is it possible to just not be able to bench for anything?

[clayton2127]

I seriously cant bench to save my life. I dont understand why. ive tried everything. When I say bench i mean ther bar not dumbbells.. thats what makes it so frustrating. My sets for dumbbells flat bench that i just changed from my previous routine are 95s for 10, 100's for 10, 110s for 8 and 120's for 8. previous routine was 100's for 10, 110's for 8, 120's for 8 and 130s for 6 but took 2 sets of 3 usually to do the 130's.. So if I can do those on dumbbells, why is it a struggle and an half to do 225 on the bench for 4 or 5? and before anyone says anything, the form on the dummbells are pretty much perfect, ive had people watch to make sure.lol. i have tried to tweak the form on the bench a million times but it still just sucks.. any ideas? Also, the dumbbells go up by 10's because thats just the way the gym set up its. If i could go by 5's id rather.

[clayton2127]

nobody?

[Gaspari1255]

Some people just suck at certain lifts. Arm length and height is a factor. Everyone has a lift they clean house on, and everyone has a lift that isn't great (except for BigMc lol). Your DBs are solid though, overall chest stength seems good. Don't worry about it. I haven't touched flat BB in a while. Too much rotator cuff and front delt stress.

[BgMc31]

Agreed ****** and thanks...lol. If you aren't a powerlifter, then why bench? I'm a strength athlete so benching is essential in what I do. I think I suck at benching (considering the guys I compete against are benching 600-700 raw, and I'm at the 575+ area). So it's a focus of my workouts. So if you're a bodybuilder type and don't care about ego, there is no reason to bench. But if you want the ego boost of having a big bench, focus on your tricep, shoulder, and upper back/lat strength. Video tape your bench and allow someone to critique it.

[clayton2127]

To be honest, i could care or less about what I put up for bench. For me its the idea of changing out dumbbell presses every so often to " change it up" and to still be effective to at least maintain. What ive actually found to work for me now is every 2 weeks or so just incorporate a few sets of heavier bench along with my dumbbell presses for a full week or so which sometimes is 2 days of chest and sometimes just 1. Depends on my schedule.. It seems to shock the muscle enough to do the job. Thanks for the responses, I appreciate it.

[Linuxian]

I have the SAME problem. I can do some pretty good weight with dumbbells but I can't do much of anything with the bar. I noticed a lot of shoulder issues when I was working flat bench with the bar awhile back so I stopped and switched to DBs. I've found that I get a better chest workout and have seen better results than I ever did with the bar.

In my case, I figure it could either be the subconscious fear of getting pinned under the bar if the weight is too heavy or, there is something about my shoulder joints that just doesn't jive with the ROM required for the bar...

[scotty51312]

Putting up 130lb dumbells for 6 reps isn't light weight. If you find some of ronnie colemans workout videos you see him repping 200's for 10 but at the time that was the reignin MR. O Some people just aren't built to bench heavy but that doesnt' mean they can't have very developed pecs. I've given up flat bench all together, its an egotrip. Inclines, declines, different angle fly's are all i do now. Decline bench is the way most people are strongest but its rarley done and i never understand why not?

[CMB]

Putting up 130lb dumbells for 6 reps isn't light weight. If you find some of ronnie colemans workout videos you see him repping 200's for 10 but at the time that was the reignin MR. O Some people just aren't built to bench heavy but that doesnt' mean they can't have very developed pecs. I've given up flat bench all together, its an egotrip. Inclines, declines, different angle fly's are all i do now. Decline bench is the way most people are strongest but its rarley done and i never understand why not?

As dorian yates said "decline bench is the most underrated exercise in bodybuilding".

[ranman32566]

I agree with CMB. Decline keeps you in near perfect form

[songdog]

I do all 3.But I never had a big bench.

[senorsalt]

once you have proper form and gettin the reps in who cares how much it is....