# Stagnating on bench gains



## ColoradoJay (Sep 1, 2015)

So, I've been hitting the gym pretty hard, and very consistently now for about 7 months.  I've dropped a lot of body fat, and I've had some solid strength gains.  My bench, though, has stagnated in the last month.

In the 6 months from when I started working out again, my bench went from 195 (which, up till that point was my lifetime max - yeah, yeah - I realize, not that impressive) to 265.  I was pretty happy with that.  70 lbs improvement in 6 months.  Now, I do realize that initial gains are probably easier than continued gains - however - my bench hasn't increased 1 lbs in the last roughly 6 weeks.  I think I need to change things up, cause some muscle confusion, etc.  My bench workout usually goes something like this (cut/paste from my fitness tracker) on days when I'm not maxing out:

- Warm up either on 185 or 205 - 10 reps
- Bump to around 255 - usually get around 5 reps in
- Start working down in 5 lbs increments from 255 - I drop 5 lbs off when I can't do at least 3 reps
- When I hit 205, I then drop to 135 and bang out as many as I can quickly (maybe 15 or so at that point, because my chest is pretty much done)

So, lots of reps (typically 60 or so) - which may also be part of the problem.  On these same days I'll typically hit machine cable flies - other than that, the rest of my exercises are not chest.

Given what I've been doing - any recommendations on what to move to in order to jump start the strength gains again?


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## Milo (Sep 1, 2015)

Why not try working up instead of down? For example 5 sets of 3 then 3 sets of 1, increasing the 1rm percentage with every lift? So on your last set you try for a PR.
Seems like you're starting at an arbitrary weight then just doing drop sets when maybe you should be working up to get better numbers.


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## ToolSteel (Sep 1, 2015)

Get a slingshot and Google the rep goal system. Two best things I ever did for my bench.


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## mickems (Sep 1, 2015)

ColoradoJay said:


> So, I've been hitting the gym pretty hard, and very consistently now for about 7 months.  I've dropped a lot of body fat, and I've had some solid strength gains.  My bench, though, has stagnated in the last month.
> 
> In the 6 months from when I started working out again, my bench went from 195 (which, up till that point was my lifetime max - yeah, yeah - I realize, not that impressive) to 265.  I was pretty happy with that.  70 lbs improvement in 6 months.  Now, I do realize that initial gains are probably easier than continued gains - however - my bench hasn't increased 1 lbs in the last roughly 6 weeks.  I think I need to change things up, cause some muscle confusion, etc.  My bench workout usually goes something like this (cut/paste from my fitness tracker) on days when I'm not maxing out:
> 
> ...



hey CJ, I know exactly what you're talking about. I am currently trying to solve the same problem. let me know what you end up doing and how it worked for you.


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## ColoradoJay (Sep 1, 2015)

Reading up on the rep goal system now.  What's a slingshot?  



ToolSteel said:


> Get a slingshot and Google the rep goal system. Two best things I ever did for my bench.


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## Milo (Sep 1, 2015)

ColoradoJay said:


> Reading up on the rep goal system now.  What's a slingshot?



Search on YouTube. It's like a rubber band that goes around your arms and expands across your chest.


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## snake (Sep 2, 2015)

Welcome to the club of "Diminishing returns". Good news is you're not tapped out, not yet. I'm going the other way on this; any chance you need a week off? My over training is easy to spot. Weights start to feel heavy, the gains come to a screeching halt, joints start to ache and if I don't get the hell out of Dodge by then.... I'm inviting injury for dinner. When was your last layoff or deload?

Just an idea, think about it.


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## John Ziegler (Sep 2, 2015)

What snake said about time off is a good idea whether it be from the gym all together or jst benchpress. Bent over row military press seated row this and that are all good for bench. Your warm up weight seems high I usually warm up with the bar. You may be loosing some max on such a heavy warm up.


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## Tren4Life (Sep 2, 2015)

snake said:


> Welcome to the club of "Diminishing returns". Good news is you're not tapped out, not yet. I'm going the other way on this; any chance you need a week off? My over training is easy to spot. Weights start to feel heavy, the gains come to a screeching halt, joints start to ache and if I don't get the hell out of Dodge by then.... I'm inviting injury for dinner. When was your last layoff or deload?
> 
> Just an idea, think about it.




Go ahead Snake say it D-E-L-O-A-D.


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## ToolSteel (Sep 2, 2015)

The slingshot was developed by mark bell. It assists you in the bottom half of the lift. 
The absolute number one benefit I feel it gave me was getting used to handling heavier weight. When you go for a new max there's always that "oh shit" factor in your head when you unrack. I was able to hit 465 with a slingshot. So then when I went for a new raw 1 with 405, it didn't feel nearly as scary in racking it. 
The mental game can play a large part in your strength. 

I agree with snake, a short deload is never a bad idea if you've been smashing it for a while. Just make sure it's a structured deload, not just a week off or a week of slapping 135 a couple times.


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## ColoradoJay (Sep 2, 2015)

I actually had the same thought.  May do just that and take a week off.  I do like the rep goal system that was mentioned earlier in the thread too.  I'm thinking I'll take a week off and then hit it with a new workout mix to add some muscle confusion in. 



snake said:


> Welcome to the club of "Diminishing returns". Good news is you're not tapped out, not yet. I'm going the other way on this; any chance you need a week off? My over training is easy to spot. Weights start to feel heavy, the gains come to a screeching halt, joints start to ache and if I don't get the hell out of Dodge by then.... I'm inviting injury for dinner. When was your last layoff or deload?
> 
> Just an idea, think about it.


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## IWannaGetBig (Sep 2, 2015)

ToolSteel said:


> The absolute number one benefit I feel it gave me was getting used to handling heavier weight. The mental game can play a large part in your strength.



I've had mine for a couple months now. My PR prior was around 365. When I put the slingshot on, I hit 365 for 3, then racked it. I pressed 405 for the first time that day. The mental game is crazy...you just need to get under that kind of weight and "know" you can handle it.


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## ECKSRATED (Sep 3, 2015)

Stop doing the same thing every bench day. Do speed work one week then some rep work then some heavy work and so on. I'm a HUGE fan of close grip and the carry over to normal bench. Heavy close grip is what got my bench up. 

Start with incline bench some weeks. Floor presses. Incline pin presses. Gotta switch things up from time to time brother.


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## ColoradoJay (Nov 4, 2015)

Alright, I've got to report back in on this.  I switched things up per recommendations, and went to the rep-max-goal system.  Stopped messing around with going up in weight between sets, and just started at 235 and did as many sets as I needed to in order to clear 20.  Then I'd drop to 145 and just to endurance reps with close grips.  I hit the bench every other day...just hammering them out.  I'm happy to report that 2 months later, my max bench is now 305.


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## Milo (Nov 4, 2015)

Nice work. Chasing PRs seems to be like trying to hit a moving target. You have to be able to adjust once you start missing. Keep it up.


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## thisisfromwork (Nov 7, 2015)

Wow. Just had to grind along the way.


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