# Bench Press is getting weaker but other lifts are not



## mamosixx (Mar 29, 2014)

For the past 3 weeks my bench has been decreasing. I have never been good at benching but recently I am getting worse. I do strentgh work for chest once a week, a 5x5 every monday and then go to hyperthrophy. I was able to do 70kg for 5x5 (i know not impressive) but today I could barely get 3 reps. This has been repeating itself for 4 weeks now. My deadlifts are going up as is my squat (again doing 5x5 then hyperthophy). Deadlifts do 120kg 5x5 and squat 75kg. My form is decent on the bench as I always try to retract my shoulders as much as I can. My gym has no proper bench press so i have to do it in the squat rack which feels little awkward to me. In terms of nutrition i am currently doing a slow reverse diet currently at 1900 calories, 140p, 190c and 60f. Sundays (day before chest) i decrease carbs to 100 as its my rest day. I do PPL 2ce a week but strength work only once a week.

Stats: 142 lbs, 5'5 or 166 cm

so yeah, i tried giving as much info as possible. thanks


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## mal (Dec 31, 2009)

If you train delts hard,your bench can suffer....


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## gaz90 (Jun 19, 2014)

I wouldnt consider 5x5 to be strength training. them weights would be around 8rm/75%?? not that heavy.

3x3 with 85% would be more like it.

4x1 with 90% even better.

what exactly is your training set up like?


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## gearchange (Mar 19, 2010)

You mentioned you drop carbs the day before chest day,that will have an impact on lifting ability.


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## mamosixx (Mar 29, 2014)

mal said:


> If you train delts hard,your bench can suffer....


my delts are actually my weak part


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## mamosixx (Mar 29, 2014)

gaz90 said:


> I wouldnt consider 5x5 to be strength training. them weights would be around 8rm/75%?? not that heavy.
> 
> 3x3 with 85% would be more like it.
> 
> ...


i like 5x5 as it provides me with strentgh and volume, 3x3 is a little too heavy for my liking espacially since I dont always have my training partner there to spot.

well on mondays I do:

bench 5x5

incline press

dips to failure

arnold + side raisers superset

rear delt

skull crushers

tricep rope pulldown

all other exercises are 4 sets of 8-12 reps


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## mamosixx (Mar 29, 2014)

gearchange said:


> You mentioned you drop carbs the day before chest day,that will have an impact on lifting ability.


yeah i do drop around 90 carbs because I am litterally just sitting home and do not need to carbs, reckon I should still take them on rest days?


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## BruceT (Jul 26, 2013)

Take a week off. Rest or even a deload week, then get back to it. It'll do you good.


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## gaz90 (Jun 19, 2014)

mamosixx said:


> i like 5x5 as it provides me with strentgh and volume, 3x3 is a little too heavy for my liking espacially since I dont always have my training partner there to spot.
> 
> well on mondays I do:
> 
> ...


if you want a stronger bench press, you have to bench heavy weights.

but hey, you can do what ever you want mate


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## mal (Dec 31, 2009)

mamosixx said:


> my delts are actually my weak part


You should focus more on form,reps than worry about the weight,strength will

Come in time.


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## gearchange (Mar 19, 2010)

mamosixx said:


> yeah i do drop around 90 carbs because I am litterally just sitting home and do not need to carbs, reckon I should still take them on rest days?


Unless you are cutting,I would keep carbs up to feed gains.The other thing that has been mentioned is form,It is imperative you have reasonable form especially on bench press or all that will happen is your arms will do all the lifting ,limiting what you can lift.


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## xpower (Jul 28, 2009)

Wanting a big strength increase on bench?

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/dave_tates_sixweek_bench_press_cure should do the trick


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## mamosixx (Mar 29, 2014)

had one 3 weeks ago already at holiday


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## nWo (Mar 25, 2014)

Well mate, remember when there were people on one of your other threads saying doing PPL twice a week at full volume is too much but you decided to carry on anyway? Yep, that's coming back to bite you up the árse now fella. I know you said your squats and deads are going up, but it might be the case that your shoulders or some other contributing muscle have accumulated so much fatigue that your bench press is now going backwards.

I'd suggest backing off training for a week or two now mate and allow some recovery. Then maybe change to just doing the PPL once a week as recommended by several beforehand. More is NOT better, the sooner you learn that the better :thumbup1:


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## armor king (Sep 29, 2013)

mamosixx said:


> For the past 3 weeks my bench has been decreasing. I have never been good at benching but recently I am getting worse. I do strentgh work for chest once a week, a 5x5 every monday and then go to hyperthrophy. I was able to do 70kg for 5x5 (i know not impressive) but today I could barely get 3 reps. This has been repeating itself for 4 weeks now. My deadlifts are going up as is my squat (again doing 5x5 then hyperthophy). Deadlifts do 120kg 5x5 and squat 75kg. My form is decent on the bench as I always try to retract my shoulders as much as I can. My gym has no proper bench press so i have to do it in the squat rack which feels little awkward to me. In terms of nutrition i am currently doing a slow reverse diet currently at 1900 calories, 140p, 190c and 60f. Sundays (day before chest) i decrease carbs to 100 as its my rest day. I do PPL 2ce a week but strength work only once a week.
> 
> Stats: 142 lbs, 5'5 or 166 cm
> 
> so yeah, i tried giving as much info as possible. thanks


