Weight Training
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I'm a freshman at my high school and play tight end for the school's football team. I'm a little over 6 feet and am stuck at around 165 pounds. I've been having two problems, one is gaining weight and the other is overall bench press weight.
First off, I've been working out for about 8 months and have been focusing on squats and bench press. Right now, I'm squatting about 600 pounds. While I can't even bench 135. I've been working on the flat bench press the same amount of time I've been doing squats, about 6 or 7 months and I'm only getting results from squats. I seem to be at a major plateau without being able to advance in weight for bench for about 4 or 5 months. I was just wondering what you would recommend for increasing my bench weight to at least 160 by August because I must be able to bench my own weight to start on my team. Are there any muscle groups that I should be working out or what kind of routines should I be doing? High weight, low weight high reps? I can seem to barely do 130, five times. Any suggestions would be great.
Another quick question would be how to maintain a constant weight gain without using dietary supplements. I seem to be up 5 pounds 1 week, then lose 7 pounds the next week. I've only gained about 20 pounds since January and have been eating block meals for about 4 people a day (suggestion from my coach). Any ideas?
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| I am thinking that perhaps you are not measuring your squat correctly. My best friend is also a tight end, a freshman for a 1AA college football program. He weighs 230, benches 280, and squats under 400. The first step to do what you want is to train properly. When you squat go parallel. When you bench use FULL motion to around a half inch off your chest, heck even touch your chest as long as you don't bounce off of it.
If you squat 600 you are fooling yourself and doing quarter reps or some limited motion. For example, I can parallel squat 250 six times, but if I go about 3 inches, just THREE inches above parallel I can hit 265 TEN TIMES. You are playing football not trying to impress people in the weight room! DO IT RIGHT!
Try this: Train chest twice a week with at least 2 days in between each workout. Stretch REAL good. Warm-up with the bar 10 times, and then stick on a weight you can get 10 times and do it 4 or 5. Do three sets of bench, three sets of incline. Vary your reps in this order cycling through every workout: 3,3,3---5,5,5---5,3,1---10,8,6. Next, go to a peck deck machine and do 2 sets of 6 SLOWWW reps with fairly light weight. Pause at the beginning of the motion and the part where your arms are together for 2 or 3 seconds each rep. You want to do this to stretch out your chest real well.
Once a week, do close grip bench, two sets of 6 reps. This will really help your bench. You should be able to bench your weight in no time. Remember PROPER FORM especially in a squat. I don't know how your offense works but our tight end had to block most of the time. He wasn't some pretty boy receiver. He was a lineman who happened to have good hands, and you need your WHOLE leg developed because believe me, that LB you are gonna pick up is sure as heck gonna have his developed. And if you don't train right, he will run through you like a freight train. Also train your abs, that will help all areas of your strength.
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Look, I'd say the best way to increase your bench is to do low reps with high weight. Don't over train your muscles. I knew of this guy who only did 2 sets with 6 reps of the highest weight he could do. He made quicker gains then he's ever made before. That would not work for everyone, but like I said low reps, high weight and don't over train.
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| First of all, I'd like to say that the first response is right. However, when it comes to a good rep on the bench press, it's not a matter of touching the chest or not. As you know, different people have slightly different bone structures, and if going all the way down to your chest hurts your shoulders, then don't do that. Instead, go down to as low as you feel comfortable. I bring it down to lower than a 90% angle with my elbows. So it's close enough, but not quite touching the chest, because I find it painful to my shoulders when I bring it all the way down.
And the squats, there's no way you're doing 600 when your bench is only at 135. You probably don't have a decent form. So watch your form. Remember, it's not the amount of weight you lift, it's the right form! And I would say that the reason you are not gaining is because your pectoral majors training ain't intense enough. That's why you're stuck at the same weight. But if you have an intense training, then don't worry, just keep going at a good and slow pace! One other factor could be the food that you are eating. Your diet is very important!
And I totally disagree with response #2. Low reps and high weight can only be good if you're older, because if you do that at age 15, you can really put some stress on your skeletal joints, and you wouldn't want that to happen. Just stick with 3 sets of 10 reps with the most comfortable weight, and don't get hasty, thinking that you'll master it in a week or two, because it takes time!
In the long run, doing normal reps and normal weight is more effective than low reps and heavy weight, trust me. And doing low reps and heavy weight could give you injuries that normal reps and weight wouldn't.
Also, a football team that requires benching your own weight is a little harsh, because only 1% of the population in this world could bench his/her own weight. In other words, if you can do it, you're one of the strongest persons in the world yet! Only 1% of people in this world could do it! And if that's what it takes to make your football team, then your team better be the bestest damn team in the world!
Good luck with your football tryouts, best of luck to you all the way.
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