Bench Pressing

[jnpnshr411]

I have been bench pressing alot recently as well as other chest and arm related exercise. Someone once told me that when I work on my front I must also work on my back. I have had a very stressed back recently. could this be due to the lack of back work?

[DragonMike]

It could very well be for that reason indeed. You really do need to stregthen your back as well as your chest. Iwould recomend seated rows and bicep curls for starters.

[Aodhan]

I have been bench pressing alot recently as well as other chest and arm related exercise. Someone once told me that when I work on my front I must also work on my back. I have had a very stressed back recently. could this be due to the lack of back work?

Yes.

Pretty much every muscle group has an opposing muscle group, and you need to work equally.

While the chest does need a balance with the lats, that in and of itself shouldn't cause too many problems. I would suspect that the pain is lower in your back, and is due to weak infraspinatus and related muscles (The muscles that run along the spine in the back). These are very often neglected in most weight lifting routines.

Reverse situps, back extensions, superman exercises, good mornings, all are good exercises for the lower/mid back and the spinal erector muscles. These should be done especially if you spend a lot of time sitting at work, and/or do a lot of ab exercises.

Aodhan

[DokterVet]

You should absolutely be excersizing your whole body.

There are many good full-body routines on the internet.

Muscle imballances can make injuries more likely, and will also limit your strength gains.

EDIT: By 'full-body routine' I don't neccessarily mean routines that work out the whole body each day. Rather I mean routines that work every part of the body whether on the same day or on different days.

[jnpnshr411]

thanks alot for the replies. I do try to workout the whole body but somehow by back is always forgotten.

[Red J]

Balance is the key. I try to as many pulling exercises as I do pushing. Don't forget the lower back as well. It is an important part of your core.

[glockmeister]

thanks alot for the replies. I do try to workout the whole body but somehow by back is always forgotten.

Then work your back first. Also u may want to consider focusing primarily on your back untill it is up to par with the rest of your body or maybe even succeeds it.

[KaRaTe_KiD456]

When your lower back hurts, it usually means you have weak abs, you should do some more ab workouts, if its not that i dont know whats wrong.

[Jiffy]

Just to strengthen the replies, excersize your back! What happens is that when you only work the front and not the back, the spine posture is compromised and can result in back ache.

Rest assured though, you are one of MANY that make this mistake!

[Astrael]

I'm just trying to get some opinions from people as to how they benchpress.

I've been going to the gym for a few months now so this is all new to me. I'm 80 kg's and currently benchpressing 60 kgs (because I havn't exactly tested myself over 60kgs) so I don't know whether I'm wasting my time training because you need to stress your body to gain muscle. The problem is that I see a lot of people at the gym after their initial set, they keep adding smaller weight set by set.

Me personally, I find this hard to believe because I'm already stressing out at 60kg's and the fact that adding even an extra 5 kg's for my next set and 5kgs more the the next is quite impossible considering how your muscles have deteriorated after the first set.

I feel that I am at my strongest at my first set, where usually other people "feel the strongest" after 2-3 more sets because they have the ability to add more weight...Your comments about your regime when it comes to benchpresses would be appreciated and hopefully you can answer my points raised above.

Thanks a plenty.