My PR in the first cycle for the press was 8x65lbs, but I haven’t been able to hit that since. In fact, there’s been a steady decline. In the first week of my third cycle, I’m only able to do 5X65lbs, which is the required workout. I’ve spent a few weeks troubleshooting (including sleep, meals, etc.) but nothing’s worked.
Assistance work is Boring But Big.
Any advice?
I would go back to the first cycle and start over. There is nothing at all wrong with that. Also, are your other lifts improving? Remember that it’s nearly impossible to improve on every lift at the same time.
Let us know what you choose to do and ask more questions if need be.
[quote]sylvielifts wrote:
My PR in the first cycle for the press was 8x65lbs, but I haven’t been able to hit that since. In fact, there’s been a steady decline. In the first week of my third cycle, I’m only able to do 5X65lbs, which is the required workout. I’ve spent a few weeks troubleshooting (including sleep, meals, etc.) but nothing’s worked.
Assistance work is Boring But Big.
Any advice?
[/quote]
We all definitely have shitty days in the gym. Are you sure your nutrition is on-point? After your BBB lift are you getting some Lat work in? Joey is right, you can always reset with your new training max if you have to.
You can always go back to the first cycle. Also, why don’t you try not doing BBB for the press and just focus on the main sets. Perhaps less is more in this instance.
I would guess you started to heavy, Dial the numbers back a bit and see how you get on.
Remember the tenets of 5/3/1, start TOO LIGHT and work your way up slowly. If you hit a snag, go back a couple steps and work back up. SIMPLE. If you’re afraid like many are of the weight being too light, remember that is what the PR SETS are for. Getting the most out of any weight in your hands.
Also, I don’t know your gender, but if you are a healthy male and stuck under 100 lbs for pressing work sets, I think more FOOD should be part of the solution as well.
The press is a bitch because its the lightest relative weight, so increases in the 5 pound increments come slower. If that statement didnt make sense, try this one: To add 5 pounds to a 315 pound PR, you need a 1.5% increase. To add 5 pounds to a 65 pound PR, you need an 8% increase.
A couple things that worked for me aside from the obvious (diet, programming, accurate TM) was learning how to breathe properly during the press. It’s difficult, at least it was for me, especially when the weight gets very heavy because you damn near pass out. I also think that doing FSL with paused reps was very beneficial to me.