hi there guys and girls. quick question for you. just started workin gout again after 2 months out acquiring gym equipment for my garage gym. noticed that when i was bench pressing i was getting more pump out of my bi's and tri's then i was getting from my chest. my arms are pathetically weak compared to the rest of my body. didnt feel much with my chest and my form was bang on. any ideas? thanks again

If your arms are weak, they're probably trying to catch up, since benching also works out arms as benching is a compound movement (works out more than one muscle group). That's why it's important to work out all the major muscle groups, so some lifts don't suffer because some muscles are lagging behind. Also, be sure that when you bring the bar down...it comes down to about nipple-level to focus on the chest. Also when I bench, I tend to use a wider grip than most people recommend, so MY recommendation is to use what grip feels right for you, but also change it up every now and then so you target different areas...just be sure to use the appropriate weight (when I have a more narrow grip on the bench which also works out the triceps more, I lighten the weight a little since I know I'm not comfortable with lifting with the same weight I use for normal grip).

Kevin is spot on! I agree 100%

Might I add that its impossible to feel your biceps working during the bench press. Yes, the biceps slightly flex the shoulder joint and theoretically they can activate during pressing, but the extension of the elbow joint always dominates between the 2.

What you need to do, no matter how weak your triceps are, is focus on proper form. Now I know you said your form was bang on but you only really master the bench press after months and years of practising it.  Retract your shoulderblades ( meaning get your shoulders down and back,sticking your chest out), and lighten the load. Triceps will come into action when you play with the big weights.

You can also try doing pushups in order to feel your chest more and then jump on the bench press. Another good variation for greater chest activation would be the flat dumbell press. I dont know if you got any dumbells but if you do, definitely try that one.

If you really feel like your triceps are weak and no matter what, they dominate the movement..well you have to make them stronger. This is the time I woul advice you to do some close grip bench press, some diamond pushups and some dips. OR you can just continue doing the classic bench press until your whole upper body catches up!

yeah i thought as much about my triceps. i mean i know my form is good because i had previously been benching for months. and as far as my biceps go i was doing other exercises also. bit stupid of me to even suggest that was by the press ha ha. thanks for the advice though.

kostas and Kevin have given you great information. Like Kostas said your biceps will be exerting no force at all except for synergistically stabilising the motion. Can you post a video of you bench press form as before we remove that from the equation we need to actually see your form. When benching to stimulate the chest you need to apply a horizontal adduction force. Simply put this means trying to squeeze your pecs to bring your hands together. To further encourage stimulation I recommend trying a lighter weight and using a 1-1-3.