Hitting a Plateau

copperman · 19-Dec-04, 10:57 PM

I have been a personal trainer for awhile... I know how to tell and help people get past plateaus, but can't seem to do it for myself... My bench press was goig up a good solid 5 lbs. per week for a long time... and then it just quit and I can't get past it. I have tried changing my workout, almost everything. I am stuck at 335... no problem doing 315 for 3 or 4 reps, or 275 for 8-10, but no 340...
Any suggestions or weird training advice would be great.

I keep gaining weight and getting bigger too... But no bench

candyass · 20-Dec-04, 09:54 AM

It sounds like you're strong but slow. Its hard to move heavy weight if you dont have a lot of power behind the movement. Id suggest adding a speed bench day to your routine. Two days after you do your bench, grab a barbell, throw half of your 1 rep max on it. Then do your bench, but make sure you move as fast as possible. Concentrate on exploding form the bottom. I do 6 sets of 20.

Another thing you might try is what I call pause dips. Grap a weight belt, throw somehting low on it like 25 or 45. Do your dips, but this time pause at the bottom. Hold for two seconds, then explode up.

Some other things you might look into are power bands, and boards. Power bands will help you with your explosiveness, and boards (used for board presses) will let you lift heavier weight with good form (have a workout partner hold the boards on your chest, then lower the bar to the boards).

Hope this helps.

grambo · 20-Dec-04, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by candyass

Id suggest adding a speed bench day to your routine. Two days after you do your bench, grab a barbell, throw half of your 1 rep max on it. Then do your bench, but make sure you move as fast as possible. Concentrate on exploding form the bottom. I do 6 sets of 20.

you do know that DE Bench pressing is done in sets of 3? thats the rule. Usually 8-10 sets.

**Firehawk** · 20-Dec-04, 02:08 PM

Hey Copperman, welcome to DF. Might I ask what kind of weight you can row? Like on barbell rows?

Here's some info I'm going to mention, just passing it on from me to you. Jaster told me about it one time (he has a 500+ lb bench press to his credit).

He said he will set the pins at a certain height, take the weight and slam it against the bottom of the pins, and keep doing that to work either the low end ofyour lift and/or the upper end of the lift, depending where you set the pins.

Have you tried working on individual parts of your bench? You are only as strong as your weaknesses....

You have a great bench though as it is man. Nice.

skyman · 20-Dec-04, 02:16 PM

Take a break and focus on something else for a couple months.

Incline/Decline Bench instead of flat.
Sets of 15-20 reps staying light at around 225?
Try Super or wide/Narrow grips.
Do no Bench at all for a few weeks.

DaRkAnGel · 20-Dec-04, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grambo

you do know that DE Bench pressing is done in sets of 3? thats the rule. Usually 8-10 sets.

Righto chap. Depending on the total volume of the workout and the week's workout i do 8-12.

copperman · 20-Dec-04, 04:30 PM

Thanks to you all for the help... Usually my second chest workout of the week is a speed workout... I will put 225 on and do ten sets of 2... I do those two reps as fast as possible and rest 1 minute before going to the next set. Right now I am focusing on higher reps, I am taking a week off over Christmas and then I will start again for the new year... I tried 340 again this morning, but no luck.. then I did 335 with no problem... I am beginning to think it is all mental...

grambo · 20-Dec-04, 04:49 PM

5lbs in that type of weight range sounds mental to me.

Take the advice of others, do some other type of benching. Pick your weakness and a bench style that'll work on it, do it for like 3 weeks. Then hit flat bench again, and nail a pr.

**Firehawk** · 20-Dec-04, 05:45 PM

lol are you sure you are adding 2.5's and not 5's? lol

copperman · 03-Jan-05, 07:43 PM

I got so sick of that damn plateau I took a week off with only active rest... I went into the gym this morning and threw up 340 like it was a feather... Thank god I finally got past that weight... Thanks to everyone for your help... My goal for the year is 405... but more would be fine with me

**Firehawk** · 04-Jan-05, 08:12 PM

Congrats buddy. Good luck with the 405.