Ok this is new for me and the first time

[Tough Old Man]

So about 2 months ago I posted on here that i wanted to try and raise my 1RM bench press to 335 on to compete with my oldest son. 2 months ago I was at a max of 305 lbs. I'm up to 315. So 20 lbs more to go. Today i try 320 lbs. I come down slow and as I'm pushing it up, my left side said oh hell no while my right side said no problem.

So apparently i'm a lot stronger on my right side then left. I know my right arm is about 3/4 to 1" larger then my left arm plus a bad left rotator cuff.

What can be done to strengthen the left side. If don't figure a way to do this, game is over and my son takes all.

This has never happened to me before.

 

[waynaferd]

I'd say DB presses til the weaker side says stop then stop...eventually they'll even out I would assume!

 

[Kaladryn]

So about 2 months ago I posted on here that i wanted to try and raise my 1RM bench press to 335 on to compete with my oldest son. 2 months ago I was at a max of 305 lbs. I'm up to 315. So 20 lbs more to go. Today i try 320 lbs. I come down slow and as I'm pushing it up, my left side said oh hell no while my right side said no problem.

So apparently i'm a lot stronger on my right side then left. I know my right arm is about 3/4 to 1" larger then my left arm plus a bad left rotator cuff.

What can be done to strengthen the left side. If don't figure a way to do this, game is over and my son takes all.

This has never happened to me before.

Tendons decide how hard muscle can contract, unilateral weakness like this often indicates a weakness in the tendon, be careful. I agree with the suggestion above about DB presses.

 

[Bad Fox]

So about 2 months ago I posted on here that i wanted to try and raise my 1RM bench press to 335 on to compete with my oldest son. 2 months ago I was at a max of 305 lbs. I'm up to 315. So 20 lbs more to go. Today i try 320 lbs. I come down slow and as I'm pushing it up, my left side said oh hell no while my right side said no problem.

So apparently i'm a lot stronger on my right side then left. I know my right arm is about 3/4 to 1" larger then my left arm plus a bad left rotator cuff.

What can be done to strengthen the left side. If don't figure a way to do this, game is over and my son takes all.

This has never happened to me before.

Chances are that your grip was off or you didnt bring the bar down straight and had it off to one side. Or you could have not been centered on the bench. Even maybe had one hand rotated further around the bar when u gripped it. Its unlikely that you all of a sudden developed an unbalance of strength.

When doing 1 rep PRs its very important that you consider all those factors or you WILL get hurt.

 

[Tough Old Man]

Come on lets get a few more answers on this.

 

[Ben Stiller]

If you have an imbalance between your right and left arm, it will show when you do unilateral or single arm exercises. So try that first, do some dumbell benches for reps, single arm cross face extension, tate presses. And if one arm is significantly weaker fix that. Train with dumbells more and so some extra sets on off days for the weak arm.

 

[triathloncoach]

1) One rep bench press max? I am "only" 49 and I stopped maxing "anything" decades ago. Mexican prostitutes are a smarter idea.

2) My left shoulder is a mess. When I do BP my left arm goes up first because my right arm appears to be stabilizing it. This is not a conscious decision, it just feels better. You "may" have the injured arm misidentified.

How to compete with your Son:

“Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill”

 

[ccohen]

I would definitely start doing some external shoulder rotations with a low cable pulley with you humerrus parallel to the floor and a 90 degree angle in your arm. Chances are you probably haven't done these in the past and they really expose shoulder weakness and instability.
I will bet your left side is weaker than your right.
A strong and stable shoulder will allow your bench to go up. I've seen this work wonders time and time again.
Like others have said, I would also incorporate some db work.
Good luck!

 

[Ghost..]

Personally I'd stay away from flat BP. Anything besides decline hurts my shoulders for whatever reason. I'd say stick to decline DB presses.

As for 1RMing, I'd prob steer clear for obvious reasons. Good luck

 

[thebigguy84]

I posted on your previous thread. I am pretty sure one of my suggestions was DUMBELL PRESS and also Hammer strength. Stay away from the bench for a few weeks and work on independent movements Cables, Hammer. Dumbells and do higher volume.

 

[borderbound]

i havent focused on 1 rep max for 15 years but when i did
it was quite comon for me to fail on one side when shooting for a personal record

i still think i had my best jump in benching when i tryed to increase my weights
on shoulder and lat work

 

[panzerfaust]

If your left arm is slightly weaker than your right, concentrate on your left arm for a bit doing isolation movements, presses,flyes etc. BTW I broke my left collar bone a while back and my ole training partner used to get annoyed that I would push the bar up unevenly doing flat BP's.Good luck achieving your goal, I know you can do it, it's all in your head,I try not to put too much emphasis on numbers anymore, it tends to psyc me out.