Bench press alternatives

Been lifting without a spot for a long time now, and getting frustrated with lack of bench progress because of it (can't push up to new weight without constant risk of fucking myself up).

Have read/heard that dips and weighted dips are the best possible thing for your chest. Could obviously do that without a spot which is great, but worried about ditching bench press entirely.

Is bench really worth it, or is it just my inner bro telling me I need it? What are your thoughts on dips, Veeky Forums??

Also any other bench alternatives/ general chest routines appreciated.

I hear you m8, I tore my pec a while back and once it's healed I'm thinking about ditching bench and just going with weighted dips & pushups

Bench press is a meme. Here is how to get a nice chest without bench pressing:
- a lot of standing overhead pressing
- believe it or not, a thick and wide upper back will make your chest bigger and fuller.
- Now here is the main chest workout routine, do it once or twice per week:

-- 3 x 12 dumbbell fly. Light to moderate weight, focus on the bottom. Slow tempo. The pec muscle will be stretched hard with this exercise.
-- 3 x 12 dip ( or weighted dip). The trick is to squeeze the chest all the time. Never lock out. Try to imagine you use the chest only the close the arms together instead of pushing down.
-- 3 x 12 one arm cable cross over. This is the finisher exercise. The trick of this exercise is to squeeze really hard at the end of the rep and pause for 1 second. The first exercise ( dumbbell fly) is for stretching, and the last exercise is for contracting.

dips are pretty good unless you're a powerlifter or someone who needs a big bench, it's not necessary

>weighted dips

t. dyel

I do weighted pushups and i would really like a bench, im oing 3 sets of 12 with 10kgs and going up every workout. Bench is so fuking easy - it get easy, you add weight.

>Is bench really worth it
are you even trying?

guillotine press goat chest exercise

I got to 1.5x BW bench and my chest was always shit. My chest and arms are much more developed now that I have replaced bench entirely with weighted dips. I haven't benched in months

Bench is not that great an exercise, yes, but if you constantly fuck yourself up with them, you have shit form, and you'll probably fuck yourself up with dips as well.

He's asking for alternatives that don't require a spot. Guillotine is fucking amazing, but arguably one of the most dangerous to perform without a spot.

>OP afraid of doing bench
>suggest something even more dangerous
I like your style.

find gym with power racks

I just started weighted dips, but doing them makes what feels like a ligament along my elbow twitch. It isn't painful, but it feels like I'm putting myself on the path to snap city. My form is fine and I don't know what else I can do to prevent it.

floor press

i have no bench and this is what i do

plus, what others have said: OHP, push ups etc

...

Strongman training reporting in. Can confirm good pec development and involvement and my only pushes are log clean and press, and tire flips.

Why? The pecs evolved in mammals to work mostly isometrically. For quadruped animals, the pecs are a stabilizer for the front legs, meant to stay engaged isometrically for long periods of time. This is why brisket is such a tough cut of meat. We are the only great ape which doesn't knuckle walk, but we still have the hardware of a gorilla.

What are good ways to isometrically train pecs?

> Stabilizing overhead lockout as in log press or overhead carry
> Hugging motions over time, such as sandbag carries or Atlas stone lifts
> To a lesser degree stabilizing other loaded carries like zercher carries and farmers walks

Now, I still do dips (unweighted, just for volume work) because it's a good way to get a sanity check on shoulder health in a sport which requires good shoulder health. But for non-powerlifters, I secretly suspect you'll get better pec gains with sandbag carries than you will with bench.

whats my black guy name

whats my black guy naem?

I wanna know my black guy name

whats my black guy nema

Bump because I'm in a similar position, nobody lifts at my gym so no spotters (its a boxing gym not planet fitness)

Nigger

I do weighted dips, one arm push up progression, handstand push-up progression (if that counts), and incline DB bench. This is my routine and I'm too lazy to fix mistakes and make edits.

what about just ramping up volume? That way you can still go for PRs and progress but are never in any real danger of fucking anything up. Stuff like 5x10, 5x8, 6x10, etc. tend to work really well for intermediates who are limited mostly by muscle mass anyway.

If you really want to do something else, yeah dips are alright but some people can't handle the shoulder or cartilage strain. It totally depends on what you want out of your training

That grill is a qt

oh my god she's fucking gorgeous

Can I swap dips for bench on a TM style program?

If so, can I trust symmetric strength as to what my new weight should be?

E.g. my 5RM of 225lbs should equate to bodyweight 175lbs + 105 lbs or so for 5RM dips. Does that sound right? Or are they assuming a shit ROM?

I liked your sunday workout.

Dips will ruin your shoulder joints.

>366*

THIS is the fucking answer.

One day at a time is what I tell myself.

I have a joocy chest and i main do dips, weighted dips and dip variations for it.
That said assuming you are in a gym i would add dumbell bench as an accessory and do dips as your main lift.

>torn peck
>weighted dips
You might as well bench

Huh, never saw anyone face outward using the dip station.

>tore my pec
>better put it in a deep stretch under a large load
W E W

Girl in pic is Jazzma Kendrick.

