No gains...

[ipoody]

Hi guys, I’ve been training for a year now and saw some real gains in the first few months but they’ve stopped dead for around 2-3 months now. I have changed over to a lighter weight but longer TUT plan of 8-10 by 5, will this help me get out of the plateau? The 2-3 month period I was pushing myself to failure every time trying to itch out just one extra rep and would be doing this every other day. Any advice will be much appreciated

[SuffolkPunch]

If you don't intuitively aim to progressively overload, you need a program that organises it for you. Do a structured routine like Fierce 5. Eat enough protein and calories to grow muscle even if that means gaining a little fluff along the way.

For more detail, we need more information - stats, pictures etc.

[ipoody]

If you don't intuitively aim to progressively overload, you need a program that organises it for you. Do a structured routine like Fierce 5. Eat enough protein and calories to grow muscle even if that means gaining a little fluff along the way.

For more detail, we need more information - stats, pictures etc.

I started bench press at 60kg doing 8x5, as it got easy I increased the weight 5kg at a time. I got to around 82.5kg and couldn’t hit 8x5, the last set I could only push 5 reps and this stuck for around 2 months

[SuffolkPunch]

And what about the rest of your lifts?

Also, height, weight, age etc.

And what are your goals? Physique or sport/strength/performance related?

[ipoody]

And what about the rest of your lifts?

Also, height, weight, age etc.

I can’t train lower body at the moment due health reasons, but will be able to soon
My current every other day work out:
8x5 bench
8x5 curl
8x5 over head dumbbell press
8x5 tricep pull down
Little to no improvement on the above
Consuming 150g of protein per day, 2500 calories (or was, I’m looking to drop that though to lose some body fat)

I’m 6ft, 84.5kg, 28
Gains stop when I was 79kg-81kg, so tried eating more.

Size and strength are the goals

[SuffolkPunch]

Reading between the lines, it sounds like you are doing the classic novice thing of fixating on the bench press with shoulder and arms in a supporting role - but with back and legs not even featuring.

You need to get your lower body sorted. Are you under a sports physio? You can't get a good overall physique without it - having a lean torso is probably MORE dependent on lower body work than it is on upper body work. And for athletic performance, lower body is way more important than chesticles...

Also, if you aren't doing as much for your back as for your chest and shoulders, you risk not just having looks/performance imbalances but actually causing joint pain and/or injury.

So you probably have taken your bench as far as neural efficiency will allow given current levels of muscle mass. The rest of your body needs to catch up. Again, I would recommend a ready made routine which handles both the progression and balance aspects

You will probably not push your bench forward much during this time but you have to accept this and spend some time evening out these neglected factors.

Maybe have a look at Candito's linear program. This seems to come highly recommended by people I know.

Finally, you may have to take a break before starting this - maybe 1 or 2 weeks off working out. If you start dropping your calories, expect it to get increasingly tough to make progress. Perhaps aim to maintain your weight for at least the first 4-6 weeks of the new program.

[ipoody]

Reading between the lines, it sounds like you are doing the classic novice thing of fixating on the bench press with shoulder and arms in a supporting role - but with back and legs not even featuring.

You need to get your lower body sorted. Are you under a sports physio? You can't get a good overall physique without it - having a lean torso is probably MORE dependent on lower body work than it is on upper body work. And for athletic performance, lower body is way more important than chesticles...

Also, if you aren't doing as much for your back as for your chest and shoulders, you risk not just having looks/performance imbalances but actually causing joint pain and/or injury.

So you probably have taken your bench as far as neural efficiency will allow given current levels of muscle mass. The rest of your body needs to catch up. Again, I would recommend a ready made routine which handles both the progression and balance aspects

You will probably not push your bench forward much during this time but you have to accept this and spend some time evening out these neglected factors.

Maybe have a look at Candito's linear program. This seems to come highly recommended by people I know.

Finally, you may have to take a break before starting this - maybe 1 or 2 weeks off working out. If you start dropping your calories, expect it to get increasingly tough to make progress. Perhaps aim to maintain your weight for at least the first 4-6 weeks of the new program.

Thanks for the help, makes sense when you put it like that. I’ll start incorporating back and legs (when I can!). Just a recap, so the areas I’ve been working out have reached their ‘limit’ because the rest of my muscle groups are too far behind, as I increase overall body strength, my movements listed below will see an increase in strength/size again? I’ve been watching countless videos on this, it’s been driving me insane, thank you so much again, I really appreciate your time!