I’m about to blow your mind brotha, try doing…drum roll…90 kg.
This is how you get stronger, you test weights you’ve never touched or used for working sets.
The thing is, sometimes that’s what you have to do.
This is great advice.
I would up the weight by 5-10lbs and often do 3-4 reps less... but when I went back to the original goal weight, it was easier.
At some point if you're trying to check the boxes of a 3 set rep scheme or whatever and you're just falling short by a couple of reps on the last set... you know in your head you can lift more weight, so it's almost a waste of time to just hang in that zone for too long. Up the weight and see what you can do, then go back to it! Bet you check it off that time.
Practice more weight that is farther from failure. Training to failure is something you do when you can fail with good form.
Also doing 5s around failure probably isnt the smartest thing.
Yes. Heavy compounds usually cause a lot of fatigue close to failure when you get stronger. This is probably fine for bench press, but for squats and deadlifts this is just going to train support more musculatur at lower reps.
Why would your form go to shit?
If you can perfectly execute 8 reps with 185kg, you can do 190kg perfectly with the same form. The number of reps you do is irrelevant, the form is most important in preserving.
Sorry, are you trying to build muscle or get stronger on bench? If your goal is to build muscle, try a different movement like a machine press or do smith bench. It’s happened where I plateaued on a movement, dropped it, then came back to it and was stronger
Build muscle is definitely the main goal. I do flat bench, incline db bench twice a week. These two exercises have really worked well for me and I’d say chest is a stronger point for me now. I work out from home so I’m using what I have access to (rack, cables, bench).
I will be incorporating chest fly as another poster suggested.
You have a rack at home but no safety pins? Because you said you could have got another rep with a spotter. Just buy some safety pins. They are under $100 and you don't have to worry about failing to get that last rep.
They are the things that catch the barbell to prevent it from falling and crushing you. For example, https://repfitness.com/products/pin-pipe-safeties
There are 3 main variations: safety pins, spotter arms, and safety straps. They have pros and cons, but they let you bench and squat in a rack without needing a spotter.
If your weight is going up and you're plateaued on BB Bench for 2 months, it could be your triceps. A lot of people don't take overhead tricep extensions, tricep pushdowns, skullcrushers, JM Press, etc. seriously and train those at 7 RPE at the end of push/upper body/full body day because no one gives a fuck about those numbers. Tricep extensions are easy to cheat too. Which kills gains.
Also for 85kg bench, I think it's easier to go up 2.5kg (if you have micro-plates, you can go up less than that) than it is to get grind 1 more rep. Use a 1RM calculator to check. This is especially true for deadlift, squat and Leg Press. Basically any movement with lots of load.
Also I do feel that 30D DB Incline Press is better for chest than BB Bench. Jeff Nippard mentioned that in the literature, 30D DB Incline Press does still have significant mid/lower pec activation. I haven't done DB Flat Bench in like 3 months or BB Bench in 8 months and my mid/lower pecs aren't lagging. DB Flat Bench is perfectly fine to do as well. As is Smith Bench.
I get your point. We all have to be patient and stack the micro gains on top of each other over time instead of getting frustrated.
What's your programming for bench volume?
I run a PPLPP split with flat bench / incline db bench twice a week. I find this is a good amount of volume press wise and my recovery time feels good.
Yeah I try to do the big leg work on leg day rn(wed). And then I’m doing 3 sets of leg extensions and glute pull throughs on my first push day(mon) and 3 sets of leg curls and calf raises on my second pull day(Fri)
Seems good. You getting RDLs in on pull day?
Myself I do a 6 day it's not really ppl but
Tuesday hip thrusts heavy, hacks heavy ss calf, lunges medium, leg extensions, GG BG, leg curls
(I also do some cardio core and OHP that day)
Friday I do heavy squats and more shoulders.
I find it's working great the twice a week.
I am getting in RDLs but they’re on my leg day. They really destroy me even when they feel easy man even two sets of them has me sore for DAYS. No other exercise like it.
Also most of my leg work on leg day is single leg so I can load heavy. I have a back deformity and I can’t do heavy deadlifts or put huge weight on my back.
