I am not sure if it is poor forum etiquette to post on a coaches forum so at risk of crossing that boundary my advice would be the following:
If you are stuck at a particular weight on a lift I go back to an article I read from Dave Tate which discussed it being mental, technique, or strength related. I think for myself it’s usually a combination of all those. Pretty sure that was also the point of the article but my brain wanders.
The best way to get through a plateau in my experience is:
- to practice that particular lift a lot more (prioritize it) and practice similar movements.
- work on accessory exercises that focus on eliminating surrounding/relative muscle weaknesses
- get used to the feeling of heavier weights in your hands. This helps with the mental aspect along with repeated practice.
- gain weight
First place to start is to re-introduce yourself to proper technique. For pressing overhead I recently watched a YouTube video by Brian Alsruhe that I found really helpful. I suggest giving that a look as well as articles on Tnation focusing on pressing.
I think number 4 can often be overlooked by younger lifters. It is important that you are gaining weight over time by lifting. If you are not, this could be the very reason for getting stuck.
The mental aspect of a particular weight can also really get in your head too. A good way to get around this is to pick an odd implement that isn’t a 45 lb barbell and to press with that by putting odd weight plates on it (35’s and 15’s) and lifting without actually calculating what’s on the bar before lifting it. You may be surprised what’s possible. Also, focusing on a variation of that lift that allows you to use more weight (like push-press) may be a good way to desensitize you to that heavy feeling when you unrack said plateau weight (ie 105).
So how I would specifically address the issue would be to set out a day each week to focus on pressing things overhead and still have a separate day for bench pressing. I would have a main lift that got progressively heavier over a period of time (I like 16 weeks). And then 2-4 accessory lifts that would help me focus on strengthening that lift from different perspectives.
Example Press Workout:
Main A) Push-Press 6x3 (…or 3x3 when load > 90%)
Accessory B) Press 4x6
Accessory C) Z-Press 3x10
Accessory D) Dips (weighted) 3x8
Weights don’t really matter for accessory lifts. Just get in the work and push yourself to add weight each week if you can. Listen to your body and how you feel that day after the main sets and pick the right weight to put in the work. The main lift is the priority. If it goes up so will your 1RM. The harder you can push yourself on the accessory lifts the better your new 1RM ought to be.
Week 1 70% 6 sets of 3 reps of 1RM for Push-Press
Week 2 75% 6x3
Week 3 80% 6x3
Week 4 70% (Deload)
Week 5 75% 6x3
Week 6 80% 6x3
Week 7 85% 6x3 (this will be a tough workout)
Week 8 75% (Deload)
Week 9 80% 6x3
Week 10 85% 6x3
Week 11 90% 3x3
Week 12 85% 6x3
Week 13 90% 3x3
Week 14 95% 3x3 (this will also be a difficult workout)
Week 15 no workouts
Week 16 New 1RM on Press
Really the program you run is not as important as having a plan and seeing it through. The Reps,sets, and loading above isn’t super important…,it’s just what I have done in the past. Let yourself gain weight for 16 weeks, hit the press and accessory lifts hard with a progressive overload scheme and I am confident you will press more than 105 lbs in 4 months.
Lastly, the press is a difficult lift to progress on in my experience. I can’t really say I see a lot of carry over from press to bench press but I do find the opposite to be true. If your bench press is increasing then your press likely will go up slightly too.
Hope this helps. If Jim responds disregard anything I just said and do what he recommends.
