Gains on all Lifts, but DOWN on bench press?

[skelooth]

Can anyone offer any insight as to why I might be losing strength on my bench press? Today was the second consecutive workout where I lost strength in benching but made gains in ALL other excercises.... ? I don't think it's a mental thing, because I give it my everything (Even more so today cos I don't want to lose strength).

Any ideas or tips to reverse this? Should I just lower my weight?

[Franz Solo]

when do you perform your benching?

Maybe your secondary muscles are already taxed by the time you hit up the bench.

[Myth Destroyer]

Are you making gains in military presses, skullcrushers, dips, and barbell rows?

[skelooth]

The only exsercise i'm doing before benching that MIGHT interfere is dumbell pull overs. Then I superset my benching with barbell rows

[skelooth]

Are you making gains in military presses, skullcrushers, dips, and barbell rows?

I'm not doing military press skull crusher or dips right now, but I am making steady gains on my barbell rows. The bench press is towards the beginning of my lifting, and it gets supersetted with bb rows

[Porky]

post your routine?

[skelooth]

post your routine?

HIT 4 seconds up 4 seconds down for all reps, all excersizes are 2x12, where i put * between it means it's a superset

leg extension * leg curl
leg press
dumbell pull over
bench press * barbell row
shoulder press
bb curl * tricep extension
forearm curl * seated calf raise

[Gibblets]

If the bench press is all you think about, then you might simply be "psyching yourself out" on the bench. Ask yourself, do you think about your bench more than your squat, deadlift, military press, or skullcrushers? If so, then simply stop worrying about it, and just get in there and do your best. Sometimes its just your mind making you weak. I used to have the same problem...bench would never go up...but once I stopped thinking about it all the time, the numbers came. Try it.

[skelooth]

I dont know man, I don't think it's mental. I literally push with all my might, and it's like I'm only getting weaker.

[mnbvcxz]

Im the same, i make gains in everything else except the bench press, i dont really care tho as my chest is shaping up rather well, i usually add 1 kilo to my bench every so often

[GGHT]

I'm not doing military press skull crusher or dips right now, but I am making steady gains on my barbell rows. The bench press is towards the beginning of my lifting, and it gets supersetted with bb rows

There's your problem right there, drop the superset and concentrate on your tri's and delts bro, otherwise you may very well lose more.

[Porky]

sounds like u need a change up in routine.

[InUrrDreams19]

Try this... when you go to bench get pissed off. I think the weight is psyching you out. Same thing happened to me when I was maxing at 290. I was scared of 300. You gotta be ready to whip that weight's ass!

[Faitless]

Try DB's for a while ?

[Couldbebigga]

Some of you muscles like the higher reps faster movements, other like more reps slower movements etc

One cause could be that your chest doesn't respond to the sets and reps you're doing, but your other muscles do. Maybe you need to change the rep and speed for chest?

[Haywood Jablome]

Try DB's for a while ?

My DB gains far outweighed my lagging BB press.

And perhaps your chest has accomadated to the same routine.

[GGHT]

I'm not doing military press skull crusher or dips right now,

He's not working his tri's or delts hard enough it's as simple as that.

[Rush]

Change up your routine, try less reps, higher reps, hit up some negatives. Your strength should never be static, its a dynamic thing. I always change the poundages every workout. Try doing heavy and light days. Your body adapts to the same stimulus with frightening speed. Before you know your muscles have conditioned themselves to a weight so much that you can't move past it. Throw something in the mix, as i said cycling poundages and rep ranges has worked well for me.

[skelooth]

Just to throw in, this is my second week on this program, so it's still new

I was doing incline bench and chest raise before, but with much more weight and much faster movement.

[skelooth]

The strength fluctuations are continueing and it's really strange.

I work out 3x a week (mon wed fri) so today, I was making some good strength gains on every thing... INCLUDING the bench press (finally lol, not much, but I did push out 3 more reps, still not in the right range though).

So, I'm feeling good, I got some extra reps in on my benching. I moved onto my bb rows and make a strength gain, made a gain of a rep or two on shoulder press... then I moved onto bicep curl....

Bicep curl is usually one of my better exercises and I have been supersetting with tricep extensions.

Anyway, Instead of hitting my normal 12 reps on the first set... my muscles went on fire and into failure by only the 9th rep. I couldn't understand. I wanted to lift it, but my muscles were screaming "no no no no no".

So I dropped it, did my tricep extensions and made my normal 12 reps.

Then I go back to the bb curl... and.... blah i made like 5 reps before my biceps were CRYING and I had to drop it.

So then i finish my tricep extensions and once again my like a 2 or 3 rep gain.

Then I move onto wrist curls, and... i've been steadily losing strength in them.

I do two sets (supposed to be 8-12 reps) 4 seconds up, 4 seconds down. When I first started i was hitting 12 then 9. but each workout it's going down.... and now I can barely crank out 6 then 5, and my forearms burn and I lose my grip like crazy.

-----------------

So if anyone took the time to read that little story, I would love to hear an opinion. Do you think I'm working the same muscles too often? I'm doing full body 4 seconds up 4 seconds down 8-12 reps 3x a week..... I've gotten some GREAT results in terms of gains and body composition changes, but the fluctuation weight scares me. Also this is going on my sixth month of lifting, so I guess it could be possible that this is the end of my newbie gains?

[skelooth]

uhhh, bump?

[GGHT]

I reckon you're bi's were fatigued from the barbell rows. Rows are limited by bicep strength.

AND (although I don't think this is a huge factor) you use you'r ant. delt more than you think when curling, and if you had a fruitful bench session, it would be safe to assume your ant. delt was used a fair deal, therefore less assistance with the curls.

[johnsbod]

Maybe it's time to go to a split workout where you work each bodypart once a week. Your chest may be getting overworked at 3x per week.

[Rush]

You're not attempting to use true HIT on each body part three times a week are you?

From what i gather you are, and that is just insane. HIT is a good program if done right, i don't mean to knock you, but you are doing it wrong. You are taking each set to momentary muscular failure right?

Well what happens is that your muscles can recover quite quickly after an intense workout. But you central nervous system also gets stressed during a workout, it recovers much more slowly. Especially when you are going to failure each set. So my suggestion would be to go with mentzer's HIT and train each muscle once per week. You are not allowing yourself to recover from your last session, remember you grow at home not in the gym.

I hope that gave you some insight, im not the most knowledgeable person on the forum when it comes to HIT, but if you want some more info i will gladly share with you what i know.

So back off and HIT each muscle once per week

[skelooth]

You're not attempting to use true HIT on each body part three times a week are you?

From what i gather you are, and that is just insane. HIT is a good program if done right, i don't mean to knock you, but you are doing it wrong. You are taking each set to momentary muscular failure right?

I'm doing a routine that's popular at my Gym right now. It's a routine my trainer set up for me, and he claims to be on the same routine currently. Everyone at my gym who has followed the 8 week program has had good body composition and strength changes. After the 8 weeks are up I'll most likely be trying HST or MaxOT since they are so popular on this website.

I only take the second set to failure unless I fail to get to a 12th rep. I've actually made some good progress on this routine, but my strength with benching, bicep curls, forearm curls, and shoulder press are kind of 'jumpy'.

[Rush]

Well just to start, just because its working for everyone else in your gym does not mean it will work for you. But i am glad you are not taking every set to failure, but still going to failure 3x week is pretty hairy. I would commit to either a higher volume program or a full fledged HIT program.

HST, its working well for me. I am following it pretty much to a t and i am stronger and bigger than i have ever been before, however i would also attribute that to a better nutritional program.

So my suggestions are to experiment for a while, find a program that works for you.