bench press question?

Question

im starting off benching, im 14 and i started off doing about 15 lbs per side. I know its weak but im building. Just wondering, about how long should i wait before i move up weights? and how much should i move up? I know the maxing out thing works. But is there a way to adjust myself quicker?

Answer 1

increase your training load by 3-5%.

don't worry about weight right now focus on your form and squeezing the pecs during the entire repitition

Answer 2

Don't worry about the actual weight. It's more important to lift the most weight that you can do while maintaing the proper form and range of motion. This will yield the most muscle growth and prevent injury. (Mr. Olympia may look impressive, but the World Strong Men can lift much more weight but don't look as defined.)

When you start, lift as much weight as you can to do 3 sets of 8 repetitions.
Stay with this weight until you can do 3 sets of 12 repetitions.

Then add some weight (about 5-10 pounds per bar). This should put you back to the 8 rep. range.

Keep this cycle going and you will see improvements. Keep a notebook to record how much you lift, how many reps, and what exercise. You will be surprised how much things change over time.

Stay safe.

Answer 3

Go heavy.

Do a weight that you can only do 3-5 times andhave a spotter there to help get at least 2 forced reps every set.

Going heavy gets the rest of your body used to handling the weight. While this wont help muscle endurance very much its a good way to increase mass and get on to the bigger plates.

Also look into doing something till failure for chest...push ups, wide grip dips, or cable cross overs work well. Do the exercise with a weight you can do about 10 times,,,,do 3-4 sets where you go till you cant do any more...this will give you a big pump, while leaving you feeling cashed out.

Have protein ready to consume right after you lift. You have a window of about 10-20 min where you body will absorb more into the muscles that were worked.

Answer 4

hey i lift every day- the time to move up is when it's relatively easy to lift the weight 10-12 reps for 3 sets. when your not having a lot of difficulty with the weight which takes about a week or two depending on how often u do it.. then add 5 pounds to each side so that your attempting to lift ten pounds more. if thats too easy, add another 10.

Answer 5

You should look online for body weight to weight lifting ratio charts. They will help with moving the weight up a percentage each week as well, or two weeks. It all depends on your body and how it adapts.

Answer 6

i like to move up about 5 pounds every week so that way you can build up more strength.