having trouble going up on benchpress.Help with routine

[angleslam]

Ive always had success going up in my benchpress up until the last 2 or 3 months.I feel as if I have hit a wall. I usually do a few warm up sets with moderate weight( I will do a set of 175,225,) and then go up to my 2 rep max(which right now is 265).After i do my 2 rep max(ill do one set) I will lower the weight to 250 and do that till failure,and do a of set of 235.This method has been working for me since i started( A personal trainer that works a the old gym that i went to told me this was a very good way to go up in weight on a benchpress. Also,I know that 275 max isnt alot but 2 years ago the most i could lift was probably 90 pounds)Anyway, i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on a better routine to help get my max up. Id like to go up about 5 pounds a month to ever 2 months which i have been able to for the longest. Only recently have i hit this block..Thanks alot..truly appreciate feedback....

 

[angleslam]

Oh yeah..On another note..I can spell and speak English. I was just typing fast on the post above, and didnt preview it..lol.

 

[goldenone]

Here is a link to a good article if your looking to get stronger.http://www.t-mag.com/html/body_115b600.html

 

[transplant]

Here you go.....

I am really great at the bench press, (bodyweight of 195 and pressed 435) before my severe injury. Here it goes
3 sets of 3 reps then 2 sets of 3 reps(3 sec. pauses)
When I say 3 sec. pauses I mean bring the bar to your chest, but do not keep all the weight resting on the chest and keep it there for 3 sec. This is a powerlifting routine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Assuming this is what you are intrested in!
Example:
Monday (Light) Thursday 3sec. pauses
Bench press 4x5 3x3 2x3

Incline press 4x5
Dumbell Flyes 3x10-12
Military Presses 4x5
close grip Bench 4x5
Pressdowns 3x10-12

Mondays are light days 60 to 75% of your max
Thursday are heavy......heavy, but not to failure!

 

[110%]

i had the same problem my bench was stuck the whole summer, then it went up 45 pounds. what i found i needed to change the resps more often, it seems like ur doing low resp change it to high reps for about 8 weeks, also my diet is what helped me the most so u might want to review ur diet.

 

[angleslam]

Cool.Thanks alot for this info guys..Im going to try some of your suggestions and i will let you know how it goes. I also found that article that goldenboy posted(the link), very interesting!

 

[mekannik]

Try this routine (weights are relative):

Warm Up:
135 x 8
175 x 5
205 x 3
235 x 1
255 x 1

Neural:
270 x 1
270 x 1
270 x 1

Hypertrophy:
225 x 5
225 x 5
225 x 5
225 x 5
225 x 5

Rest: Warmup sets - 1:00
Neural - 3:00 to 5:00
Hypertrophy - 2:00 - 3:00

Progression: Week 1 - 3 sets neural
Week 2 - add one set neural
if and when you reach 8 Neural singles,
bump up weight by 5% and start over with 3 reps.

Increase hypertropy by 5 pounds once all 5 sets are reached.

You can pause on the chest - OR - use your normal cadence.


This is an old Poliquin routine that worked great for me.

As for your back off sets - the body does remember the last weight used, so backing off after your max lift with a lighter weight may also be hurting your development.

later.

 

[vtec96]

all good suggestions....

3 sets of 3 reps then 2 sets of 3 reps(3 sec. pauses)

transplant: what % would you recommend for these sets?
and how often do you do pause sets for bench?

I think im gonna start to include pause sets for my bench workout too.