Breaking plateaus

[Rickson]

Ok, fish. Instead of hijacking dicer's thread, we'll put it down right here. My way of breaking strength plateaus is to do much fewer reps and move up in weight. I'll give you an example from bench pressing since it's everyone's favorite exercise.

Set 1: warmup with 135 lbs. for 5 reps

Set 2: 225 lbs. for 3 reps

Set 3: 275 for 2

Set 4: 315 for 1

I know the reps look extremely low, but building strength is not the same as building muscle.

 

[Sleepstream]

There is more than one method.

Using a different variation of the exercise can help. Changing the routine and rep ranges can also be of benefit. Some individuals suggest de-loading for 2-3 weeks.

 

[Rickson]

Another method is to try different exercises as Sleep said. I used to do heavy dumbbell presses for a while and test myself on the bench a few weeks later. In my case, there was definitely improvement. You can try weighted dips and push ups with bars.

 

[Sleepstream]

Rickson, do you mind if I email you about something?

 

[Rickson]

I don't mind at all.

 

[NotAtTheNet]

Another method is to try different exercises as Sleep said. I used to do heavy dumbbell presses for a while and test myself on the bench a few weeks later. In my case, there was definitely improvement. You can try weighted dips and push ups with bars.

Definitely a good idea. In exercises involving more than 1 muscle, your limiting factors might be other auxillary muscles. In the case of bench presses, I was stuck on 245 for a long time, until, I took a quick break and focused more on my triceps and shoulders. Though I didn't feel like my tris and shoulders were holding me back, improving on those points definitely helped break from my plateau. Which goes to reiterate that you really shouldn't workout chest with tris...

 

[luckyguy]

super setting is one of the best methods of breaking plateaus IMHO