Hit the wall on the bench press need help thanx.

[pumpiniron]

Hey guys so heres the situation.

I came back from a 3 week holiday just before new years and got back into training as soon as possible. Before i left i was benching 85 kilos for 5 reps weighing bout 90 kilos (yer i know pritty piss poor for my weight).

I came back holidays weighing 94 kilos (yer got fat) so im cutting for a while to get lean.

The First week back i started off benching 72.5 and did 5 reps to failure as i have lost a fair bit of str drinking alchohol and not eating properly for the 3 week holidays. Up until now about 3 weeks my bench has gone up to 77.5 for 4 reps but i have hit the wall, i have been benching 77.5 for 4 reps for the last 2 weeks i absolutely push myself as hard as i can to failure but cant get past 4 reps.

I dont understand because all my other lifts are going up nicely but my bench wont budge. I am eating 500 calories under my b.m.r to cut. I have a fairly high bodyfat so i thought i could still gain str while cutting from all the stored bodyfat (energy).

My workout is as followed

workout A. Squat x 2
bench press x 3
barbell row x 2
weighted dips x 2
Barbell curls x 1-2
calfe raises x 2

Workout B. Squat x 2
Deadlift x 2
Military press x 3
Chin ups x 2
leg raises x 1
wrist curl x 1

Maybe my chest is easily overtrained thats why i have hit the wall? I might cut out bench presses to once a week instead of twice a week when i do the workout A for monday and friday and see if it works.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated thanx.

 

[nazzysmith]

Burning fat does not make you stronger...

Your in calorie deficit... You might not be eating enough protein... Try increasing your protein intake...

IMO Chest should be done 1.5 to 2 times a week If you have not recovered then you are not eating enough protein...

 

[pumpiniron]

keto diet mate 500 calories under my b.m.r , 60% fat 35% protein 5% carbs like said bench was going up then all of a sudden bam it stopped, Also stated all my other lifts are still going up. Something is not right. And actually if u read maxbrenners blog people with highbody fat like myself can build muscle and improve str while cutting for a period of time until they get there bodyfat down low, my body fat is still high so i should still be getting stronger on my bench which isnt happening .

 

[callan]

Your in calorie deficit...

this. cant expect fast gains while trying to drop fat mass.

 

[nazzysmith]

Hi mate...

You missed my point...

Fat burn does not make you stronger... In your case your in Ketosis... So the fat takes the place of your usual carb intake....

Your burning fat for energy... Not muscle growth..

Eating more protein and stimulating the muscle through the right excercise makes you stronger...

Yes you can burn fat and gain strength at the same time...

Im purely suggesting to check out your protein intake as you are in calorie deficit... Some of your protein could also be getting smashed up and used as carbs by your body...

Best of luck and hope you can break through your current issue...

Cheers

 

[pumpiniron]

Yer i see , back to what i said before tho my deadlift and squat are still rising good as are all other lifts so i dont think protein is the problem. I have mates tho that only train twice a week upperbody one day and lower body the next and all there lifts are going up good and they are cutting. Maybe my chest would respond to less training who knows as everyone is different. I will give it a go

 

[callan]

u cant compare the speed of gains on your bench to the speed of gains in squats and deads, they are completely different lifts. and remember something has got to give, my squat was increasing really fast, bench steady and dead barely moved (had 4 attempts, all fails, at 180 over a space of 3 months)
u cant expect everything to progress at the same time

 

[TrentZor]

I assume If your diets on track i would move to your bench lifting itself


Things u can try..

1. Revisit your technique..
- Are u squeezing your upper back and lats contracted together and remaining tight?
- Are u envisioning that you are pushing yourself away from the bar?
- Is your feet planted firmly and using them to push against the floor?
- Are u holding a gobful of air into your stomach when u begin the bench?
ETC


2. try and do a day of dumbell bench presses.
Are u struggling to stabalize the dumbells. (i.e stopping them from flying all over the place?). Try and do say 25-30kg per dumbell press for 5 reps. Is your arms/triceps shaking?

Ive found with a few of my members when i got them to switch in dumbell press they blasted through these walls.
One went from 90kg to 110kg in 9 weeks. For example Doing barbell mon and DB press friday

3. i was going to go into breaking down of each section of your bench (bottom/lockout/unrack) and how to go about fixig it but at a 77kg 4rm bench for your BW you generally have a few of weaknesses to be addressed.

