That’s it I need some help, I’ve tried a couple of programs(5x5, Top set - back off set, kizen) and It doesn’t work, my sleep is on track, my diet is on track ( surplus 200kcal 1gr/lb protein), I just do 12 series of chest weekly and nothing work at all I don’t get it. I cant even reach 225lb I feel so weak, I’m progressing on squats and deads. I’m benching twice a week btw. But it’s the same disappointment every week and it’s frustrating I feel useless and weak. Any advice program that you can tell me? It would be great
You stop that. You’re not useless nor weak. 225lbs worth of weight doesn’t dictate your worth in this world.
How long have you been training overall? Do you have any bench sticking points/weak spots? Are you strong in the lockout? Or strong off the chest? Do you get stuck only 1-2 inches off the chest? What’s your accessory/secondary work look like?
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First time I got into the gym was 5 years ago, but I’ve been doing it seriously with diet, progressive overload and everything since a year and a half. I usually got stuck at the bottom, for accessories/ assistance work I do weighted dips, dumbbell flyes and skullcrushers
Current stats - M/F height / weight
What program are you using now? how long have you been running it?
What does your current sets / reps weight look like ?
How much progress have you made on the bench in the past 6 months?
Are you prepared to gain weight to get a stronger bench ?
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1,75 76kg M
Squat 125kgx3
RDL 137,5kgx5
Bench press 85kgx6
I’m using this program right now:
I have five weeks with this program seeing no progress at all, same weight same reps.
I haven’t progress on my bench this year ( I cut from January to almost June) so I couldn’t gain strength, I’m eating in a slightly surplus since 2 months and a half, I’m actually trying to bulk slowly to avoid long cuts again.
Yes I’m actually bulking so I’m slowly gaining weight
Dont really know the program but it looks like a simple upper lower split twice a week with a heavy day and a volume day. Pretty straight forward and no reason why it wouldn’t work.
You mention you were losing weight for 6 months to June, so it looks like you have only really been trying to gain some strength for the last month ?
85 x 6 at a BW of 75kg is actually not too bad, this would give you an ERM of 100KG.
5 weeks is not a long time to determine if the program is effective but zero improvement over 5 weeks would suggest that something isn’t right. Either training effort, diet or sleep.
If you aren’t liking the program then find something that you like the look of and give it 100%. There really are no magic programs and what mostly matters is consistent effort over time.
I will let others respond with potential programs as I generally don’t recommend a program as it is hard to know what YOU will like.
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I’m doing that program but with a push pull legs, but it’s the same approach in terms of program benching.
Yes, actually two months but I haven’t gained the strength I Lost in my cut after 8 week.
Bench before cutting 90kgx6(86kg bw)
Bench right now 85kgx6(76kg bw).
My sleep sometimes can be about 7 hours, but not less than that, usually 8-9 hours, training effort I don’t think so because I’m always close to failure or even failure in the last set sometimes. Diet is on track also. I just want to reach 255lb and get out of this loop. Yes I know it’s not enough time but some people in my gym are progressing with less resources than me( not diet, not enough rest etc) . Did you do any program that go up your bench? There’s a lot of information that is difficult to choose the right one
Best program I ran for my bench was simple block periodisation, benched 3 days a week, light (technique), medium (volume) and heavy (low rep) days. Straight sets and reps with weight progression across 4 weeks and then a deload. Rinse and repeat this over and over and over and over. But I followed this for months / years.
I wasn’t getting amazing gains in 5 weeks, I don’t think any program will give you that unless you are a complete beginner, eating a lot of food or getting back strength after a long layoff. There is no magic program.
Tagging in @wiseman83 @TrainForPain @littlesleeper @Despade who all love a bit of bench.
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Well you lost 10kg ofc you lost some bench too.
Youd need to be on a bulk for a while for some serious weight gain.
76kg is a weight of a bit soft woman. So 225 bench for a bit of a chubby girl is actually very impressive.
Aim for 85-90kg weight and your bench will go up also.
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Three things
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Your relative strength doing 85kg x 6 at your body weight has actually gone up. Just 5kg heavier at 10kg more body weight is much worse in my mind. You have to look at it from this perspective because pressing can be incredibly bodyweight dependant. Getting back to those numbers at such a lighter body weight would be amazing progress.
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Like @simo74 said, no program is magic. Find something that motivates you and just stick at it. If all your other presses are progressing, eventually your bench will too. There have been times I’ve waited 4 weeks just for one rep on the overhead press. I would be chuffed with +12 reps over the course of the year. Even getting what we would perceive as slow progression of one rep a month on a bench press, that could mean 40 lbs on your max over the course of a year! Often we think “plateau”, but sometimes it’s the natural slowing of progress.
