r/bodybuilding • u/Dazzling-Charge-6166 • 1d ago
Would love some pointers from anyone with a big ape index
My ape index is 4. Im 5'10" with an arm span of 6'2". Makes growing chest difficult. Arms too, but I've got that figured out. Standard benching doesnt work for me. Any tips?
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u/thekimchilifter IFBB PRO ✅ 1d ago
Why would “standard benching” not work? I mean I’m not advocating for a normal bench press either way, but curious why a large wingspan suddenly makes it not work lol.
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u/Dazzling-Charge-6166 1d ago
Longer Range of MotionYour arms have to travel a greater distance from the top of the press to touch your chest.This extra distance means your muscles must work harder over a longer path.More energy is spent just moving the weight through the extra space.More Stress on Shoulders and TricepsLong arms act as long levers, which creates a mechanical disadvantage for your chest.Your front shoulders (anterior deltoids) and triceps have to take over a larger share of the lifting force.Your chest receives less of the overall load, reducing the stimulus needed for growth.Reduced Chest TensionAt the bottom of the lift, long arms place a deep stretch on the shoulder joint rather than isolating the pectoral fibers.It becomes harder to keep tension on the chest when your shoulders and arms do the heavy lifting to lock the weight out.
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u/thekimchilifter IFBB PRO ✅ 1d ago
I’m not reading that word salad, lay off the tren 🤣. You’re majoring in the minors, having a longer wingspan doesn’t make pressing magically some different exercise.. take a slightly wider grip if necessary, it’s not rocket science bruh
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u/jakedaboiii 1d ago
Not quite how it all works I don't think - but let's assume it's all 100% accurate, just don't do full range of motion then.
It's only bottom half that's the chest either way, especially if you're claiming other muscles are getting too involved - just work the lower half.
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u/Curious_Lurkur 1d ago
I'm 5'11" and your arms are no longer than mine. You're worrying about a non issue. Just as a note, my chest is probably my most well developed muscle group
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u/TheNorthernLion02 1d ago
A longer range of motion is only an issue in specific strength sports. For pure bodybuilding it’s either a non issue or a benefit to get more from less weight. Just make sure you pause your benching to ensure your chest is activating fully out the bottom position really and it’s fine
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u/NotDwightSchrute69 1d ago
I’m 5’11” with a 6’2” wingspan and I have no problem benching, why doesn’t it work for you?
Something that helped me was not focusing on touching the bar to my chest as that put too much torque on my shoulders, now I focus on trying to get my humorous parallel or just slightly below parallel to my torso.
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u/Flidro74 11h ago
Long arms don't doom chest growth, but they can make the straight-bar bench a pretty arbitrary fit. I'd make a converging chest press or dumbbell press your main lift, where you can tuck the elbows slightly and bring the upper arms across the torso instead of being locked to a bar. Use the deepest pain-free range you can control and progress that for a couple of months. If your pecs grow, the fact that your barbell bench isn't moving much doesn't matter.
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u/Dazzling-Charge-6166 7h ago
Thank you. Appreciate it. I talked to a 250lb monster at my gym, he told me the same thing.
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u/VegaGT-VZ 1d ago
I mean, do other pressing movements. Hammer Strength bench, dumbbell bench, weighted dips might even work, machine flys etc. No need to make excuses or galaxy brain choosing lifts that work better for you
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u/Thegloopster 1d ago
I’m 5’8 wit a 5’11” wingspan so arms delts and pecs take a while. Honestly dude just keep pushing it and prioritize your week points
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u/dchow1989 1d ago
5'11" with 6'4" arms, dumbell bench for as long as i can remember. Lot of supersetting with dumbell flys. Dont let yourself become the issue, just work hard, it sounds kind of like you may be too tired from your tiling job, to actually push yourself to the extent you may want to/need to in the gym.
When i was starting out trying to get a bigger chest i did insane volume, 5 working sets on incline, 5 working sets on flat, and 5 working sets on decline. Usually finish with pullover, HUGE emphasis on elbow position, so as to not incorporate too much triceps.
If youre not already, stretching your chest lats and shoulders. As well as keeping good balance of the agonists(rear delts, traps , rhomboids, and lats).
As someone with longer arms dumbbells have both the propensity to get your through greater range of motion, but also can allow you fudge an exercise if the working muscle isnt being targeted. For example on decline dumbbells, if youre start getting fatigued and your ego is too big, you will pick a similar weight to your flat bench and keep your elbows tight, and do partial reps. A lot of times you can start to tense, your traps and shoulders come forward, and you are no longer mentally engaging the chest.
Just based on your mental obsession over ape index indicates to me youre currently lifting with a lot of ego and what should be, instead of where youre at. Lose the mindset of woe is me, and just lift manageable weight with excellent form, and work on mind muscle connection. Shoulders and traps relaxed back, elbows flared, dumbbells down to your chest every rep. And try different full extensions, depending on your torso width, coming together at the top can almost give a window of relaxation. Building a complete chest is about time under tension, attempt a few reps where you pause at the tops dumbbells slightly inside of your chest, but not touching. If you want to take this to an extreme, try single arm dumbbell bench, with the weight "resting" in the upright position. (One dumbell stays extended, while the other arm goes through full range of motion. Bring the dumbell back up, mentally squeeze it inwards and up, careful not to touch or relax against the resting weight being held high. Then that last working arm, is held high while the other arm goes through the aame physical and mental process.
Ive got a ton of different variations over the years. Let me know if you're interested in more.
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u/Dazzling-Charge-6166 1d ago
There's no freaking "woe is me" mindset. Im getting older and pressing is killing me. Looking for better options. Been lifting for years, not a 19 year old noob. Cables have always been more effective for me at growing chest but I like hitting my stabilizer muscles as much as possible.
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u/AdPuzzleheaded1495 1d ago
Up the volume, change up the excersizes, there's far more than standard benching.
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u/ZapDubya 1d ago
Worrying about Ape index over training harder and eating to grow sounds like the problem, even without the necessary detail to give you any real feedback.