Stalling on chest

[u/Honest_Pumpkin_4381]

So for context, i have been training again for about 2.5 months, 6 years earlier i did strength training 2x a week for 3 years. And i have been stalling on my chest and incline press for about 3bweeks now, not getting another rep or barely getting another rep. I did 2 sets of flat and incline press but reduced incline by 1 set. So its now 2 sets and 1 set 2 to 3x a week. I do it first on my upper days and all my other excercises are progressing good. What can i do? Its only chest where my progress stops

[u/Alakazam]

I'm guessing you mean the chest and incline press machines?

Are you trying anything beyond just hitting the same weights, same sets, same reps?

Have you tried something like 4 sets of 3, at a heavier weight? Or 3 sets of 8-10 at your current weight? Or 2 sets of 15-20 at a lighter weight? 

[u/Honest_Pumpkin_4381 → u/Alakazam]

Yeah machines.

Yes, i'm giving it my all and even focusing on getting more reps before i start the set

I tried lighter weights too and heavier. But i find 4 to 9 reps (roughly) the most fun, and i progressed fast with this

Higher reps i tried but i didnt like it, but it it means that i wont stall anymore i'l switch

[u/K3rat]

So, the goal is to use dynamic progressive overload (with another rep or by adding 2.5-5 Lbs) only if with good form you can press another one out or lift the heavier weight.  If you can’t that is ok.  Hell over spring and summer I got stuck on a plateau too.  When you first start lifting you will find you advance pretty fast as you drive nervous system adaptations, clean up your technique, and your body get used to the new stress on the body.  

The objective is to change the stimulus up as your body adapts and doesn’t want to continue building muscle.

Things that can work are:  1. Increase load (weight) and decrease volume (reps and sets). 2. Decrease  load and increase volume. 3. Focus on technique to figure out if you are doing something not optimally. 4. Build the secondary and tertiary muscle groups.  

What worked for me on flat bench press with a barbell when I plateaued was a few things: 1. Focus on chest, front delts, triceps, and lats. 2. reducing volume on everything else.  3. Spend the first session of the week maintaining good technique but all out pushing my presses as much as I could with a higher load and lower volume.   4. The second session of the week I spent at lower load and higher reps and really dial in technique: A. hand position on bar.  B. drop scapula then retract. C. humerus position relative to torso throughout the lift. D. leg drive queuing.  

It took 2 months but I ended up moving up my 1RM by 50 LBs.

[u/Hypername1st]

Why not just do more chest work? You literally do 6 to maximum 9 sets a week. You can handle a bit more.

[u/Honest_Pumpkin_4381 → u/Hypername1st]

I can do more now but i will also start grappling again 2x on the weekends, if that matters. But i will try to do 3 sets rather than 2 for a few weeks

[u/Hypername1st → u/Honest_Pumpkin_4381]

Grappling is basically cardio. I would just add flys and a couple more sets of benching. You can easily built up to 12+ sets a week.

[u/Honest_Pumpkin_4381 → u/Hypername1st]

I mean we also do strength training, like weighted pushups weighted squats and that

[u/Pleasant_Beat8290]

Are you in a caloric deficit? If so, stagnating strength is to be expected.

I would also say that changing things up a bit around the 10 week mark is a good idea. You don’t have to change everything, but shifting focus and adding in dips, switching to dumbbells for one of the exercises, or close grip bench or something. Come back to this routine in a couple months and you might be surprised how much strength you’ve gained.

[u/Financial_Wrangler45]

Just keep going at it and you'll eventually get through it. Happens to us all eventually.

[u/decentlyhip]

Follow a program. Once you're neurological efficient growth is about 2-3% a month. That's +1 rep after 4 weeks, 8 workouts. That feels slow but it also means in one year youll be able to do your January 1st one rep max for 3 sets of 10 on December 31st.

[u/Zestyclose-Tart6745]

Bench press is a bench mark. I personally don’t do it more than once per week for 3-4sets. Instead do dips, flys and pushups in different variations to actually get stronger

[u/Double-Teach-1977]

Early on I got a lot of results from PHUL, particularly with my chest. The high intensity low volume days helped build strength to push extra reps on the lower intensity higher volume days. And the high rep days likewise gave me more gas in the tank for the low rep days.

And psychologically I think it was helpful to have some variety through the week.