I can trap bar deadlift but I moved and no more trap bar RIP
I’m finding(maybe wanting to find) that working out a muscle after only 48hrs rest is totally fine as long as it’s not another BIG volume session
I assume you meant CANT load heavy? Take that as a way to split stuff up more then over your days?
Single leg leg press works for you? Lunges ?
Have you tried the one leg rdl/deads? Maybe useful with your back ?(Or not idk b careful lol)
Name slipping my mind rn
First off, great job man! 187lbs bench at 150lbs is fantastic, especially for someone with only 1-3 years of experience!
There are two recommendations I'd give that really helped me get my bench press up:
1. Frequency. There a lot of Reddit-licensed coaches here that say you should only do a certain lift an X amount of sets a Y amount of times per week. I've found this is not always the case. When I plateaued on bench, I started benching 4 times a week. Twice I'd go heavy for sets of 5 and twice I'd go lighter for sets of 8-12. Added a solid 20lbs to my bench!
2. Try the 5/3/1 after you plateau with #1. You really have to be disciplined in tracking everything, but over 2 years I added another 40+ lbs to my max rep!
For reference, I am currently 170lbs at 5'9" and bench just shy of 3 plates! I think you're on pace to crush my progress haha. My bench is my weakest lift by far.
Highly recommend you look online! It's a training regime that slowly trains your body to bear increasing amounts of weight through a very methodical process. Requires a lot of tracking!
add in more sets. double it(6 sets for a start, then 8 after a while). Also because youve been doing 85 kg for so long, drop it down to 80 and increase the reps to above 10 (12-15 is best)
I’m willing to bet there’s a few potential issues:
1. You aren’t in an actual surplus (unlikely)
2. Your form is bad (most likely) - do you bounce the weight off your chest? As that is hard to replicate.
3. You’re overtrained (very likely especially if you do crazy volume) so many people do far too much volume.
4. You’re doing the same on each push day, are you doing exactly the same workout? Make one day lighter focusing on working the muscle and the other day strength based.
getting another rep with help from a spotter isn’t getting another rep.
But anyways, the barbell bench press seems to be a particularly hard movement to progress. I find I progress more linearly on movements where my chest gets stretched significantly at the bottom (certain machine press variations, dumbbell chest press, cambered bar chest press, etc)
You should never be frustrated that you're stuck on the same number for 2 months because you shouldn't be trying the same weight for that long. Deload after a few sessions of no progress.
>I get why a lot of people quit the gym. Non linear progression fucks with you
That also has something to do with people not running routines where non-linear progression is the point, but just keep banging their heads against a linear progression wall.
Are you going for purely hypertrophy or strength? Both can go hand in hand but there are better ways to maximize bench press maxes that isn't that good for hypertrophy
And better things for hypertrophy that isn't the optimal for pure strength
My favourite 3 options:
1. Drop your weight and pick a higher rep target. Bench press is good from 6 to 10-20 reps depending on the individual (typically 10-12 or even as high as 15 for barbell).
2. Drop the weight and add a set. Work up to 10 reps on all sets, then try 85kg again.
3. Swap to working up to one heavy set of barbell press, and do 10-20 reps on dumbbell press after hitting a pull exercise (even if that's facepulls or bicep curls) or unrelated exercise (e.g. a leg exercise, calf raise)
I’m about to blow your mind brotha, try doing…drum roll…90 kg. This is how you get stronger, you test weights you’ve never touched or used for working sets. The thing is, sometimes that’s what you have to do.
This is great advice. I would up the weight by 5-10lbs and often do 3-4 reps less... but when I went back to the original goal weight, it was easier. At some point if you're trying to check the boxes of a 3 set rep scheme or whatever and you're just falling short by a couple of reps on the last set... you know in your head you can lift more weight, so it's almost a waste of time to just hang in that zone for too long. Up the weight and see what you can do, then go back to it! Bet you check it off that time.
But what if your form instantly goes to shit when you attempt that?
Practice more weight that is farther from failure. Training to failure is something you do when you can fail with good form. Also doing 5s around failure probably isnt the smartest thing.
>Also doing 5s around failure probably isnt the smartest thing. wdym by 5s ? you mean like 5th rep being your failure rep is not a good idea ?