Dips and OHP can pretty much replace bench.

However, it's a lot easier to push a bench bar down to your quads than it is to bail on a squat.

Rell

I mean, most gyms buy the shitty ones made for 120lb women to do trendy calisthenics. If a dude tried to do proper dips facing out in one it would rock over.

what? just let go of the bar and shoot forward. falls right off.

Personally i love dips. It's the chest version of the pullup/chinup, it works and it feels great, so do it.

This.

Since i started doing dips my shoulders feel better than ever. Probably because they've toned up some muscles that were the weak links in other exercises.

I get that with diamond-grip push-ups and some chin-up variations, annoying as hell. Inside of the left elbow. Also no idea what to do about it.

lets see senpai

Roll I guess

Rollin

Here we go

Rell

I'm in the same boat OP.

No bench at home so I bought a dip stand but ended up selling it after a dozen workouts, because no matter how careful I was, it always stretched my shoulders.

I'll stick to flyes on the the floor, immediately followed by db floor press (pre exhaust style)

My form for both is fine and havent had any shoulder problems doing full ROM dips, but always grinding out final reps for new weight on bench and I know sooner or later one of those reps is not going back up and I'll a) get rekt or b) look like a retard flipping weights off (would prefer (a) desu)

Only have three power racks in my gym and they're always taken for squats (gym mostly powerlifters). Figured I'd do this though if I couldn't find an alternative.

bench is bullshit. it's not a bad exercise but dips could easily replace it. bench has become a cultural thing "how much d'ya bench bro?" and some shit. it doesn't really matter. just make sure you do dips with good form and no pain and you can progress very well.

I started doing dips because of the same reason and my chest skyrocketed

Tyrollin'

Wich one should I do as an accesorie for bench? Dips or flyes?
Scooby says flyes. But I dunno.

I can dip with 50kg added for reps at 90kg ask me anything

where da white wimmin at

How happy are you having reached intermediate strength level

Wut

I havent seen anyone repping 50kg or above ever or even someone on this board

Floor press is good, esp for low reps, with a long pause on the bottom.

Close grip paused/deadstop floor press really helped my ohp too

Weighted dips for the most of the pec major and the press for the clavicular part of the pec major. All you need for an aesthetic chest.

Lmfao ive worked out for a year and do 45kg for 5 at 72kgs. Stop bragging dyel

rollin my man

Weighted press ups are shoulder friendly, although i wouldn't go lower than 5 reps. Can hit crazy volume without messing up joints too, if you introduce it slowly & sensibly. Also, weighted ring push ups. Don't be afraid to grind out reps. Put dbs in your hands for range of motion

And here I thought all the replies would be people calling him a race traitor or cheking em. I'm proud Veeky Forums.

According to symmetric strength he's "exceptional" level, while you're "proficient". Just sayin.

well, you can progress by cycling higher reps, or db alternatives. you should def do both exercises, especially if u enjoy bench, but dips give you objectively better gains, but they are both important with their pros and cons

ROLLIN

roll

That's because their formulas are stupid and take bodyweight into far too big consideration on stuff like weighted dips/pullups. It only makes a huge difference if you're untrained

Anyone?

Incline dumbbell bench

Is 2x8-12 good?
Will it affect my recovery though?

Yeah it's good
It won't as long as you eat enough and as long as the rest of your program is good. Just treat it like an accessory lift, i.e. don't focus on raising the weight every time just focus on activating dem muscles and keeping good form

niqr

rawl xD

>calls me dyel for being able to dip 50kg for reps at a heavier total weight
I dip at a total weight of 140kg for reps, you at 115kg, and call me a dyel? Wut

Cool thanks a lot man.

Sheeet, never knew I needed this

>implying italian=white

We had namez n shiet

Been getting into weighted dips, but the past two times ive done dips on my last i get this sudden sharp pain in this area, its only there for a instant but freaks me out, hopefully its just a spasm and i did injure anything

rollan

Depends on the rom. Just do some weighted dips and find out for yourself what your starting weight is

Rollout

*didn't

probally a spasm

but you should build up the weight over weeks time, dont suddenly try to do max weight out of nowhere

for the people fearing shoulder injuries from dips, just use gymnastic rings for them. They let you rotate your wrists externally which is the most comfortable thing for the shoulder when pressing anything, and they are harder so therefore more gains

i think its more exhaustion, i do dips last and i crank out several sets, il just stick to 3 sets for a while

I dont know mayne I do like 8 sets of dips never felt anything

The pisslord is resistant to water

rollin

gief

xD

vxffas

im doing after 5 sets of flat bench and incline DB bench

Do you count the weight of your arms when doing bench as well? The weight of your ass when squatting?

no since my arms and my ass dont weigh 90kg

>harder so therefore more gains
Harder to balance so less gains for what you're actually trying to hit but more gains on stabilizing muscles. I can comfortably add 30kg on my dip on bars but can only do 22.5kg on rings. Maybe my balance is just really shit because I never did ring dips before but it's a lot harder and I don't think I'm hitting the chest as much.