Hey, so im 16 and I’ve been training for about 6 weeks now. Over the last couple of weeks ive started a 3 day a week full body routine focusing on compound lifts. Im very weak at 6 foot 2 and 164 pounds, about 20 or 21 percent body fat so basically im skinny fat. I started benching the bar and have built my bench up to around 40kg however for 2 or 3 weeks now its been stuck, i normally bench twice a week for 5x3. I dont know why it won’t increase, im eating more food than normal and getting a good amount of sleep,from what I’ve read i should adapt quickly and add weight every workout however i just cant.To improve do i increase the reps, sets, do a deload or should i do something else? Any help would be appreciated
First of all congrats on adding those 20kg to the bench, maybe you dint realise but you doubled your bench press and that aint bad.
One problem is you say you have been training 6 weeks, which is nothing frankly, but on top of that you say over the last couple weeks you started a new program? so in six weeks youve done at least two programs?
Follow a trusted begginer program like Starting Strenght to the T first of all. Dont change programs so quickly.
And, dare i say, alot of beginners dont know how to fight and really push (especially millennial). You may need to toughen up.
Have patience and find a proven lifting program with built-in progression.
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Congrats on starting.
You’re body can only gain strength so fast. The strength you have gained up to this point, is most likely just efficiency with the movement patterns. As you lift more, your body gains proficiency in movements. Strength gains take time. It can take a year for some people to get their deadlift up 25lbs when they get stronger.
It’s a process.
Do one of these…
Hey @dunii, first off, congrats on the gains you have made. I also started out benching the bar only when I first started lifting so I know where you are coming from. There are a few things that could help you increase your bench.
The first thing I would say is that I would only do traditional heavy barbell bench once a week. The other day that you train that movement, I would use dumbbells, or focus on pausing at the bottom, or any other variation.
Another thing that will help your bench is working on building a strong upper back. You don’t realize how much back you use on the bench but this will help you immensely. Work on bent over rows, inverted rows, and even deadlift.
The last thing I would tell you is work on your overhead pressing strength. This actually translates very well to bench press. I have seen Olympic Weightlifters who never train bench press lay down and knock out sets of 315 lbs. I know its anecdotal but it really does work.
Just keep your head down and keep up the hard work. You’ll get there man, just keep after it! Good luck!
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