Weak chest (48yo male)
andyrusho
Posts: 5 Member
5’11”, 158lbs. My bench press is awful , 135 max. I’m ectomorph and eating 3000 cal per day . Lately I’ve been doing “iso lateral bench “ ( machine press) , on that my max is a horrendous 108lbs.
I work chest once a week (due to my over training which happens quickly as skinny ectomorph). The goal is 225lbs someday !
Any tips ?
I work chest once a week (due to my over training which happens quickly as skinny ectomorph). The goal is 225lbs someday !
Any tips ?
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Replies
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First off, somatypes don't matter. Second, everyone starts somewhere, only way to go is up. Lastly, are you following a well-crafted lifting program that incorporates progressive overload? Based on my personal research/understanding, it's sub-optimal for novice lifters to only train a muscle group once per week, a full body linear progression split will incorporate bench multiple times per week with reasonable volume and emphasize getting more weight on the bar at a reasonable pace.4
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5’11”, 158lbs. My bench press is awful , 135 max. I’m ectomorph and eating 3000 cal per day . Lately I’ve been doing “iso lateral bench “ ( machine press) , on that my max is a horrendous 108lbs.
I work chest once a week (due to my over training which happens quickly as skinny ectomorph). The goal is 225lbs someday !
Any tips ?
https://youtu.be/1FWDde2IEPg
And to quote selectively, "the main factor contributing to great benching success is the ability to consistently train the bench frequently for a long period of time..."
Follow a proven program and bench press more often is, I think, the most important change for you to make.1 -
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Thanks for the input . I will do some research on progressive workouts .0
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I’d say 5 sets of 5 reps will help a lot0
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You aren't any kind of morph - that's just complete and utter cobblers.
Training once a week will get you nowhere.
You don't eat to get strong, you train to get strong and you aren't training bench press anywhere near enough to progress adequately let alone optimally.2 -
progressive training program.
Also, certain things such as muscle activation if you can't recruit/feel your chest muscles properly. After I learnt how to "turn on" my chest, my gainz have been awesome in this previously lagging body part.
www.ganbarumethod.com1 -
Thanks for the input . I will do some research on progressive workouts .
Here are a couple to start the search:
AllPro's
Strong Lifts 5x50 -
Try eating more....due to my over training which happens quickly as skinny ectomorph...
You don't get strong from training you get strong recovering from training which means eating and sleeping.
Agree you need to train more than once per week using an appropriate full body novice linear progression program...
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I’m at 3000 calories right now .
I would be called a “hard gainer “ . Skinny and weak. Hard to put on mass easily. But I think I can with 3000 calories and beginner routine . Thanks for all the info !
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Just dropped this off on another thread, might as well drop it here.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1
Choose a programme; follow the programme.
Cheers, h.3 -
Think the point went over your head - without effective training eating more achieves what?
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And what exactly is the relevance of that to anything I've written?
Did I mention recovery? Did I express an opinion that recovery isn't part of effective training?
If you want to ask me something, or to clarify something I've actually written then I'm more than happy to respond but creating a strawman and insinuating it's something I think or believe just makes you look argumentative and a bit silly.
If you genuinely disagree with "You don't eat to get strong, you train to get strong and you aren't training bench press anywhere near enough to progress adequately let alone optimally. " then lets hear it.
I'm pretty confident that a beginner with a specific goal to progress their bench press should be bench pressing more than once a week but interested to hear you opinion if your think once a week is a good training strategy for them.2 -
How's your squat, deadlift, and overhead press... going up? Put your mind to it and you could join the 1000 lb club by 50. Of course, this was my goal.... failed but still trying! Maybe by 51.0
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No one's suggesting to bench everyday, it's fairly well proven that benching (or any movement) performed multiple times per week is better for novice strength building. 48 hours should be plenty to recover, especially in a caloric surplus, which I would assume 3000 cals would be for the OP.
Regarding the size/strength correlation, you don't have to get huge to get relatively strong. Granted, it was in my mid-late 20s but I went from a similar starting point to over 225 in a little over a year after I started lifting while benching 3x/week. I'm 6'1" and stay around 170-175 lbs.1 -
My opinion is the op is weak because he is skinny and needs to gain about 50# while following an appropriate training program.
It is my opinion he will accomplish his goals by eating as described in the link above and by purchasing reading and following what is outlined in this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-Basic-Barbell-Training/dp/0982522738
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FIFYMy opinion is the op is weak because he is skinny and needs to gain about 50# while following an appropriate training program.
It is my opinion he will accomplish his goals by eating as described in the link above and by purchasing reading and following what is outlined in this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-Basic-Barbell-Training/dp/09825227384 -
On the contrary you fixed it for you not me my opinion stands.
From personal experience at 6’1” at 160# i was skinny and weak. Now at 210# I look and feel much better and strength gains are much easier.
