Bench press limits?

[pestosterone]

When I bench heavy like 6 rep sets to failure that much weight even when form is correct it feels as if my( right pec this time) wants to rip in half or lose off of the tendons and will be sore for a few weeks and cause me to go lighter it'll heal and I can feel it working with the lighter weights untill it heals. After this it's fine usually about a 3 week period and then I am reluctant to go heavy again for a while. It's lIke I'm strong enough to do more but I will certainly get a serious problem if I train My chest heavy. WTF is that about

[jpm101]

WTF...indeed. 

You stated your problem and answered it at the same time, in the same paragraph. A lot of GB'ers do that, so your not alone. I'll let you ponder that.

Good Luck

[Donny]

Bench press is not the best exercise for pecs..Dips and Flyes.

[jpm101]

True the standard bench press is not the best movement for building chest/pecs, for the majority of men. The exceptions get great results from this one basic exercise, seemly with a natural anatomy for this lift.  If your a natural, than your a natural and the advantage is yours.

There is a bar that has been around for awhile, that seems to give an edge to those wishing to gain the advantage of doing BP's and avoid injury at the same time. It's called a Football Bar. Lets be honest, benching is one of the better upper body exercise, which , this bar tends to make it more workable for just about everyone. Nothing is 100%, but worth a try if interested.

The  advantage is  in  the hand spacing and angled grips it allows the lifter.  With a design that looks familiar if having used a tricep bar before. In fact, could use the Football Bar for the arms. The front squat will adapt well for most guy's when using this type bar. Might suggest going light at first, if first trying this style bar out.  It becomes a different learning experience , like any other new exercise equipment.

Lot of colleges training gyms and sports centers have this type bar. I have trained at a few college gyms, and this
piece of equipment is gaining favor among athletes.

Good Luck.

[pestosterone]

I hate the bench and I have been keeping form tight as hell. Trust me I'm not doing this for chest growth I'm doing a small powerlifting comp for fun. I'll just leave my bench at 405 and not go higher hopefully I can get 1500 total

[Charlys69]

my biggest bench press limit always where my pec tendoms when i trained to heavy for too long....i´m lucky that i did not rip my tendom off....but some minor injuries.....with dumbell press, incline presses, some machines (HS or other) that problem not occur. 

[T-REX007]

The Bench press is and may always be KING of ALL gym exercises ... Sure, there are better exercises for pec development - flies, dips, d-bell work etc.. but for overall upper body strength, it's a pretty good gauge of strength... becomes dangerous though the older you get - say in your 40's, especially if you're moving serious weight -315 "ish" and up, a lot of shoulders and pecs get chewed up ....

Most people will admit though.... they would LOVE to have a 3 plate bench, but few get there

[Donny]

The Bench press is and may always be KING of ALL gym exercises ... Sure, there are better exercises for pec development - flies, dips, d-bell work etc.. but for overall upper body strength, it's a pretty good gauge of strength... becomes dangerous though the older you get - say in your 40's, especially if you're moving serious weight -315 "ish" and up, a lot of shoulders and pecs get chewed up ....

Most people will admit though.... they would LOVE to have a 3 plate bench, but few get there

sure.. no one is putting the flat bench down. You have to think about what you want to achieve.

[pestosterone]

Well boys, ended up with a pretty good tear in the pectoralis minor with just 405!!! I have been able to press 405 for a decade now. Hit a 425 bench 3 weeks prior and that wasn't a struggle smooth rep as well. Before getting in my head that I wanted to do a powerlifting comp with 5 weeks to prepare I hadn't benched in over a year. So this was the 6th bench session in a bout a 12 month time frame even with light weight.
  
Ended up with mri doc said about 6 weeks no tendon tears just muscle fibers. Bench is 2nd in the comp so i decided not to pull after the tear. Didn't feel safe locking out stressing the chest and bicep. Got best squat and best bench in my weight class.

1 could've been not enough time to prepare my body in 4 weeks training 1 week rest

2 maybe i was to lean but weighed in at 8 am was at waffle house by 845 eating eggs and waffles.

3 cutt off like 5 lbs of water to hit 219 just under 220 on the scale for the comp to make weight, so dehydration? Had plenty of Gatorade and water through out the morning.

4 wasnt warmed up enough

5 just was my time to rip a muscle

Fuck the bench press from now on

[T-REX007]

That bites, tearing the pec .... hopefully you heal up well and can come back at some future date and be as good as ever   

[pestosterone]

It's going to heal just fine it was a slight tear within the muscles in the Pec minor not a complete tear but not a strain either the chest looks totally fine and is just sore now. But my bicep all the way down half my forearms had blood and swelling even into my tricep but the bruising has now almost 80% gone away. I can flex the Pec now with out any resistance and zero pain but will wait the Dr to tell me I'm good so I do not fuck it back up.

Training legs abs and calves 2x week cardio everyday and food is perfect lots of healthy food to help insure wound has proper nutrients to heal.
 Soon to add tb500 as my readings point to it being a great benefit. I have a few friends with similar or worse injuries use this peptide and recover faster than they should have.

[kevthekid]

Whenever I bench super heavy the inside of my right shoulder starts to hurt a lot, it doesn't happen when I'm warming up but when I get past the 250-275 range the feeling is there and bothers me so much to the point where I can't even lift the bar back up sometimes. Anyone have tips?

[jpm101]

A tip:   when you hear that snap or pop sound from the pec inserts, it's a sign that you had enough. After that, if there is a knotted bulge in the chest  and the area becomes discolored and painful you have torn a muscle.

Another tip:  lay off benching for a couple of weeks and than experiment with another grip position (or more than just one position), if still attempting heavier benching.

Yet another tip: try switching to DB's for awhile, if different grip positions do not solve your problem.  BB benches (heavier) are not meant for everyone. If your focus is on BB'ing, don't always need extra heavy bench work.  Seen many, many BB'ers rep out with 230-240 and have more impressive chest development than some of the heavier 400lb plus bencher's. (just to add....my two cousins were benching 400+ in high school...bwt around 220lbs each at that time....a natural inclination to that exercise)

Good Luck.

[Charlys69]

when you want to be a benchpresser do benchpresses with low to moderate reps, and plenty of rest between sets!

if you want to be a Bodybuilder do different exercises with different weights and reps, and rest time.

[T-REX007]

The Swiss bar is a great tool to use in your benching as mentioned before, you will be somewhat weaker, but the neutral type grip will save on the shoulders !

 I have experienced as my Swiss bar strength goes up my regular bench goes up too, used to LOVE benching with a cambered bar but those days are almost gone now because of the crazy stretch and shoulder beating.

Again, good recovery and good luck !