Seated bench press and arm curl alternatives

bloody88

Hello everyone.
I started strength training last week and i could use some guidance.
First of all in the gym that i go to, there are no free weights so w/e i need to do i will have to do it at home or in another machine.
While i am doing all sets/reps with proper weights in the rest of the machines, i seem to struggle a lot with the seated bench press and arm curls. I can't finish the first set and when i start the second i can't do more than 1-2 reps, sadly that's with minimum weights..
I end up leaving dissapointed from the gym without finishing the sets for those two feeling like i didn't get a proper workout.
More specific the machines provide some sort of individual(?) movement for each hand. Meaning the handles are not static and are not moving in parallel line along with each other. They move individually with the strength of each arm.
So i can't support both sides with both arms, i need to lift each side on it's own.
So how do i improve? Is there anything i can do besides giving it more time?
Any help appreciated.

TylerForget

I'm a personal trainer from Quebec, Canada. Add me and send a message and I'll be happy to answer your questions, provide advice, and give my opinion.

ninerbuff

Do pushups instead. And if you can't complete the arm curls, do a reverse grip seated pulldown to hit the biceps.

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XavierNusum

Are there any cable machines you can work on?

bloody88

Hey everyone, thanks for the replies.

ninerbuff wrote: »

Do pushups instead. And if you can't complete the arm curls, do a reverse grip seated pulldown to hit the biceps.

I am doing grip seated pull downs the day i am doing the above.
I will try pushups at home every 2nd day after the upper body training and hopefully i will gain some strength.

Do you think the order i should be doing the exercises should be specifc btw?
Like easier ones first harder ones at the end, the other way around, mix them, or it doesn't matter after all?
I end up doing those two last most of the time, if i would do them at start would it be better or would it make me not perform the rest of the exercises properly?

XavierNusum wrote: »

Are there any cable machines you can work on?

Yea the gym has cable machines but the guy that owns the place doesn't put me much on those yet.

ryanflebbe

If you are sure the machines are adjusted properly and they still don't feel right, they probably just suck. Especially the biceps machine. That's not necessary at this point, or ever really. I agree with doing pushups. Real ones, full range of motion. When you can do multiple sets of 15-20 pretty easy, then you can worry about adding resistance or chest exercises. Also, you generally work larger muscle groups first. So if you do your whole upper body on one day you would do something like back, chest, shoulders, arms. If it's only been a week, you won't know much about strength gains. You could try the chest press machine first and see if that works. Maybe you are doing too many sets of exercises that work your triceps before and they are just too tired by the time you do the chest press machine.