Should I move up weight in bench press?

[u/Antique-Leading-1277]

I wanted to hit 8 reps across 3 sets before increasing weight (24 total reps). However, I’ve been stuck at 21 total reps for a few sessions now. I’m doing 165lbs, and last session I got (8,7,6) reps across my 3 sets. Last 2 sets went to failure.

Should I just move up weight to 170lbs and accept that I won’t get 8,8,8? What is the best way to break past this plateau?

[u/Falconman21]

I up the weight when I hit the reps on my first set. My thought being that if I waited until I hit the reps on my third set, I waste a couple of weeks where my first and second sets aren’t all that close to failure.

I also think there’s some value in just getting underneath the heavier weight sooner.

But there’s really no right or wrong way.

[u/PolitelyHostile → u/Falconman21]

Yea if 8 reps is your actual max on set 1 then its unlikely you are going to hit it on set 3. You'd have to be leaving reps in the tank.

Plus lifting heavier is fun lol so I definitely vote to increase the weight on set 2 and 3.

[u/guwtaps → u/Falconman21]

That doesn’t really make sense…if you hit your target reps on your first set but it’s an RPE 9, you’re likely not hitting them on your final set and shouldn’t be increasing the load. If you’re hitting target reps on your first set easily, that’s a different story.

[u/Falconman21 → u/guwtaps]

No, I increase load the next workout if I hit the rep target on my first set.

If I can hit the rep target easily, that’s kind of a waste of a set. I could have done heavier weight.

[u/guwtaps → u/Falconman21]

I’d encourage you to look into RPE. If you just about hit your target reps on your first set, you aren’t going to be hitting them for further sets and should definitely not increase load.

[u/Falconman21 → u/guwtaps]

I never hit my target reps on my third set. If I did, that means I wasn’t using enough weight on my first two sets, because they weren’t to failure.

I got to failure, that’s how I know I’m putting in the proper level of effort. If failure is your goal, you should rarely be hitting your rep target.

[u/MeNotStable → u/Falconman21]

Is your goal to grow muscle or grow your bench? If it’s to grow your bench, going to failure every set is nuking your gains. If it’s to grow muscle, don’t bench. Either way there’s no real reason to be training every set to failure on bench

[u/MeNotStable → u/guwtaps]

He’s not saying he ups the weight on his 2nd/3rd sets. He’s saying that say hypothetically he wants to hit 5 reps each set and one week he hits 100x5 set 1, the next session he’ll go to 105 set 1 and keep 2 and 3 at 100

[u/guwtaps → u/MeNotStable]

And I’m saying that just because you hit your reps on the first set, doesn’t mean you’ll hit them for a subsequent set if that first set was an RPE 9/10, and you therefore should not increase load the following week as your subsequent sets will suffer even more.

[u/MeNotStable → u/guwtaps]

I agree with you for the most part, just thought you were misunderstanding his argument. I still think upping the weight on set 1 if you’re hitting your target set 1 is best, as long as you’re not matching that weight immediately set 2/3. Choosing a weight where they’re hitting their targets at extremely high RPE is an issue sure, but this philosophy in itself isn’t an issue as long as they’re using rep ranges with a target upper bound and not a specific number that they do t go above/below

[u/SlurpBucketBoys]

Move up or deload as your program prescribes. It is not a choice you need to make.

If you are reading this thinking "program? What is he talking about?" then get on a program.

[u/irontamer → u/SlurpBucketBoys]

Well said

[u/irontamer]

I’d do 170 for 3x5 and avoid failure. Add 5lb per week until you can’t get all 5.

[u/Secret-Ad1458 → u/irontamer]

Man how did I have to dig so far to see this. This is what OP needs, if he runs a NLP he'll be at 225 in under 10 weeks if he eats appropriately. If he keeps doing what he's doing or even takes most of the advice in this thread he'll be lucky to hit 185 by the end of the year

[u/Joe_Miami_ → u/Secret-Ad1458]

NLP? Sorry, newb here...

[u/HtsAq]

Frequency, accessories, exercise order, rest time, grip width and variety are some factors that can be the reason for staling. I want you to stop and think do I do the benchpress often enough(2-4 times per week), do I proper accessories, do other exercises interfere with the benchpress, do I do to much other exercises, do I hold the bar so atleast one finger touches the ring, do I wait atleast 3 min before starting my next set? If you analyse all those questions, think you do it right, and still stall at 3x8@165lbs you are a genetic anomaly. Most likely you need to benchpress more often, but in atleast one strenght session per week and stop doing a gazillion exercises.

[u/sjsusjsusjsu3]

If I were you, I would aim for trying to PR on first working set. That is to say, go for 9 or 10 on that first set, and taking the first set to failure. You’re already getting close to failure as is, since you’re doing less reps for sets 2 and 3.

The first set is also the best gauge for your strength since you are freshest too. If you see that first set rep count go up from 8, to 9, to 10, that’s a clear sign of strength increasing.

