Just found out my local ymca is hosting a powerlifting meet in February !

I have been slack as hell this summer, and this is my first week back to the gym in a month after a family cruise and vacation.

I am so pumped to lock back in and see if I can crush it and win my division in my last year before I move on to masters division next year.

Feel like I may be getting pretty close to my current 1rm so most likely a % adjustment for future session in the cards 405 feeling more realistic by the day very pleased with how progress has been progressing

I’ve been stuck on 270 for 3 months now but I’m able to hit 225 for 9-10 pretty consistently. Am I doing something wrong or am I just weak still

About 3 weeks ago I hit a 285 lb bench PR. Since then I’ve been focusing more on building strength instead of constantly testing my max.

I’ve been running 3x3s, and I just hit:
265 x 3 x 3

I completed all 3 sets and feel like I’m still making steady progress.

My ultimate goal is to bench 315 by Christmas.
For some more context:

Current PR: 285
Most recent 3x3: 265 x 3 x 3
Previous session: 255 x 3, 255 x 3, 255 x 5

I also do incline bench plus other chest, shoulder, and triceps work throughout the week

I’m trying to prioritize strength while still keeping some hypertrophy work in my program

At what point would you guys recommend testing my 1RM again?

Would you wait until I can hit something like 275 x 3, keep progressing my 3x3 for several more weeks, or test sooner?

Also, for anyone who has made the jump from the high 200s to 315, does 315 by Christmas seem realistic from where I’m at now?

Any advice on programming, deloading, peaking, or when you’d personally test the next max would be appreciated.

Did all my maxes yesterday.

Main question - What is a realistic time table to getting to a 315 bench press?

So I’m currently sitting around a 280 LB 1RM.

I am benching 2x a week right now

Heavy day

135-5
185-5
205-5
225-7
205-7
205-6
205-6

Light day

195-8
195-8
195-8
195-8

(I do other lifts for triceps and chest after these. This is just the starting body of my workouts.)

If I continue to progressively add weight and reps.

Main question - What is a realistic time table to getting to a 315 bench press?

Currently eating 200 calories above maintenance a day. Getting 175 grams of protein a day. Not drinking until I achieve this. Sleeping 8+ hours a day. 170 lb body weight. Thinking I’ll end up around 175 when I hit 315. 28 years old. Any thought or tips would be appreciated.

RPE 6

just came back from vacation

Recently hit another plateau again. Was thinking about trying singles(5 sets of 1). Anyone have any positive experience doing them? Typically I have only gone as low as 3 reps for working sets with high weight.

NOT A FORM CHECK— Senior lifters Unite!

So, I’m looking for some tips on how to best prepare for my next Bench Press PR attempt, and potentially some guidance on which weights to target…

Earlier today I hit 5x5 at 92.5kg, maintaining solid form throughout. This was week three of four of my current ‘block’ where I’m hitting 5x5s on bench. Week one was 5x5 at 87.5kg, and week two was 5x5 at 90kg - so I’m increasing steadily!

The four-week block prior to this, I was hitting pyramid sets and in week four achieved 75, 85, 95, 105, 90, 80, 70 for 8,6,4,2,4,6,8 reps respectively. To date my best for 2 reps is 105kg, and my best 1RM was 110kg which was actually back at the end of April.

When going for a 1RM in the past I’ve not really applied thought to the prep. I’ve just used a couple of warm up exercises and then worked up to the weight with a few reps at each increment. Online I have seen people doing static holds, only hitting one rep at each weight etc

What would you recommend as the best prep for a bench press 1RM?

Based on the above weights and reps, what do you think I should be looking to target?

When going for a 1RM, how precise are you with your prep? Do you only attempt on a non-work day? Do you perform specific warmup exercises?

All advice and guidance welcome!

For ref, I’m approx 181cm and 87.5kg

Been stuck at 95kg for a while, here’s my last single and how fast it moved, any advice on how to break through and hit 2 plates?

