I've plateaued on my bench press, any advice?

Rygu

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New Years Eve 2019 I finally benched teh 225 for one rep. Currently my max is 285 and I can rep 225 for 8. But it's been like 5 months and those are both still my max numbers. I've googled it and apparently plateauing between 275 and 325 is not uncommon. I have no interest in any PEDs but would like to hit at least 315 max.

Since most people on Sherdog bench 400+ give me some advice Sherbros.
 
New Years Eve 2019 I finally benched teh 225 for one rep. Currently my max is 285 and I can rep 225 for 8. But it's been like 5 months and those are both still my max numbers. I've googled it and apparently plateauing between 275 and 325 is not uncommon. I have no interest in any PEDs but would like to hit at least 315 max.

Since most people on Sherdog bench 400+ give me some advice Sherbros.
You don’t need PEDs to hit 315 at 210 lbs lol.
 
You gave us literally no details on your current programming. Video of technique?
 
New Years Eve 2019 I finally benched teh 225 for one rep. Currently my max is 285 and I can rep 225 for 8. But it's been like 5 months and those are both still my max numbers. I've googled it and apparently plateauing between 275 and 325 is not uncommon. I have no interest in any PEDs but would like to hit at least 315 max.

Since most people on Sherdog bench 400+ give me some advice Sherbros.
Do you follow a specific strength programe - eg. 5x5, 531 etc. If not that is a good place to start. If you want to lift heavy you need to train heavy with a high level of intensity. If you aren't close to failure on the final sets the weight isn't heavy enough.
Drop the weight a bit then stick to 5x5 for say 10 weeks adding a small amount of weight every week. Add in drop sets and heavy negative reps or chain work if possible. Try and find where the weakness is eg. do you struggle at the bottom of the rep or is it locking out at the top etc.

Aside from that I have found that it is usually the smaller muscles that let you down on compound lifts. Try not flat benching at all for 4 weeks and instead do incline/decline, DB presses (especially single arm to help balance your strength), push presses from the floor, tricep and shoulder work like dips etc. Also work on your core - when I switched to zercher squats it really helped my all round strength.
 
New Years Eve 2019 I finally benched teh 225 for one rep. Currently my max is 285 and I can rep 225 for 8. But it's been like 5 months and those are both still my max numbers. I've googled it and apparently plateauing between 275 and 325 is not uncommon. I have no interest in any PEDs but would like to hit at least 315 max.

Since most people on Sherdog bench 400+ give me some advice Sherbros.

What does your programming look like? It's possible that you're not doing enough benching (not enough volume and/or frequency) or that you're doing too much of other stuff that isn't helpful, or both. Assuming your nutrition and sleep are OK, that's a common issue. Maybe there's some technical problems too. Let us know how you're training.
 
Do you follow a specific strength programe - eg. 5x5, 531 etc. If not that is a good place to start. If you want to lift heavy you need to train heavy with a high level of intensity. If you aren't close to failure on the final sets the weight isn't heavy enough.
Drop the weight a bit then stick to 5x5 for say 10 weeks adding a small amount of weight every week. Add in drop sets and heavy negative reps or chain work if possible. Try and find where the weakness is eg. do you struggle at the bottom of the rep or is it locking out at the top etc.

Aside from that I have found that it is usually the smaller muscles that let you down on compound lifts. Try not flat benching at all for 4 weeks and instead do incline/decline, DB presses (especially single arm to help balance your strength), push presses from the floor, tricep and shoulder work like dips etc. Also work on your core - when I switched to zercher squats it really helped my all round strength.
What does your programming look like? It's possible that you're not doing enough benching (not enough volume and/or frequency) or that you're doing too much of other stuff that isn't helpful, or both. Assuming your nutrition and sleep are OK, that's a common issue. Maybe there's some technical problems too. Let us know how you're training.
Generally I do chest twice a week.

I warmup with 135, usually 2 sets of 8. Then 185 2 sets of 6. Then I do max reps at 225. Then ill hit the Smith machine and do incline bench usually start at 140 for a few sets then goto 190. Usually 8 reps for the incline on both weights but the very last set ill do max reps.

I also do military press once a week, and chest press with dumbbells once a week.
 
Generally I do chest twice a week.

I warmup with 135, usually 2 sets of 8. Then 185 2 sets of 6. Then I do max reps at 225. Then ill hit the Smith machine and do incline bench usually start at 140 for a few sets then goto 190. Usually 8 reps for the incline on both weights but the very last set ill do max reps.

