Help with workout!

[Raider75]

So a little about myself I'm 21 yrs old, 6' at 210lbs so I'm not a small guy and I used to play football back in highschool. I've been having problems building my chest ever since I started working out. Whether it was back in high school or now in college it is the hardest part of my body to build. Last summer I got my bench back up to 185lbs, where i left it back in sophomore year of highschool, but after summer I took time off from the gym because of school. Now I'm trying to get back into my gym routine, but it's incredibly hard for me to bench. When I started this year I was able to put up 185 normally with a little struggle after the 1st set, which was fine because of the 3 month absence from the gym, but at this point its hard for me to do 3-5 sets at 135 and it seems like each week my chest gets weaker and weaker. Is there a reason why? What can I do to increase my bench?

At the same time I can't get the bar to touch my chest because I tore my rotator cuff 2 years ago and never had the proper therapy so it hurts if I let the bar touch my chest. Instead it goes 2-3 inches above my chest, could this be a reason why it's so hard for me to gain in my benching?
Any response that might help me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Fuse]

how often do you bench? once or twice a week is more than enough imho

[Raider75]

usually once or twice a week. Everytime I workout my chest, i run out of energy before i feel anything and after my workout it doesn't even feel like i worked out my chest at all. Should I start at low weights and build my endurance before i start strengthening since i've taken so much time off?

[Aspirin]

This is a good question for the veterans here. I've noticed with my chest and arms sometimes even after 10 sets I don't feel pumped. And I'm trying to do slow maxed out sets for sets 2 - 4. I'm on a schedule now where I don't do so many sets but I just can't get that pumped up feeling.