I am confused because I can’t seem to get my bench to increase since I dieted down from 240 to 210 at 6’2. When dieting it is the only lift I lost strength on. I used to do 280 for 3 reps a la perfect rep and it’s now down to 260 for 2. All my other lifts during my 12 week diet stayed the same and my dl even increased. I am wondering whether it could be my routine?
Wednesday: Legs/Shoulders Low Carb
ATG Squat 3 rep
Rom DL 5 rep
Military Press 3 rep
Lat Raises 5 reps
Thursday-Saturday repeat Monday-Wednesday
Sunday off
Diet:
6 whole eggs
100g cheddar cheese
500g Ground beef
250g chicken
green veggies with every meal
Pre workout on high day: 300g oats, fruit, 50 g whey moderate, 5g Cee: 200g oats, fruit, 50 g whey, 5g CEE low day 50g oats, fruit, 50 g whey, 5g CEE
Pre and During on all days: 100g Vitargo, 75g whey
Since I started bulking again all my lifts have increased in the last 3 weeks but my bench has stayed the same I even lost a rep in my last Chest/tri workout. Should I just stop benching for a while and then add it back in again?
You’re going to be naturally better at some things due to muscle insertions, limb length, etc.
As long as you’re making progress in some of your pushing exercises your bench will eventually have to move, but you can take a real hard look at it first to determine what really IS holding you back?
Is it just a strength issue, is it a form issue, etc.
You have ONE exercise for triceps- muscles VERY important for a big bench - compared to multiple exercises for your other bodyparts.
You program also has other flaws for bodybuilding training:
ONE exercise for quads.
ONE exercise for hamstrings.
You have THREE pressing exercises for chest. (This might not be a flaw if you can recover from it, but three compound exercises for one muscle group is a lot.)
You have only two exercises for upper back, a muscle group that most seasoned pros have the most exercises for.
We also don’t know if abstaining from the bench will improve it in the long run. Try and see what happens if you like.
If you’re so concerned about your bench, why not follow a bench press specific strength routine for a few months and then go back to bodybuilding training.
Here’s how it could look…
Day 1 - Max Effort
Bench press variation: Work up to a 1 to 5 rep max.
I’m not really sure what the problem is that’s the issue, before I dieted I progressed on my bench really quickly, just now it hasn’t gone up in weeks.
Just a thought, you were dieting and gained strength and/or maintained your other lifts, so my thought process brings me to think that you were working your bench too hard to recover from with reduced calories.
Why don’t you try the 531 %'s to give your body a break from the constant high intensity that’s going nowhere?
Dips are a triceps excercise for me I never feel it in my chest.
When training 6 times a week training every bodypart twice I thought 2 leg excercises done twice a week are sufficient. I am progressing nicely on both RDL and Squat.
And Back I am used to a lot more, I just have the time to train more, (I am a student and term has just ended) and thought I’d try a basic 3 way split? Is there a better way to set it up?
Normally before my diet I was on a 4 day (Chest/Tri , Back , Shoulders/Bi , Legs) done 2 on 1 off.
531 might be a good idea, however I’ve only been on this rather high intensity for the last 3 weeks?[/quote]
Oh okay by your post it sounded like this was your regular routine. Anyways yeah I think the 531%'s a are a good choice for maintaining/improving powerlifts while dieting.
If you search for C_C’s training thread you can find lots of 531 setups
what makes you think that? Have you experienced the same?[/quote]
Well when I’ve lost weight in the past that was the most difficult lift to maintain. I’ll add however that I always had trouble benching anyway (very long arms)
However that is something I’ve read and heard from other lifters “losing weight will affect your bench the most”
personally, my bench and military press really tank when i cut. ROM typically increases when losing fat. i think alot of these losses are somewhat biomechanical in nature, combined with the fact that you’re taking in less calories than normal which doesn’t help.
deadlift seems to get better with weight loss, because your stomach doesn’t get in the way as much.
I agree with some of the posters here that your split was questionable. 3 pressing exercises seems to be a bit much, even if it is high carb day.
I don’t have much experience with your particular lifting style (perfect rep, low volume, high intensity) so I can’t comment on that.
There are a few things you could try in regards to increasing your bench again:
you could go on a bench press specialization program like someone already said.
you could ditch bench press all together for 4-6 weeks and concentrate on overhead presses and external rotations.
depending on where you are failing on bench press, you could try hammering that particular area. i.e.- if you’re failing off your chest- weighted dips, if you’re failing at the lockout- board presses, close grip, or floor presses.
Probably the easiest thing you could try is just lifting at a lower % of your 1RM. Sure it doesn’t feel good to lift less weight, but if you really concentrate on your form, and get some good reps in, your bench will undoubtedly increase to atleast what it was before. Then you may have to go with one of the above suggestions.
Not trying to be a dick or anything but unless your having technique issues, or some kind of injury holding you back; what you have to do is pretty obvious. You can start by looking at the routines of those with already big bench numbers and finding the commonality i.e. triceps, upper back, lat, delt, and speed work if necessary.
These topics have been beaten to death and not much has changed in the last 20 years. What people did to get a big bench then. They are still doing now albeit with minor variations.
This never worked for me. In fact, when stopping ALL shoulder pressing and rotator cuff work my bench went up.
This worked for me, gradually increasing intensity and lowering volume while leaving many reps shy of failure, benching twice a week. No inclines no close grips no shoulder pressing no dips only bench. I did something similar like 6x6@70% 6x5@75% 5x6@75% 5x5@80% 4x6@80% etc, making sure all reps are with perfect form.