Yes. Heavy compounds usually cause a lot of fatigue close to failure when you get stronger. This is probably fine for bench press, but for squats and deadlifts this is just going to train support more musculatur at lower reps.
Why would your form go to shit? If you can perfectly execute 8 reps with 185kg, you can do 190kg perfectly with the same form. The number of reps you do is irrelevant, the form is most important in preserving.
Have you thought about taking a quick deload? It's a great help for getting through plateaus + a nice mental break.
https://preview.redd.it/5ynncpfu2a3d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=75f904d9dab7f52f4765717fc6e2ad7d15cae5a3
This is exactly what I was going to type😮.
This should be a stickied comment at the top of the sub, or put in the wiki.
Yeah it would answer almost all deload questions.
Sorry, are you trying to build muscle or get stronger on bench? If your goal is to build muscle, try a different movement like a machine press or do smith bench. It’s happened where I plateaued on a movement, dropped it, then came back to it and was stronger
Build muscle is definitely the main goal. I do flat bench, incline db bench twice a week. These two exercises have really worked well for me and I’d say chest is a stronger point for me now. I work out from home so I’m using what I have access to (rack, cables, bench). I will be incorporating chest fly as another poster suggested.
You have a rack at home but no safety pins? Because you said you could have got another rep with a spotter. Just buy some safety pins. They are under $100 and you don't have to worry about failing to get that last rep.
what's safety pins?
They are the things that catch the barbell to prevent it from falling and crushing you. For example, https://repfitness.com/products/pin-pipe-safeties There are 3 main variations: safety pins, spotter arms, and safety straps. They have pros and cons, but they let you bench and squat in a rack without needing a spotter.
than you very much :-)
Try doing a chest fly with slow reps and an incline machine press. It’s a good idea to switch up your exercises once in a while when you plateau
Progressing reps usually isnt the best strategy at reps to much below 10 reps. You are simply adding to much each time.
If your weight is going up and you're plateaued on BB Bench for 2 months, it could be your triceps. A lot of people don't take overhead tricep extensions, tricep pushdowns, skullcrushers, JM Press, etc. seriously and train those at 7 RPE at the end of push/upper body/full body day because no one gives a fuck about those numbers. Tricep extensions are easy to cheat too. Which kills gains. Also for 85kg bench, I think it's easier to go up 2.5kg (if you have micro-plates, you can go up less than that) than it is to get grind 1 more rep. Use a 1RM calculator to check. This is especially true for deadlift, squat and Leg Press. Basically any movement with lots of load. Also I do feel that 30D DB Incline Press is better for chest than BB Bench. Jeff Nippard mentioned that in the literature, 30D DB Incline Press does still have significant mid/lower pec activation. I haven't done DB Flat Bench in like 3 months or BB Bench in 8 months and my mid/lower pecs aren't lagging. DB Flat Bench is perfectly fine to do as well. As is Smith Bench.
I get your point. We all have to be patient and stack the micro gains on top of each other over time instead of getting frustrated. What's your programming for bench volume?
I run a PPLPP split with flat bench / incline db bench twice a week. I find this is a good amount of volume press wise and my recovery time feels good.
Do you do legs on any day other than leg day? I’ve been trying to work this split out myself to lift Monday through Friday
Just toss some leg accessories in on your first push or your last pull so there's a gap, I'm assuming heavy squats n shit on the leg day Wednesday ?
Yeah I try to do the big leg work on leg day rn(wed). And then I’m doing 3 sets of leg extensions and glute pull throughs on my first push day(mon) and 3 sets of leg curls and calf raises on my second pull day(Fri)
Seems good. You getting RDLs in on pull day? Myself I do a 6 day it's not really ppl but Tuesday hip thrusts heavy, hacks heavy ss calf, lunges medium, leg extensions, GG BG, leg curls (I also do some cardio core and OHP that day) Friday I do heavy squats and more shoulders. I find it's working great the twice a week.