I also do military press once a week, and chest press with dumbbells once a week.
You need a real program.
 
Generally I do chest twice a week.

I warmup with 135, usually 2 sets of 8. Then 185 2 sets of 6. Then I do max reps at 225. Then ill hit the Smith machine and do incline bench usually start at 140 for a few sets then goto 190. Usually 8 reps for the incline on both weights but the very last set ill do max reps.

I also do military press once a week, and chest press with dumbbells once a week.

If you want to focus on improving your barbell bench I'd: Drop the Smith Machine completely, just forget about it. Focus on barbell benching. Drop either the military press, or the dumbbell press. Replace that slot with a bench variation (paused/pin/band/chain/long pause/board/etc), so that you're benching at least 3 times a week in some form + doing some other press work once a week (DBs or military). Pick a bench variation and stick with it for a few weeks.

Your singles can benefit from being practiced. Doing nothing but AMRAPs and sets of 8+ and then trying a 1rm out of the blue is probably not gonna cut it. You need to be lifting in a zone that is closer to your max. Think sets of 4-6 for volume, and regularly schedule a single at 90% or RPE 8 at the beginning of your session. Try not to fail sets too often. There's other ways to do it, but that's one.

The overall takeaway is that you probably need to do much more actual benching (not Smith) and less of other stuff, and that you need to work in a zone that is closer %wise or RPEwise to your singles, while still getting enough volume, if you want to get better at singles. How much volume is appropriate should be determined experimentally, but 3x a week, 4-6 sets a day of 4-6 reps each, with some singles thrown, in can be a good start. Look to avoid grinding and failing sets too often, while adding 5lbs when you can from week to week, and leaving 1-2 in the tank most sets.

The reality is that you'd benefit from an actual professionally written program, complete with peaking protocol, etc. But I think that alone will improve your results. Basically any reputable bench/powerlifting oriented program will give you massive gains compared to what you're doing currently.
 
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If you want to focus on improving your barbell bench I'd: Drop the Smith Machine completely, just forget about it. Focus on barbell benching. Drop either the military press, or the dumbbell press. Replace that slot with a bench variation (paused/pin/band/chain/long pause/board/etc), so that you're benching at least 3 times a week in some form + doing some other press work once a week (DBs or military). Pick a bench variation and stick with it for a few weeks.

Your singles can benefit from being practiced. Doing nothing but AMRAPs and sets of 8+ and then trying a 1rm out of the blue is probably not gonna cut it. You need to be lifting in a zone that is closer to your max. Think sets of 4-6 for volume, and regularly schedule a single at 90% or RPE 8 at the beginning of your session. Try not to fail sets too often. There's other ways to do it, but that's one.

The overall takeaway is that you probably need to do much more actual benching (not Smith) and less of other stuff, and that you need to work in a zone that is closer %wise or RPEwise to your singles, while still getting enough volume, if you want to get better at singles. How much volume is appropriate should be determined experimentally, but 3x a week, 4-6 sets a day with some singles thrown in can be a good start. Look to avoid grinding and failing sets too often, while adding 5lbs when you can from week to week, and leaving 1-2 in the tank most sets.

The reality is that you'd benefit from an actual professionally written program, complete with peaking protocol, etc. But I think that alone will improve your results. Basically any reputable bench/powerlifting oriented program will give you massive gains compared to what you're doing currently.
I'll give that a shot for the next month or two and see how that pans out. Thanks man.
 
I'll give that a shot for the next month or two and see how that pans out. Thanks man.

I'd give it at least 6-8 weeks of progressive overload on your sets, maybe more if you're making good progress (for example, consistently adding 5lbs to your sets without failing reps). It's OK to repeat a workout here and there, but If you're not progressing for 2-3 weeks straight maybe add a set, even if you have to drop the weight slightly. Plan to test your max at the end of that. One or 2 weeks before testing your max, it probably makes sense to cut out a couple sets and lower your rep range from 4-6 to the 2-4 range.
 
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New Years Eve 2019 I finally benched teh 225 for one rep. Currently my max is 285 and I can rep 225 for 8. But it's been like 5 months and those are both still my max numbers. I've googled it and apparently plateauing between 275 and 325 is not uncommon. I have no interest in any PEDs but would like to hit at least 315 max.

Since most people on Sherdog bench 400+ give me some advice Sherbros.
German volume training or “sets of 10”.
 
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