Stamina problems with bench press

uriDium · 05-05-2008, 01:19 PM

I have been bragging lately that I have been able to push some really heavy weights now when it comes to bench press. While that is still true my big problem is that I have absolutely no stamina. Today was a reps day for me. Trying to stick to the 15 rep range. I just thought that I would try out what JamerJay has been saying that the old school guys used this rep range and he believes in it. Looking at his results I am a believer too. I have tried that rep range for other things and it seems to work. Maybe it is just the change up.

Anyway back to my story. So I start off at 75% of my body weight and I can push out 15 reps quite easily. I do two sets like this no problem. I then put some more weight on and I am doing about 87.5% of my body weight but no the max I can do is 8 reps at a push 10 reps with a spot helping quite a bit at then end. So a 10% increase in weight decreases my reps by 10%. When I do my own body weight the max I can manage is 4 or 6 with a spot. The funny thing is I can also do 120% of my body weight for 4 to 6 reps. This really seems to be my range. No more.

I can really feel it too when I am pushing weights. I am so strong, no need for a spot and as I hit 6 it is like I hit a barrier and there is just no more. I think that the reason for this barrier might be entirely mental. You see a long time ago I read in a muscle mag some guy preaching about the 4-6 rep range. After that there was no talking to me. Everything was 4-6 reps. Maybe my mind and body are just so trained to do this rep range that they just shut down although my body is capable. Or maybe my body is just conditioned to that range and I just have to train through it somehow.
So what do I do? I really need to get my reps up. I ultimately want to do my own bodyweight for 15 reps. In a dream world 110% at 15 reps yeah baby. So how do I get there. Here are my thoughts at the moment. Every morning I get up and do 50 push ups. I do this as long as it takes. Or my second thought is that I stay at 87.5% of my body weight every week and try and keep at that same weight until i can do 15. Then add more weight and continue until I can once again do 15.

I have a feeling that this might be something to do with fast-twitch slow-twitch muscles fibres. This might be genetically determined and there might be sweet nothing I can do.

Any help will be greatly appreciated

DJAuto · 05-05-2008, 01:46 PM

Mental, or determined by your pre-workout nutrition.

It's essential to train in different repetition ranges frequently. The best results come from a combination of everything.

uriDium · 05-05-2008, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJAuto

Mental, or determined by your pre-workout nutrition.

For my pre-workout I have 1 banana and a protein shake that contains 40g protein and 40 grams carbs 90 minutes before my workout. I just went out and bought some energy drink to replace the mineral salts as i train.

FreddyKrueger · 05-05-2008, 02:02 PM

Well, I had a similar issue. However, I knew early on that I will have to vary the reps to achive better results. To me it all came down to stimulating slow and fast twitch fibers. It sounds like you got your fast twitch taken care of and slow twitch is lagging. Basically slow twitch, from my understanding, is responsible for stamina and reps, not for heavy power movements.
If I were you I'd take the bench and restart it. Stick to 8-10 reps for a week or so and just work on your form with less weight. Master 135lbs (for example) to where you can do it 10 times with flawless form. From there up the weight every week by 5-10lbs and work on that. At first you will be making progress but than you will have to start using 2 1/2. So, in order to somewhat pervent that make sure you take as much time as needed to master 8-10 reps of every weight that you have added. Once you get to the desired weight (the one you do 4-6 reps now), I am most certain that you will be able to push it 8-10 reps with proper form. From there you can keep going up if you want to get stronger or you can start doing more reps to define the chest a bit more. This is one part of my body that I love working on and I've studied a lot about it and I have tried different things.

I think the most important thing would be to stay in the 8-10 rep range. Its not because everyone does it, or everyone says you should. I just feel that 8-10 reps gives the muscle that happy medium of being able to lift heavier and build endurance at the same time. Also, a set number of reps will give you a clear cut goal as to what progress you are making. So if one week you can do 135 10 times and next week you do 145 ten times you know you've made progress. Otherwise if you were to go to exhaustion you wouldn't know exactly where you are since the rep numbers could differ (you can ofcourse keep count and see, but to me that takes a lot of work and its easy to make errors).

Lastly, hit those muscles from variety of different areas. People preach to build your core (and I agree with that) but once you get your chest to a point where you have to advance it at a harder rate some isolation excersises help. Especially cables. Check 'em out.

I hope I could help you at least make an informed decision.

Take care and good luck.

bigredelts · 05-05-2008, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uriDium

For my pre-workout I have 1 banana and a protein shake that contains 40g protein and 40 grams carbs 90 minutes before my workout. I just went out and bought some energy drink to replace the mineral salts as i train.

some days your endurance just isn't the same as other days....it tends to increase and decrease, but a good pre workout meal i like is a good complex carb like oats or sweet potatoes that will give you a long lasting burst of energy...on my leg day, i have a big steak and sweet potatoes right before i lift because of that very reason

DJAuto · 05-05-2008, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uriDium

For my pre-workout I have 1 banana and a protein shake that contains 40g protein and 40 grams carbs 90 minutes before my workout. I just went out and bought some energy drink to replace the mineral salts as i train.

Try having something heavy in carbs one hour before workout.

FreddyKrueger · 05-05-2008, 11:20 PM

Supplement wise I'd try Smash, SuperPump NanoVapor or NoXplode. I've used these on and off and the energy is tremendous. I feel like I can kill the Hulk himself when I get into the gym. I understand that this is not the natural way, but it sure helps me.

I was on NoXplode for about 3 months (did not take it on days off, and used it purely for energy at the gym) and I gained almost 20 lbs, chest popping etc. The drive to do a bit more every time was excelent. That might help ya with a bit more push at the gym.
Still, good nutrition will get you there efficiently.