 

[ener]

1. Revisit your technique..
- Are u squeezing your upper back and lats contracted together and remaining tight?
- Are u envisioning that you are pushing yourself away from the bar?
- Is your feet planted firmly and using them to push against the floor?
- Are u holding a gobful of air into your stomach when u begin the bench?
ETC

after I had a month or so off I found my technique was the worst, couldn't workout why, until I revisited it, blasted back up to where I was previously.

 

[0ni]

Are u struggling to stabalize the dumbells. (i.e stopping them from flying all over the place?). Try and do say 25-30kg per dumbell press for 5 reps. Is your arms/triceps shaking?

This is me, I've been fixing it slowly by doing lots of 1-2RM attempts on the bench press and it is getting better gradually. Should I incorporate some high rep dumbbell pressing after barbell bench? I was thinking using a weight I can do 15-20 reps with then repeating it for 1 or 2 sets or should I go heavy?

 

[TrentZor]

if u can try and do it 3 days after your bench press. Mon-thu so u can get close to max weight.

Otherwise do it right after your bench press (as u may know oni your fatigued so u will be using less)

For example .. 5x5 (same weight) or 3x8reps (pyramid the weights up on this) ..

Nothing like trying out things to see if they work for yourself.

 

[Bench Polkov]

Stick to benching 3x a week. Just reduce weight and work your way up again. Beginner lifters need frequency.

 

[0ni]

I'm not really a fan of deloading, doesn't really work for me I normally just max out a similar exercise keeping the groove on the original exercise then switching back lol. Like whenever I increase my push press from behind the neck, my bench goes up.

I'm doing 5x5 anyway benching often and there is an assistance slot on Friday for 3x8 pressing, normally dips; I'll try doing 3x8 dumbbell bench then instead and see where that gets me. Cheers for the help

 

[pumpiniron]

The dumbell thing sounds good i will try that.

 

[pumpiniron]

I assume If your diets on track i would move to your bench lifting itself


Things u can try..

1. Revisit your technique..
- Are u squeezing your upper back and lats contracted together and remaining tight?
- Are u envisioning that you are pushing yourself away from the bar?
- Is your feet planted firmly and using them to push against the floor?
- Are u holding a gobful of air into your stomach when u begin the bench?
ETC


2. try and do a day of dumbell bench presses.
Are u struggling to stabalize the dumbells. (i.e stopping them from flying all over the place?). Try and do say 25-30kg per dumbell press for 5 reps. Is your arms/triceps shaking?

Ive found with a few of my members when i got them to switch in dumbell press they blasted through these walls.
One went from 90kg to 110kg in 9 weeks. For example Doing barbell mon and DB press friday

3. i was going to go into breaking down of each section of your bench (bottom/lockout/unrack) and how to go about fixig it but at a 77kg 4rm bench for your BW you generally have a few of weaknesses to be addressed.

I was reading on some other forums some people reccommended drop sets if ur on a bench press platue, do u reccomend this?

 

[ride29er]

Ive found weighted dips help a lot with my bench, and the 5x5program @ 80%1rm, when I got back into the weights I droped 3kg and added 15kg to my 1rm bench press,

 

[catastrophic]

I am by no means a good Bencher however, I can see a few points here

- Trents - how is your setup? chances are it sucks
- I skim read your program, are you only doing 3 sets of bench per week? A good saying a heard the other day was 'too press more you need to press more'
- You also said you train to failure. I tell all my clients 'You want to build strength, not test it' and what I mean by that is maxing out every week in training is just going to tear you to pieces. Think about some kind of logical progression in your training.

 

[Bench Polkov]

Things that don't really help your bench:
Failure training
Dropsets
Lots of other bullshit

Things that help:
Frequent pressing
Linear progression for beginners
More pressing
Eating
Pressing some more

Bench to bench, its not rocket science. You don't need to add other exercises necessarily but sometimes they can help as extra work. Trust me, I'm a doctor.

 

[Goosey]

Ive found weighted dips help a lot with my bench, and the 5x5program @ 80%1rm, when I got back into the weights I droped 3kg and added 15kg to my 1rm bench press,

Dips are a good alternative and there is carryover.

 

[Jungnaut]

Its normal to be able to press less with DB's, yeah? I can do 80kg on barbells, only 70 on DB's. Its not the actual reps thats the problem, its just hard to get into the starting position. Dont wanna rock back and smash onto the floor lol.