Join the club. 3weeks isnt long though. I could do 30kg more on the bench press about a year and half ago. Dont know why i cant back to where i was


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## sneeky_dave (Apr 2, 2013)

armor king said:


> Join the club. 3weeks isnt long though. I could do 30kg more on the bench press about a year and half ago. Dont know why i cant back to where i was


So over the last year and a half you've made no bench progress?


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

Drop the weights and change up the rep scheme for a bit, maybe 4 x 8-10. Keep going on that until you fail to make progress then switch back to your 5 x5 and watch the weights fly up


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## mamosixx (Mar 29, 2014)

> Well mate, remember when there were people on one of your other threads saying doing PPL twice a week at full volume is too much but you decided to carry on anyway? Yep, that's coming back to bite you up the árse now fella. I know you said your squats and deads are going up, but it might be the case that your shoulders or some other contributing muscle have accumulated so much fatigue that your bench press is now going backwards.
> 
> I'd suggest backing off training for a week or two now mate and allow some recovery. Then maybe change to just doing the PPL once a week as recommended by several beforehand. More is NOT better, the sooner you learn that the better :thumbup1:


you know what maybe my ego got the best of me. I am gonna change up my routine and do a bro split but do shoulders and legs 2ce a week (lagging)

monday: chest and tri

tuesday: legs

wednesday: back and bi

thursday: shoulders

friday: arms

Sat: legs and shoulders

sun: rest

does that sound better?


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## nWo (Mar 25, 2014)

mamosixx said:


> you know what maybe my ego got the best of me. I am gonna change up my routine and do a bro split but do shoulders and legs 2ce a week (lagging)
> 
> monday: chest and tri
> 
> ...


Again mate, more is not better. It's gonna be hard to tell what's really lagging at 142lbs anyway, but even then they might be lagging because shoulders and legs don't tend to recover as quickly as other muscles and it seems likely that they'd be lagging because they weren't being allowed to recover.

You might be pleasantly surprised from the results you get from simply doing PPL once a week, maybe mon/wed/fri. I think we all go through a phase of bodybuilding OCD in which we think the more we train a muscle the quicker it will grow, but you have to realise that recovery is just as important as training and diet. After all, muscles get bigger and stronger when they recover from stress, so if they're not allowed to recover effectively they won't grow as well or get as strong as they could be. I know this is all basic stuff, but it seems like these basics are being grossly overlooked here.


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## Tag (Jun 19, 2013)

It's been a while since I did a 5x5 (or 3x5 etc) program to the letter, but I do remember that if the weight and reps on an exercise stay the same for 3 straight workouts, then you take 5kg off presses and 10kg off squat/deadlift, then work back up

So I would try 65kg for 5 sets of 5 in your situation, then gradually build it back up


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## Tag (Jun 19, 2013)

Just read the topic - you are training for volume but want a stronger bench press? Which is more important to you?

If you want to improve your bench press, or any lift/exercise, you need to make it a priority, and you need to structure your workouts around it

Nothing wrong with doing incline dumbbell bench, dumbbell flyes, dips, direct tricep work...IF they are improving your bench press and IF they are clearly assistance, not the priority

Are you struggling with your bench off the chest, or at lockout, or both?

If I was specifically training to bench more weight, I would be benching at least twice a week, preferably 3...

One day (pref. Monday) would be flat barbell bench 5x5 (which is around 80-85% of 1PM), the second day (Wednesday) would be lighter, speed work @40-50%, move the bar as fast as possible under control, and the last day (Friday) would be either pause presses if weak at bottom (8x3 is ideal for this) or pin presses at different heights

Pin presses let you experiment with your sticking points, handle weight you aren't quite confident you can fully press yet + force your triceps to improve from a dead stop...

Any assistance work would be limited to dips, maybe incline bench or some variation of tricep press...very little, your triceps and chest should be fully worked by your main bench session that day

It depends how much of a priority flat bench is to you? You can certainly use 5x5 on a compound then go higher reps on smaller, assistance exercises if you are after volume but don't want to be all show and no go...


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## johnwellby (Aug 24, 2014)

Same thing happened to me mate, i switched to 3 x 3 instead followed by 3 x 8 db bench press. I like it and my bench is going up ( not tremendously, but ill take it)


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## tomo8 (May 29, 2010)

In your opening post you say "diet" bench press increase can be affected by not eating enough, maybe try upping the food and seeing how you go.


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