Of course the op is free to pursue his own course of action...
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On the contrary you fixed it for you not me my opinion stands.
From personal experience at 6’1” at 160# i was skinny and weak. Now at 210# I look and feel much better and strength gains are much easier.
Of course the op is free to pursue his own course of action...
That's great that worked for you but I think it misplaced to recommend gaining 50 lbs as a prerequisite to getting stronger.3 -
You can eat all the calories in the world but if you're not getting enough protein you ain't gonna build muscle. Make sure you're getting somewhere around 0.8 to 1.0 gram of protein per pound of body weight, per day.2
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Did I mention recovery? Did I express an opinion that recovery isn't part of effective training?
Yes you said:You don't eat to get strong...
If eating is part of recovery and recovery (from an effective program of course) is required to get strong then it logically follows one must eat to get stronger...
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So you got strong with significant increases in muscle and bodyweight then cut down to where you want to be while maintaining strength and muscle mass?Regarding the size/strength correlation, you don't have to get huge to get relatively strong. Granted, it was in my mid-late 20s but I went from a similar starting point to over 225 in a little over a year after I started lifting while benching 3x/week. I'm 6'1" and stay around 170-175 lbs.
Which is what I am suggesting the op do (granted I never mentioned the cutting that can come after the strength / muscle / body weight)...
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I personally think that many men and women just assume they are weaker than they actually are. I didn't really start progressing past my natural strength until I pushed outside of my comfort zone and said it was ok to fail a lift. I agree that you should look into a progressive heavy lifting program like Stronglifts 5x5 to see where it takes you. Do some research on engaging the proper muscles for each of the lifts because this is far more important than we realize, especially with bench where you can rely on your front delts and triceps to push the bar away without really engaging your chest that much. I personally grip the bar loosely on bench (except for when I am doing my heaviest sets) because it helps me to not rely on my arms as much as I used to.2
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5’11”, 158lbs. My bench press is awful , 135 max. I’m ectomorph and eating 3000 cal per day . Lately I’ve been doing “iso lateral bench “ ( machine press) , on that my max is a horrendous 108lbs.
I work chest once a week (due to my over training which happens quickly as skinny ectomorph). The goal is 225lbs someday !
Any tips ?
Once a week is indeed is low frequency especially for chest to expect progress.
Since most people lift less weight with bench compared to squat, deadlift, etc...there is less useful stress to the body and more easily to recover from due to the amount of muscle activation used to perform the lifts.
At your age, you can definitely gain strength while maintaining weight or if you chose to gain at a slow pace. Body weight would not be my first concern. I would raise a eyebrow though if your goal was to indeed add LBM at this time.
It is also highly unlikely you are over training as that term is misused by most who train via lifting. Your progress would decrease amoung red flag health problems and injuries would occur.
I suggest looking into a template that has more frequency, appropriate volume and has auto regulation built in. Any LP programming would be near bottom of the list.
If you post your current template of your microcycle, I can help with choosing more appropriate programming if you wish.
I would agree with the above that eating your way out of a plateau isn't an ideal first choice of action especially with the amount of calories you are currently consuming currently.
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My opinion is the op is weak because he is skinny and needs to gain about 50# while following an appropriate training program.
It is my opinion he will accomplish his goals by eating as described in the link above and by purchasing reading and following what is outlined in this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-Basic-Barbell-Training/dp/0982522738
You do realize that that organization responsible for that book lost nearly all their top coaches because of unfounded blanket context that is in that book that isn't backed by established evidence?
I'm not trying to down Rip for he does some good work especially for advanced age people, but that book has many holes for long term success and I certainly wouldn't treat the context as law.4 -
Did I mention recovery? Did I express an opinion that recovery isn't part of effective training?
Yes you said:You don't eat to get strong...
If eating is part of recovery and recovery (from an effective program of course) is required to get strong then it logically follows one must eat to get stronger...
I was thinking as I was out training this afternoon if I'm being too harsh on you and hope this doesn't come across wrong (apologies in advance if it does) but you seem to have a reading comprehension or other problems as you seem to struggle to assimilate written information in this and other threads?
If you do have issues I will strive do be more understanding.
So you agree I didn't mention recovery but I'll answer your convoluted question anyway - yes everyone needs to eat to recover. Fortunately everyone does eat and no-one has suggested that OP starves himself!
If your question is more specifically do people need to eat in a caloric surplus to recover from a training session or get stronger then absolutely not - that would be a ridiculous statement. A beginner especially will make dramatic strength gains from adopting a good training regime whether they are in a surplus, at maintenance or even a moderate deficit.
In the specific case of the OP I think he will probably want to get bigger/heavier based on his stats and OP (which of course requires a surplus). 50lbs extra is completely excessive though unless his goals change dramatically.
He may well be better off getting his training dialled in first before starting a modest surplus to achieve his chosen weight gain.
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