I pushed myself really hard, by the last set I could get maybe 1 rep out before needing someone to help me lift the bar up lol. The workout was 10 sets of 5, with 5 “normal” and 5 “modified” (slightly harder basically).
Edit: more specifically, it’s my lats that hurt the most and my pecs are a little store, but basically nothing compared to the lats. I know that soreness is not necessarily indicative of a good work out, but I am still interested in knowing why I feel like my chest is not working out!
Since I started working out I haven’t really felt sore in my pecs and I don’t feel like they’re working out anyway. What can I do to fix this? Is it just something that takes time?
I do crossfit so the workout is planned out, but they have powerlifting classes once a week which is how I got to doing a bench press workout. I don’t have access to the gym outside of the classes, but I have dumbbells at home.
It sounds like you might be using the wrong form. You should watch some videos to find out what the correct form is, and use a lower weight next time while paying attention to using correct form. It also helps if someone else can check that you are doing it correctly (or take a video of you).
Its also possible that your lats are underdeveloped, if you dont do any other exercises that train them. And of course theres the question what these “modified” bench presses are about, could be that they target different muscles.
Hmm, it may be that my lats are underdeveloped. It’s true that it’s not a group we target in crossfit. Funny thing is, my pecs started hurting later in the day and it’s now been 48 hours and I still haven’t healed the soreness lol. Mostly near the shoulder area though.
These “modified” presses were a set of one press, two seconds wait on your chest, then one half press followed by a full press, for 5x5 sets.
A good cue for activating your pecs is to try and squeeze the bar like you are attempting to bend it into an upside down U. This video series by Juggernaut fitness helped me out on form a lot.
Bench Pillar There is about 4 videos to the bench press series.
When learning form, it’s also a good idea to start with a lighter weight, that way you can focus on your form and what is being activated instead of focusing on pushing yourself.Thanks, I’ll check the series out! I know that you need to use your legs when bench pressing and I haven’t really got the hang of that yet
