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How to increase your bench?

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  • How to increase your bench?

    I have been stuck at 155lbs for a while now and my bench wouldn't grow after that. I don't usually opt for spot even if it takes time for me to cleanly lift weight. Do you guys have any suggestions on what can I do to increase my bench.

    P.S : I bench once a week.

  • #2
    If you have been doing the same workout, try to change things up. If you have been doing sets of 10, drop down to a lower number of reps, like 3-5 and up the weight. Or if you have been doing a program with higher weight but lower reps, drop the weight and up the reps to 10-12. Try that for a few cycles and then test yourself again.

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    • #3
      Also try floor presses, you can naturally press a bigger weight this way and work on building your supporting muscles.

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      • #4
        You HAVE to bench twice a week if you want to get your weight up. I got stuck for a long time when I was benching 3x per week. I switched to a Push/Pull/Legs, six day split. That meant I was benching 2x per week. I did strength the first day and hypertrophy the second. The key is to always do 24-30 reps. So, on strength day, you want to bench at your 4RM for 6-7 sets. Then on hyper, do your 8RM or 10RM for 3 sets. I always follow up my bench with incline bench at lighter weight and some dumbells also. Since I started that, I'm slowly going up about 5 pounds every two weeks.

        Also, make sure you're eating enough complex carbs and protein. That's often the problem.

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        • #5
          I think all the advice above has merit and will help but I would add that if you have been working out for months and reached this plateau you should look at your overall training programme. Does it taper in anyway or are you doing the same thing consistently? Often we conflate working out with training. Training involves a long term plan with a taper difficulty and rest periods with a specific goal in mind.

          If your goal is to increase your bench 1RM at the end of two months then think of how you would structure the next two months. since you are aiming for a higher 1RM maybe start with:
          2 weeks training 5-6 times a week doing 12-14 reps,
          then 2 weeks training 4-5 times a week doing 10-12 reps
          keep reducing the number of reps and sessions in a week until you are doing 3-4 reps with long breaks between each set.
          Then in the second to last week have a rest week, do only very light weights to keep the blood flowing good nutrients to repair the muscle fully (studies show a full recovery from a 95% 1RM eccentric ergometer on quad muscle took 2 weeks).
          Now you're ready for the last week which will be your test, go to the gym, warm up gently and then smash your 1RM on the bench.
          (I used to do this with bench, squat, shoulder press and deadlift. I weighed 77kg and could lift 125kg, 200kg, 86kg and 195kg in that order)
          After this week you can tweak you programme and start again.

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          • #6
            Try doing two weeks of building a heavy limestone block wall (during your holidays). I added 20kg to my bench doing this. From 105kg to 125kg.

            If you have never done much manual labour be very careful with your back. With the heavy blocks, best to lift them with someone else using a block lifter.

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