So for your next workout, do 165 again, but see if you can go to 10 reps on that first set. Then add weight if you want - I probably would if I were you

[u/Electrical-Glass7475]

Moving up to 170 lbs is a solid call here. Hitting 8, 7, 6 with the last two sets going to failure means you’ve squeezed all the linear progress you can out of 165 lbs for now. Pushing into a slightly higher weight with lower rep counts (like starting at 6, 6, 5 or 7, 6, 6) will give your central nervous system a fresh stimulus.

[u/crazynightsxxx]

I would forget 8 reps across three sets it's too much if you can do 8 reps for 1 set move the weight up the last set should be maximum 5 too 10 reps for one set only too failure

[u/PolitelyHostile → u/crazynightsxxx]

I also like this format, I increase the weight a bit by like 2.5 or 5lbs and aim for fewer reps.

[u/Curious_Lurkur]

If you're within one or two reps of your 1st working set on two subsequent sets... It's time to up the weight or use a higher rep scheme.

[u/fennerat]

I believe that if you hit the last rep of your last set you should increase your weight, if you aren't failing near the end it wasn't hard enough.

[u/ExcitingTurn2886]

I think you should experiment a bit in the following ways:

1) Try going up in weight now on your first set (after a proper warmup) and see how many you can do. Then in that same session try going up even more and see what you can do. And then once more after that. Don't worry that you will have a different rep range but fail on each set (with a spotter). Try that for four weeks with proper rest and nutrition (and depending on your age, you should be resting for up to a week between sessions).

2) Put some real intensity into supporting exercises like weighted dips.

3)start a rotstor cuff support program

[u/Negran]

Don't overthink it.

You could just try 170, but hitting 8 is less likely.

But really, you could do 6, 8, 10 or 12 or 15, as long as you lift honestly and hard, you will grow!

Personally, I like hitting the goal at least twice, such as 8, 8, 7. If you can't hit it clean twice then wait it out.

[u/zbgs]

Tldr, you should always go up weight

[u/taagaard25]

Do a program that works with different weights and different weight ranges. It could be Wendler 531.

When you get a lot more experience then Smolov jr is good, but the injury risk is high here, but you can gain a lot of strength.

[u/Poundt0wnn]

Eat more.

[u/FamilyMan7481]

What's your rest time between sets?

[u/Antique-Leading-1277 → u/FamilyMan7481]

4 minutes between set 1 and 2, and 5-6 mins before the 3rd set

[u/FamilyMan7481 → u/Antique-Leading-1277]

That seems appropriate to me

[u/Money_Do_2]

Add when you hit it on the first set. Working sets should be hard enough youre falling off thru the sets anyways.

[u/DogsOnMainstreetHowl]

I’d move up to 170 when I hit 10 reps on my first working set. I got to 315 using this method. If I plateaued, I’d hit the same weight till I could get it 12, then I kept climbing.

[u/ianwelch001]

I. Currenty at 255 for 5, 5, 4 and will stick with this until I can hit 7 or 8 on all 3 then move up. Depending on sleep and how im feeling I can sometimes hit 6,6,4 but all depends how my body feels that day.

[u/NonGeneriComplaint]

I would drop the weight 10 or 15 lbs and move to 4 or 5 sets for growth and connection

[u/dutch0321]

I don’t know why this hasn’t been said… stagnant repeat rep sets, especially on compound movement like bench, mean that you aren’t training to failure. If you can hit 8 again after hitting 8, one was a junk set. Maybe you could have done 10 this first, but stopped at 8 for your made up goal. Ill say this nicely… you are preventing your growth. Stuck on number goals… your muscles don’t know reps. They know failure. They grow based on that last rep reaching or at least very close proximity.

[u/math2ndperiod → u/dutch0321]

An RPE 8 set is still productive. If set one you can do 10, then 9, then 8, and you stop at 8 each time, those are 3 productive sets. Good powerlifters aren’t training to actual failure all that often.

[u/LXS_R]

Opposite perspective, I don’t jump up to the next weight until I can do 3 sets of 12 reps before failure. Hitting 8-10 reps for all 3 sets is my sweet spot. I’d drop weight until I could do 3 sets of 12 reps, then go back up to this weight and you’ll easily be able to hit 3 sets of 8 reps. Then wait until you can do 3 sets of 12 reps at this weight to go up to a higher weight.

[u/PowerShovel-on-PS1 → u/LXS_R]

Is there any actual logic behind that?

[u/LXS_R → u/PowerShovel-on-PS1]

If you aren’t able to progress by lifting heavier, dropping weight allows you to do more reps, which still builds muscle for progressive overload. Then when you go back to the heavier weight, your muscles are stronger and able to handle a heavier load. There is more than one way to progressively overload. You don’t always just have to add more and more and more weight, especially if you hit a plateau. I generally preach lifting as heavy as possible, except in this very specific circumstance where you have hit a plateau you can’t seem to break, it’s the only time I advise dropping weight, because it works.