WTF? My bench was stuck at 145 and

[Santa_Claus]

I took a week of rest to try olympic lifting and now that I come back in the gym I can do 200lbs x5 .

I always try to train to 1 set before complete failure and I bench twice a week.

Im not posting this to brag but I thought taking 1 week off was bad but I gained alot.

 

[Gigantasor]

"alot" is actually two words "a lot"

 

[DaPit26]

actually when you go heavy a week isn't so bad but not all the time. twice a week? i switch up now and then and only go twice a week once a month now. you do the same routine twice a week? if that's the case try going light once and then the next time go heavy. i was stuck at around 345 for my last set, 2 weeks off got 345 for 2 and maxed out at 360 (at end of set)

 

[Santa_Claus]

actually when you go heavy a week isn't so bad but not all the time. twice a week? i switch up now and then and only go twice a week once a month now. you do the same routine twice a week? if that's the case try going light once and then the next time go heavy. i was stuck at around 345 for my last set, 2 weeks off got 345 for 2 and maxed out at 360 (at end of set)

Yah Ill definitely try that. Seems that giving the body more rest is more beneficial than not giving it enough. It's psychological, people think that "the more you do, the more you get" but seems that it isn't so clear cut with weightlifting.

Anyways, 360 is AWESOME :. I just hope someday that ill be able to lift 300...

 

[Madcow2]

I'm having trouble understanding how your bench went from 145 x 5 to 205 x 5 in a week. All that said, it's important to understand the fatigue factor. If you don't understand this, you start going the way of HIT where you take longer and longer between workouts. This makes your conditioning and tolerance get worse and worse, then you run into a detraining effect.

Dual Factor Theory - Why this Works:
(The further one progresses the more critical it becomes to understand basic training concepts like this. If you aren't familiar with this, it is absolutely essential. This is how top athletes in sport are trained the world over and this includes adding LBM in addition to strength, speed, and power.)
JS182: http://forum.mesomorphosis.com/showpost.php?p=48&postcount=3
Matt Reynolds: http://www.readthecore.com/200501/reynolds-dual-factor-training.htm
Madcow (post #15 and on): http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=372686

 

[wnt2bBeast]

I'm having trouble understanding how your bench went from 145 x 5 to 205 x 5 in a week.

yeah i want whatever it is your on

 

[Santa_Claus]

I took a week of rest to try olympic lifting and now that I come back in the gym I can do 200lbs x5 .

I always try to train to 1 set before complete failure and I bench twice a week.

Im not posting this to brag but I thought taking 1 week off was bad but I gained alot.

I used to do 165 on the smith machine. I did that for about 6 months until you guys told me smith machines were complete crap.

I then switched to the bench and could only do like 135 when I started, 4 months later I was only at 145 but I did tons of useless isolation chest worked that drained me. Took a week off and I decide to do my bench and BAM 200lbs baby.

What helped me, I think, is taking a week of rest and stopping isolation work a little bit before that. My triceps and chest were fully rested and recovered and that helped alot.

 

[blut wump]

I read a training guide a few months back which took some examples similar to this and went on to deduce that longer rests between working a body part were all part of a good program. Rookies could do whole-body workouts three times a week but a more conditioned lifter needed a week to allow a muscle to recover. An elite lifter could require two or even three weeks to recover properly from a workout. He went on to say that some of the athletes he trained would only work a bodypart every month or so and were making better gains than they ever had. You can probably guess that he didn't get my $50.

Before I stumbled on the madcow 5x5, which was before the monster thread existed, I used to take a week off every four to six weeks or, at least, have a really light week. If I didn't do this I'd start getting muscle pulls and assorted pains. I almost always found that I came back refreshed and stronger. I also found that my appetite went through the roof.

The next stage is optimizing the periods between deloads and making the most of the deloading phases themselves which means getting a good program. I'd recommend taking time to read through some of the many articles on dual-factor training. They can be a real eye-opener. Madcow links to some of the best on the contents page of his 5x5 program.

Edit: I should read prior posts before waffling on. His links here are to dual-factor proponents.