Plateau in bench

[Jamlive]

Dam I've been pretty pissed lately. Before spring break I was able to get 185 1 time and then spring break came and I took a 3 week break. After I got back I was able to get 205 once and I was able to do it for a few days. Its been about 2 weeks and I havent been able to get 205 again. My bench isnt going up as fast as it was and I been mixing up my excerises and doing incline/decline. db bench etc etc to see if it would help. I want to be able to get 225 one time before I graduate so I need some advice on what excercises I should do to get past this plateau. Im eating about 4-5 meals a day and on whey too.

[skullmurdoc]

In order to help you we would need you're diet and training schedule.
Then people will chime in to correct some of the thing that might help you.
But the thing that comes to my mind at first glance it's not enough foods intake since you weight only 145 pounds. You got to eat big to lift big.

Anyway post you're diet and training schedule..

[Jamlive]

ok ill give it a shot

my diet is usually
2 bowels cereal for breakfast and 16 oz whey in milk
2 6 packs of peanutbutter crackers before working out at 11:00
2 peanut butter jelly sandwiches and whey when i get home at 1;00
bowel of chili/ravioli/ canned goods at 3;00 when i get hungry
peanut butter jelly sandwich around 5;00
dinner is anything my stepdad cooks
usually a bowel of cereal or peanut butter jelly before bed

i work out monday thru friday for 1st block and 3rd block at school
7;15 to 840 then 11;10 to 1240
usually chest and abs monday
back on tuesday
shoudlers traps on wed
arms on thursday
legs on friday

[Papasmurf]

Originally Posted by Jamlive

ok ill give it a shot

my diet is usually
2 bowels cereal for breakfast and 16 oz whey in milk
2 6 packs of peanutbutter crackers before working out at 11:00
2 peanut butter jelly sandwiches and whey when i get home at 1;00
bowel of chili/ravioli/ canned goods at 3;00 when i get hungry
peanut butter jelly sandwich around 5;00
dinner is anything my stepdad cooks
usually a bowel of cereal or peanut butter jelly before bed

i work out monday thru friday for 1st block and 3rd block at school
7;15 to 840 then 11;10 to 1240
usually chest and abs monday
back on tuesday
shoudlers traps on wed
arms on thursday
legs on friday

5'10 and 145 is skinny man. Eat some food!

[Rickster]

wow nice numbers at that weight last year i was only benching 135lb 1 time. but yeah your going to have to eat some more.

example morning
1cup of oatmeal+ 2cups of milk+yogurt/or bannana-thats around 700cals give or take

you need a bigger preworkout meal to 6 PB crackers is not going to cut it

[Jamlive]

yea man i eat like a horse every chance i get lol. i kinda like being light and being able to do alot of weight on stuff because no1 expects it. but i do wanna bulk up on my arms and legs.

[Will100]

get ur legs bigger...squat and deadlift like they are ur religion, and your bench will go up...

and eat like the others said

[MindFreak]

no offense dude, but you arent eating nearly enough and what you are eating really sucks. i realize you're only 18 and have to eat whats in the house but you're not getting nearly enough carbs or protein. lose the can raviloi / chili crap too if you can. i am sure you have eggs in your house. eat tons of those (whites). i am sure your parents will buy tuna if you ask them to. eat tons of that. that's a good place to start. hopefully at 18 you have a job and can buy you're own food if your parents dont help you out

also, i wouldnt worry about your one rep max right now. just get a good routine going for a few weeks. work out hard. like will100 said. do deads and squats. it all takes time. just keep it up. slow and steady is key. Again, i would forget about your one rep max for a while. just get in there with a good routine. .

[jlozan84]

Originally Posted by MindFreak

no offense dude, but you arent eating nearly enough and what you are eating really sucks. i realize you're only 18 and have to eat whats in the house but you're not getting nearly enough carbs or protein. lose the can raviloi / chili crap too if you can. i am sure you have eggs in your house. eat tons of those (whites). i am sure your parents will buy tuna if you ask them to. eat tons of that. that's a good place to start. hopefully at 18 you have a job and can buy you're own food if your parents dont help you out

also, i wouldnt worry about your one rep max right now. just get a good routine going for a few weeks. work out hard. like will100 said. do deads and squats. it all takes time. just keep it up. slow and steady is key. Again, i would forget about your one rep max for a while. just get in there with a good routine. .

Bump to a great post.

[Jamlive]

yea i quit trying to do alot of weight and doing bench everyday and my bench has gotten back pretty good. i got 185 4 times today and 205 1 time. i was happy as hell lol. im gonna start doing decline/incline and db bench flyes etc tho instead of reguler bench since thats probably why i hit a plateau.

[stb24]

still being @ home may limit your diet, but eggs, and hamburger meat 80/20 whatever to get moore protein in your diet. read meat is a good source of aminos and creatine. have a hamburger patty daily and you may be surprised.

[Miike]

Chick peas and cottage cheese are good sources of protein as well. Chick peas are like 69 cents a can too. Instead of cereal in the morning try oatmeal, like Rickster said. You can get a big bag of that for next to nothing too. Eat chicken, limit the tuna because of mercury. Still eat that peanut butter though - there are great oils in that. Anyways for your weight you numbers are impressive, so keep it up, just change up your diet.

by the way here is a link that shows you the safe amounts of tuna you can eat.
NRDC: Mercury Contamination in Fish - Eating Tuna Safely

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

My advice would be to stop maxing out so much!

I know alot of big dudes, they max out maybe 1-2 times a year if that.

[Jamlive]

well ill try some of the dieting tips and see if i can get some results. how would this sound for a breakfast lunch dinner etc

breakfast
2 bowls oatmeal
1 cup milk w/ whey

12 peanut butter crackers preworkout

3 peanutbutter jellys and whey lunch

1 turkey sandwich around 4 or so.

chicken, hamburgers, salad, spaghetti, w/e parents make dinner

whey and peanut butter jelly before bed.

[MindFreak]

Originally Posted by BiggerGuns=LongerDrives

My advice would be to stop maxing out so much!

I know alot of big dudes, they max out maybe 1-2 times a year if that.

totally i agree. i couldnt even tell you what i my one rep maxes are. honestly, i really dont even care too much

[Jamlive]

well in weight training we max on 7 excercises by getting a 10 time max and getting a total average and index. i like to do a real 1 time max on them too,

[GetNPumped]

I try to only do them once a month and then take 5 days off and eat real real perfect and clean to make sure recovery is good. Maxes are very, very taxing on your body. I know when i maxed in Dead i came home beat. My mood was off too.

12 PB & Crackers? what about a complex carb PreWO? MAybe whole wheat crackers? Is it natrual PB?

[Rickster]

peanut butter crackers aren't exactly the best pre workout meal..........bagel with pb and jelly would be better....since your in school its understandable but eat something with more carbs!!!!!

[adrenaline]

Dont try to max out so often.. what i do ... is i work on a specific weight say 180 pounds and try to get as many reps as possible as long as i dont go over 10... if i go over 10 i then put more weight on the bar. And maybe max out for fun once in a while... just to see some improvement in my 1rep max... thats what works for me ...