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You just gotta stay consistent and take the +1s when they come. Worrying about the program too much could be stifling you.
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You probably have long arms (and you are also natural)
The bench isn’'t all there is, you can do other exercises instead (wide grip pec dips or DB bench works for me as a weak bencher). They will give you better pec development and wide grip pec dips will also have some carryover to the bench if you care about it
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Thanks for the tag @simo74, although I’m likely the weakest bencher here!
I mostly agree with @planetcybertron. This stuff is going to come. Let’s not beat ourselves up over something like this - you have worth far beyond another plate on the bar.
One thing that jumps out that nobody has mentioned is your accessory work. You say you’re weak off the bottom, which would indicate chest or front delts need work, but all your secondary work is triceps (and one chest exercise I find useless for strength).
I’d recommend some dumbbell work, incline and dips. If you’re training bench twice a week (and this isn’t meant to program your bench, just an example), you could do something like:
Day 1:
Work up to a heavy 3
Do 3 paused (3s on chest) sets of 5 at ~80% of that top set
Dumbbell bench: 3 x 8
Dips: 2 x 10 (add weight)
Day 2:
Bench: 4 x 8 at ~85% of day one’s top weight (don’t miss reps, so adjust as needed)
Incline bench: ramp up to one heavy 6, then one back-off of 12
Dips: 2 x failure (bodyweight only)
That’s a ton of work, so don’t take that as a gospel; that’s not meant to be a program recommendation at all. I’m just kind of illustrating how you can use movements to work the muscles holding you back. If I were doing something like the above, I’d have band pull aparts after every set of bench and dumbbell side raises after dips - my shoulders get cranky.
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I can’t recommend a specific program, and I’m certainly the last person that should be giving advice on bench press. But I’ve honestly made my most progress when I’ve stayed further away from failure for extended periods. If you want to put ratings to it, if I force myself to stay in the RPE7 to RPE8 range for an entire training block, versus grunting out the last few reps or struggling to finish a set, my numbers just naturally go up. The accumulated volume of moderately hard work, versus smashing yourself trying to beat your max number every time, is what seems to work for me.
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If you’re slender and you fail at the bottom;
You need your back to be thicker and stronger!
Drive up your chins, rows and shrugs as aggressively as you’re trying to improve your bench and you’ll make Gains.
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I’d call this a win personally. I am down about 15 kg from about a year ago, and my bench is down about 35 kg. Some of that is from having to reduce my pressing due to shoulder issues. I’d think even if shoulders were healthy the whole time, that I’d be down 20 kg at least though.
It’s going to be really tough at your height to have a great bench press at 76 kg body weight. If you were 10 cm shorter, it would be a good weight.
I’d say if you want to improve bench, focus on it. Put it in when you are the freshest. Train it more than one day a week. Eat in a surplus with lots of protein while having this focus on bench. All my recent PRs on bench have been while following the above. I’d do two pressing days a week. I’d bench like crazy. Sometimes over an hour just on bench. I was doing 10 or more sets of bench in a workout if you include stuff like close grip bench afterwards regular benching. I will warn you that at least for me this isn’t sustainable, and I won’t do it anymore as I want to protect my shoulders. I just really wanted a big bench for awhile and doing what I’ve outlined I’ve gotten to ~185 kg bench at ~98 kg body weight (height 178 cm).
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Did you lower the dose also
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Yeah, I haven’t been on more than TRT since then. I had gotten close to that number (385 vs 405 lbs) just on TRT though about a year prior (~2 years ago). Then my left shoulder really went to shit. Lost about 2/3rd of the pressing power in my left arm. No pain though. Nearly got pinned warming up with 185 lbs a few weeks after doing 385. I went from a 185 lb max bench to 405 lbs in around a year, but most of that was recovering from whatever happened to my left shoulder. I think I had gotten back to about 350 lbs and then did a blast for 4 months which got me to 405.
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This is aspect is often forgotten concerning bench press power. Your upper back is a “spring board” that the back of your arms rests on at the bottom of the bench press. It will help get the bar off of your chest.
That is for sure. But what we must do first is know your ultimate goal. Is your ultimate goal improving your bench press or improving your physique?
For maximizing your bench press there are many nuances that maximize the amount of weight you can bench press, but not be the best strategy for improving your physique. Example: The powerlifting bench press starts with leg drive.
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Your light days were about 65-70% of your max rep? Thanks for the example dude,
Bro just decided to wake up and call me a girl 
. Jokes apart, yes that cut left like a skinny bitch bro, but not being able to recover that strength even eating at a slight surplus is what is driving me insane