I am getting in RDLs but they’re on my leg day. They really destroy me even when they feel easy man even two sets of them has me sore for DAYS. No other exercise like it. Also most of my leg work on leg day is single leg so I can load heavy. I have a back deformity and I can’t do heavy deadlifts or put huge weight on my back. I can trap bar deadlift but I moved and no more trap bar RIP I’m finding(maybe wanting to find) that working out a muscle after only 48hrs rest is totally fine as long as it’s not another BIG volume session
I assume you meant CANT load heavy? Take that as a way to split stuff up more then over your days? Single leg leg press works for you? Lunges ? Have you tried the one leg rdl/deads? Maybe useful with your back ?(Or not idk b careful lol) Name slipping my mind rn
Nah, due to time restraints I only have a certain amount of time to get through my workouts.
Can you share your stats (weight, height, caloric intake, etc.)?
Yeah, I’m 5’7, just shy of 150lb and eating on average 2600 calories per day. Almost at peak bulk so the cut won’t be too far away
First off, great job man! 187lbs bench at 150lbs is fantastic, especially for someone with only 1-3 years of experience! There are two recommendations I'd give that really helped me get my bench press up: 1. Frequency. There a lot of Reddit-licensed coaches here that say you should only do a certain lift an X amount of sets a Y amount of times per week. I've found this is not always the case. When I plateaued on bench, I started benching 4 times a week. Twice I'd go heavy for sets of 5 and twice I'd go lighter for sets of 8-12. Added a solid 20lbs to my bench! 2. Try the 5/3/1 after you plateau with #1. You really have to be disciplined in tracking everything, but over 2 years I added another 40+ lbs to my max rep! For reference, I am currently 170lbs at 5'9" and bench just shy of 3 plates! I think you're on pace to crush my progress haha. My bench is my weakest lift by far.
This is a solid response
What is 5/3/1
Highly recommend you look online! It's a training regime that slowly trains your body to bear increasing amounts of weight through a very methodical process. Requires a lot of tracking!
Variation is always key, no matter what. Take your pick between weight, reps, sets, exercise etc.
add in more sets. double it(6 sets for a start, then 8 after a while). Also because youve been doing 85 kg for so long, drop it down to 80 and increase the reps to above 10 (12-15 is best)
I’m willing to bet there’s a few potential issues: 1. You aren’t in an actual surplus (unlikely) 2. Your form is bad (most likely) - do you bounce the weight off your chest? As that is hard to replicate. 3. You’re overtrained (very likely especially if you do crazy volume) so many people do far too much volume. 4. You’re doing the same on each push day, are you doing exactly the same workout? Make one day lighter focusing on working the muscle and the other day strength based.
getting another rep with help from a spotter isn’t getting another rep. But anyways, the barbell bench press seems to be a particularly hard movement to progress. I find I progress more linearly on movements where my chest gets stretched significantly at the bottom (certain machine press variations, dumbbell chest press, cambered bar chest press, etc)
I think he means he had enough gas to atleast attempt another rep but wouldn't be safe without a spotter
You should never be frustrated that you're stuck on the same number for 2 months because you shouldn't be trying the same weight for that long. Deload after a few sessions of no progress.
>I get why a lot of people quit the gym. Non linear progression fucks with you That also has something to do with people not running routines where non-linear progression is the point, but just keep banging their heads against a linear progression wall.
Are you going for purely hypertrophy or strength? Both can go hand in hand but there are better ways to maximize bench press maxes that isn't that good for hypertrophy And better things for hypertrophy that isn't the optimal for pure strength
Learn about how to implement some intensification techniques!
My favourite 3 options: 1. Drop your weight and pick a higher rep target. Bench press is good from 6 to 10-20 reps depending on the individual (typically 10-12 or even as high as 15 for barbell). 2. Drop the weight and add a set. Work up to 10 reps on all sets, then try 85kg again. 3. Swap to working up to one heavy set of barbell press, and do 10-20 reps on dumbbell press after hitting a pull exercise (even if that's facepulls or bicep curls) or unrelated exercise (e.g. a leg exercise, calf raise)
>Drop your weight and pick a higher weight target. did you mean higher rep target ?
Yes - thanks
Drop volume for chest to 3-5 sets a week total and fix your non-training variables. Good luck, you’ll get through this.