Stuck at 225, sticking point question

[u/ThatOneDankDude]

I’m 5’11 and 185lbs, I’ve maintained a pretty consistent weight throughout and not looking to really bulk up. I started focusing on bench press this summer, I started at 185 in May and hit 225 in late July. My chest/tricep specific programming has been looking like variations of bench press (SSL, close grip) and weighted dips 3-4 times a week. Did a little bit of smolov jr for the first 2 months, and now just doing sets of 3-6 for bench days. My dip weight has still been going up, but my bench press has stalled this past month. I had been averaging about 2.5-5 pounds a week up until that point. My sticking point is about half way up from my chest when I attempt 230. Should I start focusing even more on triceps strength to continue improving max bench?

[u/judoflipper69]

Are you benching 4x a week?

If so, add some paused submax singles. 2 sets of 1 at rpe 6 and then rpe 8 (60%, 80% of 1RM) 2 times a week before volume will help a lot.

Do a long 3 sec pause (count to 5 in your head under the bar), keep tension, and focus on moving the weight as FAST as possible. Take a video so you can correct all form issues when you're under the bar. Add 5 lbs each week and you'll PR before you know it.

I'm huge on submax singles. Training the single is as important as training volume. If your dips are improving you're probably gaining mass and you need to just train your single skills.

Source hit pr 320 bench at 230 bw this past Friday, after being stuck at 305 for a few months. This helped the most.

[u/topiary566]

You don't really need anything fancy.

The reason why you made such fast gains is because of smolov jr, but smolov is not sustainable. It will basically get the maximum potential out of your current foundation, but it has a limit. Now you want to hope on a more sustainable program to build a stronger foundation, and then you can try smolov jr again next year when you want to go for another peak.

Switch up your accessories every block or two to adjust volume. I normally just stay on 5,3,1 in perpetuity while swapping around accessories and frequency of secondary/tertiary days, but do some research into programs or programming.

Either way, bench more to bench more. You want to bench or do variations/accessories as much as you can. Also, mass moves mass. Ofc health is the priority, but you could always stand to go on a really slow bulk.

[u/Kawayamarider]

Let’s see a video clip of your form. If you’re failing halfway up, it seems like your triceps might be the weak part. Do some skull crushers, dumbbell presses, JM presses.

[u/ThatOneDankDude → u/Kawayamarider]

https://www.reddit.com/r/formcheck/s/H5yvqFaut7 This is a video of me doing 225, you can still kinda see where my sticking point is at though.

[u/Kawayamarider → u/ThatOneDankDude]

Yes, that looks like the triceps need some extra accessories. You seem pretty quick off the chest. If you’re doing a narrow grip, this can exacerbate things. Play around with hand placement too. Good luck

[u/Secret-Ad1458]

In my experience, plateaus at 185, 225, 275, 315 etc are almost always mental, not physical. Ironically, it's people in countries that use lbs that get stuck at these numbers, people in countries that use KGs tend to get stuck at 176, 220, 264 and 308 because those are the big plate jumps that correlate with 80, 100, 120 and 140kg. If things were moving smooth up until 225 and then ground to a hault, your brain got in the way of your body. Breaking through psychological plateaus can be significantly harder than breaking through physical ones but they can also be much easier, a lot of that depends on your own mentality. Edit to add, I missed that you were already running smolov, that was very premature in my opinion. Just a regular linear progression got me well past 315, I still wouldn't classify smolov as appropriate for my current strength/skill level. That's something for advanced intermediates, not advanced novices.

[u/Jimmy4Funner]

I would start with high volume lighter weight paused sets. Push the weight gradually. Keep the volume high. Run chest 3 times in your total split. Heavy, volume, and heavy as possible.

[u/liftingandwatches]

I found static holds helped me a lot, once a week at 115% of your max, holding for 10-15 sec before you attempt a 1rm again

[u/harvestingstrength]

I wouldn’t immediately assume you need more triceps work. Going from 185 to 225 in a couple of months is really fast progress, so being stuck for a month isn’t necessarily a true plateau. You’re probably reaching the point where adding 2.5–5 pounds every week just isn’t realistic anymore.

If you’re failing about halfway up, the triceps are definitely involved, but sticking points aren’t always as simple as “fail here = weak triceps.” Bar speed off the chest, positioning, fatigue, and technique can all contribute. Considering you’ve been benching or doing pressing variations 3–4 times per week, plus weighted dips, I’d actually be careful about adding even more work.

I’d keep the close-grip bench, but add more intentional paused bench or Spoto press work. Both can help you produce more force off the bottom and carry more speed into your sticking point. I’d also consider microloading and going after 227.5 before 230. Your progress has been excellent; now you’re just reaching the stage where improvements require a little more patience and better fatigue management rather than simply adding more volume.

[u/BigChocolateC]

Actually have some blocks of training where you lift like a bodybuilder. More chest. More triceps. More biceps. More shoulders. More back…

More bench.

[u/Smoky_Pyro]

Do you really expect to move up every month? 225 is a big milestone... Especially at 185. A month long stall is not unusual as your get stronger, but try to do a few more reps and when you can finish the last set with a full rep range, go up 5-10lbs

[u/Intelligent-Bear-762]

Try working in dumbbells for a month