right side weaker than left when using bench press- what can i do to fix this?

bada_bing

as the above says, i was benching in the gym last night and someone remarked to me that my right side was sloping compared to the left side.
i was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to what i should do to address this?? Is it simply a case of doing more bicep curls/shoulder reps on the right side so that it will become stronger???

aye

Dumbbell bench press, using a weight suitable for the weaker side.

cardio,shoot me

aye wrote: »

Dumbbell bench press, using a weight suitable for the weaker side.

god no, thats awful advice!, just keep working at bench press in till ur arm catches up, dont do differrent weights!

kevpants

Everyone has a stronger side, and it isn't necessarily your right side if you're right handed etc. Having a weak side isn't making your bench slope, your technique is. I'd say practising squeezing your shoulder blades together when you are benching (for the whole set not just when you are setting up) would see a huge difference. This gives you a solid tight base to bench off, most people don't do it.

Make sure you keep you body tight, legs driven into the floor, lats flexed etc during the bench. Most people see the bench as an opportunity to lie down when exercising and they roll about on the bench as a result. It's a whole body exercise.

hblock21

bada_bing wrote: »

as the above says, i was benching in the gym last night and someone remarked to me that my right side was sloping compared to the left side.
i was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to what i should do to address this?? Is it simply a case of doing more bicep curls/shoulder reps on the right side so that it will become stronger???

Obvious answer, stop **** with your left hand

aye

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

god no, thats awful advice!, just keep working at bench press in till ur arm catches up, dont do differrent weights!

oh no not different weights, same weight on each dumbbell, but the weight on each should correlate to the weaker side not the stronger one.

sorry if i didnt get that across right.

ScissorPaperRock

A similar thing happens to me quite often when I'm doing dumbbell bench presses. Sometimes on a difficult rep I find myself struggling to lift my right arm, but while focusing on my right, my left arm just seems to lift almost effortlessly. And I'm right-handed, and would always consider myself stronger on my right.

I wonder if anyone can explain that?

rubadub

I am right handed, I found the same thing happening to me, though my left was weaker (at first). I laid off as many reps on the right until the left caught up. When working with a barbell you might unconciously lift more with the stronger one, then it snowballs, it gets worked and stronger and the other lags further and further behind. So I worked the left more, and let the right lag, just like I had unconciously not trained the left as much in the past.

I since heard more experienced posters saying not to let it fall behind but do work dumbbells and it will catch up eventually.

And I'm right-handed, and would always consider myself stronger on my right.

I wonder if anyone can explain that?

Since then I think I overdid some weighted dips one day, and I now have a slightly niggly right shoulder. So now my left side is better for overhead presses. Though my right side is still stronger for all other exercises, including the dips. So you might have some little niggly injury in your case too, which only realises itself on the bench.

ScissorPaperRock

rubadub wrote: »

I am right handed, I found the same thing happening to me, though my left was weaker (at first). I laid off as many reps on the right until the left caught up. When working with a barbell you might unconciously lift more with the stronger one, then it snowballs, it gets worked and stronger and the other lags further and further behind. So I worked the left more, and let the right lag, just like I had unconciously not trained the left as much in the past.

I since heard more experienced posters saying not to let it fall behind but do work dumbbells and it will catch up eventually.



Since then I think I overdid some weighted dips one day, and I now have a slightly niggly right shoulder. So now my left side is better for overhead presses. Though my right side is still stronger for all other exercises, including the dips. So you might have some little niggly injury in your case too, which only realises itself on the bench.

It could very well be some sort of minor injury actually, I'm not 100% sure which side right now but I think my right hand side is sometimes a little painful when doing lat pulldowns, could be related in some way.

arybvtcw0eolkf

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

god no, thats awful advice!, just keep working at bench press in till ur arm catches up, dont do differrent weights!

And thats about it.

Almost EVERY novice lifter will have a weaker side, just don't make something simple like lifting weights and getting stronger into a science.

Stick with simple bench pressing exercises and I promise you'll correct the balance in time.

bada_bing

i think more info is necessary here, i'm not a novice. i have been using the bench press for 12 years. I regularly do free weights dumb bells ( both flat and incline) and the sloping problem never happens, i can comfortably do reps from start to finish at the same pace with both the left and right side.
also the sloping was only noticeable when i was struggling at the end after having done 3 sets of 8 or 7 reps. i'm just hoping its not a minor injury that manifests itself on the bench press after doing a few sets. But i'll try and focus on the right side to avoid putting all the effort on the left side.

oh and for whoever made that smart arse comment about ****, i'm right handed. FAIL!

rccaulfield

your grip even on both sides-weights stacked identically both sides-easy mistake to make-i always do it!?