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Thread: Weak Bench compared to press

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2021
    Posts
    22

    Default Weak Bench compared to press

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    Hey Rip!

    2 weeks ago gyms opened in austria after lockdown and I got to continue my NLP. I "deloaded" by squatting deadlifting and benching with 60kgs (135lbs i guess) and pressing with 40kgs. Although my squat and deadlift are going up decently and i managed to press 60kgs for 5, my bench seems to be weak compared to my press. Last workout should have been 3x5 for 90kgs but i barely managed to get it up for 2 and the third one seemed impossible even with "you have to bench that shit" mentality. The workout before I was benching 87,5 for 4,4,3.
    As I said, I am pressing 60kgs for 5 easily but barely benching 85kgs for 5. Now I want to ask you for advice, because I dont feel like I should program like an intermediate for bench and press.

    I am around 180cm tall, weigh 85kgs and eat around 4200 kcals a day.

    Thank you sir!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Posts
    2,631

    Default

    One big mistake was just pushing the weight up when you got 4,4,3. You push the weight up when you get all 5 reps on all 3 sets. If you are pushing weight up and getting fewer and fewer reps, you're probably not advancing your strength very much, if at all. There's a number of things that could be stopping your progress, but I'll focus mainly on the disparity between the two lifts. There's still a number of things that could indicate.

    First, get your technique looked at, on BOTH lifts. Your bench could be suffering from a form error that is making it harder than it should be. Likely candidates are things like benching with a relaxed, flat black or failing to keep your scapulas abducted through the lift.. Your press could also have a form error that is making it EASIER than it should be. A lot of people unknowingly do their overhead presses as push presses. I see it happen all the time. Even olympians of the past, when the lift was contested, have made this mistake.

    Second, have you made any tweaks to the program, or are you doing any modified versions of it? For example, I've been doing a 4 day version with an upper/lower split while I bounce back from a weight cut, and doing both pressing movements in one day guarantees the second one I do will suffer.

    Third, you might not be able to advance your bench that quickly. 2.5 kg increments amount to roughly 5 pound jumps. 5 pound jumps on either pressing movement on the LP do not generally last long for most people.

    Fourth, there might just be something about your build that makes you a lot more suited to pressing than benching. But even with that in mind, I'd say consider the other three for sure. Especially the first one. If you can press 60kg easily as you say, and you are stuck at 87.5 on the bench, it's probably something you are doing wrong with one (or both) of the lifts.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    Chicago, IL
    Posts
    728

    Default

    First of all, you're underweight. By the time you get to 95-100kg, your bench will be stronger. It's possible that you're messing up either your bench and/or your press in a way that would lead to this disaparity. Post some videos on the forum for us to have a look at.

    Also, apply the concepts in here once it's time: Intermediate Programming for the Upper Body Lifts | Nick Delgadillo

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