Benching Problem...

[BennyGunnz]

Hey guys,
I have been benching very well for the past two months my max bench has increased by 30lbs and i have been feeling great. The problem is last monday and this past monday i have had trouble benching. I couldnt do nearly as much weight as i was doing. I kinda found this wierd. I really dont know what it could be from. Maybe i need a new program or i should changeup my workout. I am not sure if i hit a plateau or something. A friend of mind said i should change my chest workout every week so that my muscles dont get used to it. I thought about taking a week or two of chest and just doing some pushups and stuff. If anyone has any input on this i would be very greatful.

Thx Ben

 

[TRUEsoldier]

you might have hit a plateau, you might not be eating and restint enough lately! there is alot of things it can be.

Changing up routines are good, but I would receommend changing around every 6-8 weeks! But it is up to you. best of luck to ya bro

peace

 

[BennyGunnz]

I have been doing this workout for way over 8 weeks now. i think it is time to change i dont know what to do though. The thing that makes me think i plateau is how drastically the amount of weight i can bench went up! Should i use dumbells instead of regular benching with a bar now? If anyone has a routine that they do i would appreciate it if you can post it!
Later Ben

 

[Allon]

Definitely change it.
I think a week off chest with just pushups is a good idea.
Then change the following:
dumbells to barbells.
Decline to incline to flat.
do dips.
crossover and flyes
keep changing between all of the above. With different positions and dumbells and barbells you can change a lot of things all the time.
Then most importantly change rep ranges and weights accordinally, for instance if you were doing 10 reps up to now, start off with less weight and go for 15 reps. do this for a week or two then change back to 10 reps for one week, then up the weight and go for 5-6 reps. keep changing reps man and your body will adapt and go forward.

 

[wnt2bBeast]

personally i hate the idea of changing main exercises because you never become great at that move if your continually changing it..my advice would be to change your rep range..if your doing 5's do sets of 8-10 and vice versa..the only thing i like switching is from prioritizing either flat or incline...

 

[cwick0]

personally i hate the idea of changing main exercises because you never become great at that move if your continually changing it..my advice would be to change your rep range..if your doing 5's do sets of 8-10 and vice versa..the only thing i like switching is from prioritizing either flat or incline...

I couldnt agree more.

How long have you been going heavy?

If i go heavy for more than 3-4 weeks, then my benching starts to become stagnant.

 

[BennyGunnz]

Hey guys thanks for the posts - I have been lefting pretty heavy for like 4 weeks!
Later Ben

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

Totally agree with wnt2b and cwicko.

 

[Carmen]

personally i hate the idea of changing main exercises because you never become great at that move if your continually changing it..my advice would be to change your rep range..if your doing 5's do sets of 8-10 and vice versa..the only thing i like switching is from prioritizing either flat or incline...

i agree with this.
don't change main exercises and only switch routines every 6 or 8 weeks- you gotta give it time to work.
maybe just take a week off and try again. also, make sure you're hydrated.

 

[Allon]

Ok, I think changing exersize more often would help for size. For actual strength maybe sticking at exersizes at least for 6 weeks like you guys are saying makes more sense but swapping up reps a bit more often is the way to go.

 

[Rod555]

When ever ive got stuck on a weight and i needed to get past that point Ive always used negative reps. Say your stuck on 300lbs, you can nearly 1RM it, but not quite. So sling and extra 20 lbs on and get someone to spot you, concentrate on lowering the bar in a controlled manner, dont just drop it. and then use get the spotter to take the weight and repeat for 4-5 reps. soon you should be able to bench the 300 lbs.

This has always worked for me, might be worth a try.

 

[eat big]

negatives have helped me break plateaus

 

[Tom Treutlein]

WSB has you switching the ME exercise every 1-3 weeks. Sticking with an exercise too long causes you to plateau due to neural adaptations. The best thing to do, when strength is concerned, is use a variation of the lift you're trying to improve. Something that will change the fiber recruitment patterns and rate coding.

 

[BennyGunnz]

Defintely a plateau guys! i have been using the same rountine on my bis and tris for a long time. In class today i thought maybe i would use them for an experiment. So i wrote myself a new routine and did it. Lets just say i left the gym and went to sleep. the new routine kicked my ass and my arms got such a pump i could not believe it. I think my chest is going to respond the same way when i re-write my chest workout.
Later Ben

 

[Tom Treutlein]

A pump is no way to gauge your workout.

 

[b fold the truth]

Where are you failing on the exercise?

What does your routine look like?

B True

 

[wnt2bBeast]

WSB has you switching the ME exercise every 1-3 weeks. Sticking with an exercise too long causes you to plateau due to neural adaptations. The best thing to do, when strength is concerned, is use a variation of the lift you're trying to improve. Something that will change the fiber recruitment patterns and rate coding.

true but they are all so closely related..
your not switching from dbells to a bar which can cause some to loose their groove..it has happened to me with deads..