan is the same. However, by 'the rings', I mean the little rings that are marked in the barbell. Here's a picture so you get a better idea. Some barbells won't have this, but a large majority of them do! (it's also not a standard barbell in the picture, but it's the best pic I found easily on google, haha) I do a pretty narrow grip despite being pretty tall and having long arms. This allows me to use more triceps and flare my elbows a little bit when I get to the sticking point of my bench in order to engage my shoulders more and continue pressing the weight up

Frat bro turned barbell boss. Two black belts. (Tae-Kwon-Do and Ai-Ki-Do)
BryanSun0924
BryanSun0924 g Bryan Sun
4 Post(s)
4 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: March 3, 2017
Posted

Oh I see, that makes sense. yes it is very narrow and the triceps are more participated

muscular strength
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