Bench Press

[DuffRyder17]

I have been working out pretty seriously for about a year now. I have improved my bench press pretty dramatically from a 135lbs to 205lbs for my regular sets.
I think I want to keep going until I can bench 250, I don't want to over bulk...
I just watched a youtube where Dana White(UFC President(bald guy)) Benches 315.
but I am 5'9" with a pretty narrow frame...
so I guess I am asking someone with knowledge and XP. to evalute my goal and give me some feedback...
-any bench press discussion is welcome as well.

[Sean25]

Yeah when I was lifting for football 2 years ago I got my Bench press up to 310.. I'm only 5'8 so the size that came with it looked kinda goofy on a shorter guy like me..  So ever since then I've stayed at about 240-250.. I was too concerned about being big and now I run a lot so not only is there size but i've been getting cut up too.. So I think staying around there is a good idea and make sure you don't count out the rest of the core muscles like ur legs back and abs

[Kratos]

Benching is fun. I got up to a 365 max at one point, but I was also a powerlifter. Squatting and deadlifting believe it or not can improve your bench. Close grip bench for the triceps also helps significantly. Close grip alone made my bench shoot up around 30 lbs within a month-month and a half. Well, my powerlifting days are over due to feeling like utter crap all the time. So I decided to move on to fighting.

[(|8-)]

Not everyone bulks up when they get stronger (like me, for instance).  Roughly speaking, 25% of people are endurance types (don't bulk up), 25% are sprinters (bulk up), and 50% are mixed.  If you still have a "narrow frame" after a year of working out, you're probably not in the sprinter category.

[DuffRyder17]

Not everyone bulks up when they get stronger (like me, for instance).  Roughly speaking, 25% of people are endurance types (don't bulk up), 25% are sprinters (bulk up), and 50% are mixed.  If you still have a "narrow frame" after a year of working out, you're probably not in the sprinter category.

yea it takes alot of protein and big weights for me to put on muscle, I know I will never be as broad as the big guys in the gym. but the muscle is stacking on slowly but surely.

[DuffRyder17]

probably should mention that I still compete in running distances 1 mile to 10k(6.1miles)

[skinhead002]

I saw this topicand just wanted to add a warning to all who go after building those "pecs".

I am in the middle of an EXTREMELY PAINFUL recovery/rehab from surgery reconnecting my left pec major(left chest muscle) where the thing connects to the upper arm.  I work out a lot, lifting light to moderate weights, running/biking, etc. My pec was completely severed in two places in a work related injury last fall(was NOT lifting weights). I had HORRIBLE brusing that ran from my left armpit all the way down my left arm almost to my wrist.  The pec muscle was pulled away from the junction with left arm leaving a large "crater" by the arm pit. The muscle lay in sort of a lump  over towards the center of the left of my chest. It reminded me of a pillow laying under the covers of an unmamade bed. Aside from the pain following the injury, I had no strength in my left arm and also these strange "convulsions" in my left bicep.

The ortho surgeon that reattached it told me that I was first patient he had with a severed pec that did not sustain it during bench pressing. Keep your grips on the bar narrow and please consider the stress you are placing on your pecs  I now have an incision that runs from my lower collar bone down the front of my left shoulder to my upper bicep.  Almost three months after the surgery; I am still experiencing a lot pain and while mobility is improving, I have months of rehab to go before I can go back to work and liting weights.  I can say that my chest will never be normal and my left pec no longer matches my right. My surgeon said my severs were complete and were repaired using hardward and Kevlar stiches. He  said total severs(tears) are actually better to repair and heal stronger than a partial tear.

In short, I want no one to go through what I have since October following the initial injury and subsequent surgery. Its been and continues to be miserable.

[Stu]

I can't even imagine what a horrible experience that has been and continues to be.  I hope you continue to make steady progress.

[DuffRyder17]

I am sorry you had to go thru that, it sounds like a nightmare.
let it be a lesson to us all to use good form and to slowly increase weights.

[Dome of Steele]

Hey Ryder,
It's great to have fitness goals, but I hope you are well-rounded in your workouts.  Alot of guys just do bench and curls and end up with just ridiculous looking bodies.  You should do upper back, lower back, legs etc as well. 

And if you're upping your weight that much, perhaps you should look into powerlifting.  They have push pull competitions, which have rows, and bench.  And overall powerlifting competitions which add squats into the mix. 
NOTHING gets your blood pumping like squats brutha! 

keep it up,

Steele

[nomad]

Alot of how your gonna look from working out has to do with how you work out and how your body is built. I have friends that worked out with me years ago that were skinny little dudes and they had all the strength you could want. One of my friends was 5'8" 155 lbs and was benching 375 at max out.

From what I've seen in the gyms is those guys that tear muscles are the ones that go to much to soon and use horrible form

[skinhead002]

Im just passing on "lessons learned" from experience. Im not a bodybuilder but have lifted weights for years as past of total fitness. I rarely bench more than 2/3s my body weight. I got the impression from my doc that the previous pec tears he repaied were on seasoned body builders. I'll ask him on next visit.

I work with a guy that is a bodybuilder and he has been a help with advice on injury. He has a friend that was a bodybuider who had a TOTAL tear of the pec benchpressing. It took a year to recover which appears to be the route for me.

This has been a bad injury. I did not tear mine lifting but by landing on my left side during other training. Right now, as I rehab, my left pec is "higher" than my right, and I believe that once I start really exercising again; it will still not be right.  Im just offering you all my insights to help mitigate the risks.

[rward086]

Hypertrophy (building muscle) does not equal strength. Strength is basically a measure of muscle contraction and it's recruitment of motor units. If you want to train just for strength, your typical 10, 8, 6 routine will not accomplish that efficiently.

My suggestion to get your bench press up as efficiently and quickly as possible is to do Max Effort and Dynamic Effort workouts for your bench press. You would need to work bench press twice a week. These are powerlifting techniques. Do some research on the two methods I mentioned.

Also REMEMBER TO TRAIN YOUR LEGS! An efficient bench press is one that uses sufficient leg drive. To accomplish that, you need to have a set of legs.

[rward086]

Benching is fun. I got up to a 365 max at one point, but I was also a powerlifter. Squatting and deadlifting believe it or not can improve your bench. Close grip bench for the triceps also helps significantly. Close grip alone made my bench shoot up around 30 lbs within a month-month and a half. Well, my powerlifting days are over due to feeling like utter crap all the time. So I decided to move on to fighting.

Peter makes a good point here. Speed and power is the most important part of a bench press (during the concentric phase). Also, most people don't realize that the chest plays a small role in the bench press compared to the 1. Triceps 2. Shoulders and 3. Legs.

[TANK25]

probably should mention that I still compete in running distances 1 mile to 10k(6.1miles)

I don`t know how often you run,but long distance running and trying to build up your bench does not mix.