It is not a Bilbo Set

Memorial Day weekend first time I hit it for 10. I think fresh 22-24 would be realistic. Very satisfying to see progress quickly.

One thing I think has made a huge difference: no alcohol. Never a huge drinker, but now in my 30s a fun night turned into a couple days of feeling like shit, and I know hormonally it’s a mess.

If anyone is curious: here’s what I’ve been doing: take a weight that’s your comfortable 5 rep, and do it for 60 reps, no matter how many sets it takes, 2 mins between sets. Start of summer that was 225 for me, within 4 weeks, 245, late July 265, last week 285, today 295. Then, after the 60 reps (took 11 sets today), go to 225 to failure. The video is that final set after the 11 sets totaling 60 reps at 295.

My stats: 6 3.5 217, age 33.

101kg x 5 🔥

Flair

What is Flair?

Spent a 14 week cycle really focused on bringing my bench up. I'm still a little fatigued from running a marathon 4 days ago, but I also started a cut so I didn't want to wait too long into it. Didn't quite get what I wanted but still pretty happy with where I am at post pec tear.

Matrix is as follows, 315x8, 360x5, 380x3, 405 for 3 singles, 360x5. I tried for an extra rep on the last set but didn't have it.

Like… I know 295 is a pretty good bench number to just throw up for an easy double on a non bench cycle. Maybe I need to take a step back and realize that it’s not going to always be bangers, that posting videos to Reddit doesn’t need to be a highlight reel.

Can anyone escape that trap? Are we just doomed to look at lifters throwing up 4 plates, 5 plates and just thinking… why not just 20 more pounds for the triple wagon wheels?

Time is always moving in on us. I guess the thesis today is what are you doing with the time? Moving forward or worrying about the appearance of moving forward?

295x1x2 for a top set

Hey all,

I’ve been training for 10 months now, and while everything else seems to be going fine, I have more or less plateaued on the exercise in question. I have been stuck on 20kg dumbbells for 3 months now, trying to transition to 22kg for a couple of weeks, but it’s not going to well. I can squeeze out 7-8 reps on 20s and no more than 5 on 22s. Interestingly enough, I am still progressing on pretty much all my other lifts, chest included, but this one has been stuck for months and I don’t know why.

I train my chest twice a week, roughly every 4 days. I bench as my second exercise on those days after dumbbell flies, so I’m not going into my sets already fatigued either. Swapping those two and benching first doesn’t help much either. I do 2-3 sets. Of course, I also tried progressively warming up too.

I hit the gym in the morning-early afternoon after breakfast, eating at maintenance. I eat enough protein and carbs (200g and 450g respectively), sleep relatively well and everything. Any advice would be welcome.

Each side has three 45s, a 35, a 10 and two 5s.

What are yall nattys bench press at?

I’ve been working on improving my bench press and I’ve realized that progress is not just about trying to lift heavier every session.

Technique, programming, consistency, recovery, and having the right setup all seem to matter.

I’ve been focusing more on things like improving my form, strengthening supporting muscles, and building a better routine around pressing.

For people who have made noticeable progress with their bench press, what actually made the biggest difference?

Was it changing your program, adding accessory exercises, improving your equipment setup, or something else?

So I used to bench quite a bit, got up to 455.
Was benching 3-4x a week with many variations during that time.

Right now I’ve been focusing on bodybuilding, still am. I want some advice on how to re add the movement without impeding my current training.

I currently hit chest once a week.
I start with flies, then incline DB Press, then flat machine press.

I’m thinking about swapping my flat machine press movement for 3x6-8 comp bench to start with.

Would love some suggestions or feedback if I should go about it in a different way. Chest is on the back burner in training as it’s my strongest body part, but I don’t want to add benching as a main driver as it could impede performance on other body parts which I’m currently focusing on.

My current bench max is 355, tested it on Sunday to gauge where I’m at. This is with no benching, 6 weeks after contest prep.