Bench plateu

[BulkCity]

Age: 19
height: 172cm
Weight: 77kg
bf: 14 %

My flat barbell bench routine usually looks something like this
Star out light reaching 12 reps
2nd set - 10 reps
3rd ser - 8 reps
4th set - 6 reps
5th set, 4 - 5 reps spotter usually required

For the past 3 - 4 weeks my 5th set has been stuck on 80kg, i don't seem to be improving at all, i up te weight to 82.5 kg and struggle with 3 reps, i stick with 80kg and can only smash out the same reps as the week before, any tips to get out of this massive plateu??

[marcus300]

Try 2 warm up sets, make sure you are fully stretch and warm up properly and then go straight into your heaviest set +. Do this for a 2-3 weeks then go back to your normal pyramid protocol.

[kronik420]

i tend to get stuck on the same weights for weeks and months, then all of a sudden my strength just increases, to put it graphically:

[baseline_9]

Marcus has put exactly what I would say....

I'd go with that.... Pyramiding is a great way to add volume to your workout but I'd just warm up and then hit it hard from the first set...

[DanB]

Also do a couple negatives after failure on reps

[capetown]

5/3/1 program. It is old, simple, and works. Has always got me over the wall when i hit one over the years.

[stpete]

You could also leave the BB alone for a few weeks and go heavy on flat bench DB's.

[Times Roman]

when i get stuck, sometimes i just take a break and deload for awhile. Sometimes a week, maybe two. during this time, i'll switch to another routine or approach the muscle group from some different angle. For me, when I return, at first it seems i've lost a little ground, but i quickly regain it and quite often, get "unstuck".

Hope this helps.

[600@50]

You could also leave the BB alone for a few weeks and go heavy on flat bench DB's.

What stpete works very well for me too. You can also try 3-4 heavy sets of 3 with a good pause on the first couple of reps. This will build starting strength. Where is your sticking point? At your chest, mid-point or lock out? Also don't always need a spotter on your final reps. Leave a rep in the tank so to speak. Your killing your CNS going to failure by basically doing forced reps every workout.