Chest press advice please!

[Bigmike]

I've been stuck at 315x4 decline and 305x6 flat bench for some time now, I swapped up to Dumbells and I'm still stuck at 120's x 9 for incline and 130's x 8 flat. I would love to see these numbers come up just a bit so I figured I'd see what the members here at MC had to offer. Any routines or advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks ahead guys and girls.

Current Stats:

23yrs old
5' 9"
212lbs

Current Cycle:
Sust - 650mg EW
Tren E - 600mg EW

[Vicious 13]

Do u start heavy and work to light or light to heavy usually I switch to dumbbells when I'm stuck but I already did that

[Bigmike]

Say it were DBs I'd warm up with 85x12 and move to 100s , 110s, 120's, and 130s if it's flat. Occasionally if I feel like I want to kill it I'll put a drop set on the end of it.

[Vicious 13]

I always start heavy first and work down I feel like I have more strength and energy when I start so y fatigue myself w light weight when I switched it up from light to heavy to heavy to light all my lifts went up

[Sherk]

This works wonders bro, check it out.

Smolov Jr. Bench routine

Smolov jr. is a three week program that comes from the Russian squat routine known as Smolov. A big difference is it’s 1/5 as long and not nearly as taxing on your body. Another difference is Smolov jr. can be used on other lifts besides the squat, and is actually quite commonly used on the bench press. The majority of users report that they add 20-35 pounds to their squat or deadlift, and 15-25 pounds to their bench press(some even claim numbers up to 40 pounds). Then there are the lifters that say it did absolutely nothing for them, but for the majority it usually works and increases your 1RM(one rep max) if done properly. The routine is as follows:
Week 1

Day Sets Reps Weight
Monday 6 6 70%
Wed 7 5 75%
Friday 8 4 80%
Saturday 10 3 85%

Week 2:
Note (When you add the 10-20 pounds onto your percentage, it’s just the same weight you used last week plus 10-20 pounds.)

Day Sets Reps Weight
Mon 6 6 70%+10-20
Wed 7 5 75%+10-20
Fri 8 4 80%+10-20
Sat 10 3 85%+10-20

Week3:
Note (Do not add 15-25 pounds onto your lift in addition to the 10-20 from week 2. Instead add on extra weight to get a total of 15-25 pounds.)

Day Sets Reps Weight
Mon 6 6 70%+15-25
Wed 7 5 75%+15-25
Fri 8 4 80%+15-25
Sat 10 3 85%+15-25

To get your percentages you need to plugin your one rep max. For example lets say you can bench 200 pounds for one rep, then your week one would look as follows:

Day Sets Reps Weight
Mon 6 6 140lbs
Wed 7 5 150lbs
Fri 8 4 160lbs
Sat 10 3 170lbs

The way it works is it adapts your CNS to handling heavier weight, your warm-up weight will feel like an empty bar. You will also perfect your form practicing the lift four times a week also known as “greasing the groove” in lifts like bench press. By not going to failure you are allowing your muscles to not be fatigued and continue to overreach. It really is a controlled form of overtraining and takes advantage of supercompensation.

When you add weight each week be careful not to add to much. The rule of thumb is to add more on lifts like squat and deadlift and less on lifts like the bench press. If you fail a set it usually means you added to much weight and should most likely drop back down at least five pounds. If the weight feels to easy then feel free to add a little more as long as you know you can handle it. When you complete the program be sure to rest and deload before you max out. You can max out a few days after completing the program, but the recommendation is at least one week, however listen to your body and if you need more than take more. It’s not unheard of to take two weeks off after running a program like this especially if you’re not that advanced or have poor recovery ability.

You should not use this routine while trying to cut weight because you will most likely not gain anything, or even worse you may fatigue yourself to the point where your lifts actually decrease. You should increase your caloric intake(eat more) when working with programs like this to ensure recovery and reduce the chance of fatigue and overtraining. Staying hydrated is also a key part of any program and is vital to both strength and recovery, so be sure to drink as much water as you can for the best results. If you liked this program you could try out Lee Hayward’s Blast Your Bench Program, which has proven to be an effective routine to up your bench in only a few weeks.

[Bigmike]

I always start heavy first and work down I feel like I have more strength and energy when I start so y fatigue myself w light weight when I switched it up from light to heavy to heavy to light all my lifts went up

Sounds good to me, only question is how do you go about warming up then?

[Bigmike]

Thanks Shrek print that off man, like to hold on to it as it looks like a possible option. Willing to give any new routine a chance, I want to hit the 150s for DB press so bad.

[Sherk]

Thanks Shrek print that off man, like to hold on to it as it looks like a possible option. Willing to give any new routine a chance, I want to hit the 150s for DB press so bad.

It'll happen bro. Hard work and dedication will get you there. I myself hit a plateau and used this routine to over come it. It's tuff but well worth it

[Lunchbox]

Plateau's are a bitch sometimes. Lots of different things have worked for me. Everything from lowering weight for 2-3 weeks and busting out reps, drop sets etc etc. That post by Sherk looks real interesting.

[Vicious 13]

I don't really believe in warming up my muscles are already warm from work all day I usually go into the Suana first thing stretch out real good an just get straight to it