Alternative to bench press

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cwolfman13
cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I'm having this issue at the gym on occasion....about once per week. I'm doing Starting Strength so I want to stick with barbells/free weights but there's only one barbell bench in my gym. Not really too big an issue as my gym isn't extremely busy...but there's this one guy who benches forever.

As an example...and thankfully last night was overhead press night...when I got to the weight room, this guy was benching...I did my squats, including my warmups and work sets and he was still benching....I did my overhead presses including 2 warm up sets and my 3 work sets...he was still bench pressing....I did my 1x5 dead lifts, including 2 warm up sets and the 1 working set...he was still bench pressing. I did my entire core workout in 30 minutes and he was still bench pressing.

As you can imagine, this can be annoying with only one bench and if he happens to be there on bench night for me (he's pretty much always bench pressing). A few times, my timing has been good and I've been able to get in as he's finished, but usually he's only 15 minutes into his apparent 30 minute bench press routine....

So here's the question...do I just do machine...substitute dumbbell bench presses or incline....or do I go get a trainer to get his dumb *kitten* off the bench?

Replies

  • Cr01502
    Cr01502 Posts: 3,614 Member
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    Ask if you can work in between him. If he's spending that much time on the bench he's probably doing 2-3 minutes rest between sets. More than enough time for you guys to share.

    If that doesn't work you might just have to bite the bullet I'm afraid.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
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    dumbells are an acceptable substitute, but they can become a problem when the weight gets heavier.
  • mbreed75
    mbreed75 Posts: 125 Member
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    Just confront him. I'm sure he won't give you a bunch of bro attitude.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    dumbells are an acceptable substitute, but they can become a problem when the weight gets heavier.

    That's what I was leaning towards....

    I'd ask if I could get my sets in with him, but my wife and I are both doing Starting Strength and she's usually with me...just happened last night she had to skip because my toddler was feeling ill. I guess I'll just have to suck it up and figure a way around it. I've been using the machine on these occasions, but I really don't like it at all...think I'll opt for the dumbbells for now, but I'm going to have problems with weight shortly.

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