Need help on bench press please

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Liquid Tension

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I'm having trouble moving up in weight on the bench press and I'm not sure if it's my form or my routine.

ok so I'm benching only around 115 (yes that's pathetic :eek: ). I've been stuck around this weight for more than a month now, I guess what we call a plateau. So today I put on 125 and managed to do 3x6. I don't know if that's an appropriate workout for bench. With 115, I could only do 3x8 or something, but couldn't really finish the last reps. I've tried 105 with 4x8, seemed too easy and not going anywhere. I didn't want to keep doing low weight+high reps, but if nothing works then I'm gonna go for that route.

Anytime I do pecs workout, I don't feel it the next day or I don't feel anything in my chest like I would feel with my biceps after doing some curls. I feel more strain in my arms from lifting that heavy weight. Flyes work well for my chest, but bench and incline bench seem to have declined in effectiveness. What sets+rep should I do in the future to overcome this plateau?

Next time I'm also going to try an even wider grip for regular bench than usual. I think it might help so I'm going to try it.
 
How often do you bench? how much rest to you have between chest routines? what other bodyparts to you work and what excercises.

Doing a few sets of 6 is a good idea in my opinion, don't use the same rep scheme for a prolonged period of time.
 
hmm...maybe throw in some days where you do weight that you can only do like, 3 or 4 reps...worked for me. And do you do push ups? This army guy who goes to my gym told me to do as many push ups as I possible could in one set, crap like that, I did that a couple of times and in one week I went from 210 to 220 on bench :D
 
What are you looking to do, build strength?
You want to use a heavier weight; the 3x6 is better than a 3x8.
And try a 3X3, 3x4. Make sure you have a spotter if needed. Heavier weight =greater strength gains.

Also try using dumbbells, and change the incline of the bench. Don't always use the same angle. You can even go so far as to switch the angle for each set.

Also, if youre lifting heavy, make sure you give yourself plenty of rest between sets.
 
Doing a wider grip is not the answer if you want to gain strenght. First of all, drop your reps. You might want to do a 8 rep set as a warm up and then jump to a 3x4 or a 3x3. Next, figure out your sticking point (the point on the bench where you always seem to struggle; bottom, middle or top.) Once you figure out where your sticking point is, setup a power rack so that the bar starts at that point. For example, if you have problems at the bottom of your lift, then place the pegs on the power rack so the bar starts at that bottom position. You'll have to use less weight, but this is an excellent way of getting your body past a plateau.

Other techniques you might use are partials, board presses, bands or chains.

Oh, and don't worry about "feeling" your muscles working. Muscle growth has nothing to do with "the burn."
 
when I hear 'plataeu' I think 'stagnant routine?'

do you ONLY barbell bench press? when's the last time you tried dumbbell presses? maybe its time to change exercises for a month, force the muscles back into growth, then revisit the barbell.

Another idea, get someone to spot you and when you hit failure, do some negative reps. Just make sure your spotter knows what he's doing and helps you only when you need it.
 
Liquid Tension, I think you should pick a day soon to max out. If you don't normally have a spotter, grab one for that day. Finding your weak point is another good idea (as was mentioned). Depending on where you stall or stick will have an indication of your weak point-triceps, shoulders, and/or pecs. I also think you should bench more often than once a week.
 
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