i have tried every thing. HELP ME!!!

[Matt6969]

i have been on a platough for about a month now and i havent gained on my chest at all. i have tried taking a week off from lifting. changing up my routine, repping different weight. tried changing up the excersizes. i have tried just about everything. does any one have any hints. oh and yes i have a very strict diet.
:think:

 

[freqfly]

When you say gained, are you referring to size or strength?

 

[Omen]

i have been on a platough for about a month now and i havent gained on my chest at all. i have tried taking a week off from lifting. changing up my routine, repping different weight. tried changing up the excersizes. i have tried just about everything. does any one have any hints. oh and yes i have a very strict diet.
:think:

Could be anything.

You need to list your entire program, rest, exercise, diet, supplements, drug, work, activity levels, etc... if you want a more detailed solution VS a "one size fits all" solution.

 

[Matt6969]

I am talking about both size and strength.

Tuesdays and Fridays are when i work my chest, Tri's, and Delts.
a normal routine would go like this.

Bench- 205lbs- 7-10 sets to max reps (5-7)

Tricep Pushdown- 150lbs- 7-10 sets to max reps (5-7)

PecDeck-Machine doesnt say weight on it. 7-10 sets to max reps (10-15)
Military Press-100lbs- 7-10 sets to max reps (5-10)

Incline Perfect Pushups- Body Weight- 7-10 sets (15-20 reps)

Skull Crushers- 75lbs- 7-10 sets (5-7 reps)

 

[suncloud]

7-10 sets? maybe overtraining is a possibility.

 

[MasterFlexx]

I am about your same size (judging by your height/weight in your profile) this is what worked for me when I hit a plateau.
1. First off you could be overtraining like the others said. I hit chest once every 6 days (2 on 1 off regimen). Try lowering the sets you do and raising weight.
2. have you tried biceps with chest? then do your triceps with either back day or shoulders. I did this to help switch things up and my bench went up a little bit. I found the change helped me focus more on my chest and not worrying about getting a good tricep workout too which made me weaker in benching and such.
3. push yourself every workout for that one extra rep or add little extra weight even if its 5lbs. don't be afraid to ask for a spot to bust out an extra rep or two.

Getting past your plateau for you looks to be either more rest or pushing yourself harder. You wont get bigger or stronger doing the same weight every time, my 2 cents..

 

[bslick69b]

7-10 sets? maybe overtraining is a possibility.

a very strong poss.!..7-10 sets is alot bro,drop down in sets,and try to increas weight a little!:thumbsup:

 

[ILiftBig]

i have been on a platough for about a month now and i havent gained on my chest at all. i have tried taking a week off from lifting. changing up my routine, repping different weight. tried changing up the excersizes. i have tried just about everything. does any one have any hints. oh and yes i have a very strict diet.
:think:

When you say "strict diet" do you mean you are restricting calories? If that is the case, there lies your answer. In order to get stronger you are going to have to feed the muscles. This means you are going to need to be in a positive caloric balance. If you are trying to cut weight or body fat, then consider yourself lucky to be able to maintain your strength.

 

[crader]

You know one of the oddest exercise I did for chest strangely enough made me the most sore the next day.

I stood facing the pec deck and put a foot up on the seat leaned back and straightened my arms and did 1/4 rep pulses with it. While doing them I thought..WTF..but it really was a great exercise for chest.

 

[pmiller383]

If you have been stuck for only a month but tried all that stuff you may need to stick with a strategy for a little longer before trying something else. For the next four weeks try doing floor presses for your chest/triceps and lateral raises as your main should movement. Then you can determine if your progressing or not, remember its a marathon and not a sprint.

 

[mixedup]

UP the WEIGHT if you cand do 7 to 10 sets at a given weight your not using enough weight imo For instance i like to work out at about 80-85% my 1 rep max and by the 3rd set i'm struggling. also try working once a week instead of twice

 

[fightbackhxc]

lift heavy. i would start a little 5x5 program. or maybe a Power/Hypertrophy split dude. this is Monday- Heavy upper body, Tuesday-Heavy lower body ( mainly compound movements on those ehavy days) cardio on wednesday, thursday do high reps upper body, friday high reps legs, or you could split it up thursday high reps back bi and trap, friday high reps chest shoulder tris, and then hypertrophy legs. This will allow you to gain strenth while building size, as you gain more size in your 12-20 reps ranger. and more strength in your heavy 4-8 range reps. Goodluck.

 

[crader]

Have you tried laying on the floor and benching under the dead rack to see if you need more work on the stabilizers to get you past a sticking point in your bench?

Or benching using weights and resistance bands to give you added resistance and slow controled movements to work with?

 

[Savantee]

UP the WEIGHT if you cand do 7 to 10 sets at a given weight your not using enough weight imo For instance i like to work out at about 80-85% my 1 rep max and by the 3rd set i'm struggling. also try working once a week instead of twice

Good advice!!

I do something similar

two warm up sets say light set 15 reps heavier set 10 then... big heavy singles wide grip then narrow grip (alternate but same weight) keeps me busting through plateau's.

keep going at it with as short a break as necessary say thirty second and I'll guarantee your body will adapt.

Finish with 50% of your max single for say 25 reps......busted

Agreed rest is key

Have fun!!

 

[MM11]

Personally i have found power clean and press helps me push through my plateau Quickly, as well as heavy squats on leg days. Honestly in your case i would eat more, if your not gaining size (or strength) you may not be eating enough. even if it is a lot, it may not be enough. good luck

 

[thaOrleanyte]

+1

How strict is your diet? If your eating super lean ( not eating alot of carbs) that will keep you from progressing. Of course you should have a high protien intake, i expect you know this. If you want to get big and strong....... you gotta eat. ALOT.

 

[LilPsychotic]

I am talking about both size and strength.

Tuesdays and Fridays are when i work my chest, Tri's, and Delts.
a normal routine would go like this.

Bench- 205lbs- 7-10 sets to max reps (5-7)

Tricep Pushdown- 150lbs- 7-10 sets to max reps (5-7)

PecDeck-Machine doesnt say weight on it. 7-10 sets to max reps (10-15)
Military Press-100lbs- 7-10 sets to max reps (5-10)

Incline Perfect Pushups- Body Weight- 7-10 sets (15-20 reps)

Skull Crushers- 75lbs- 7-10 sets (5-7 reps)

IMO, I think you should just focus on chest if you want to gain. You need to do more than just flat bench if you want to make progress. Save the shoulders/tris for a seperate day, and just focus on chest. You need to be doing some combo of the following: Incline (probrably most important to build the upper chest, and overall strength, IMO), flat, decline or dips (prefferably dips), incline/decline flys, peck deck. Now obviously not all in one session, but it is important to mix it up. In my opinion, splits are for begginers. If you want to maximize your gains, you need to start focusing on specific body parts. Throw in abs or calves at the end, you'll thank me if you start doing tris on a different day. You'll have better workouts, and better gains.

 

[Matt6969]

thanks for the advise everyone. i will start working a muscle group once a week instead of 2. and will up the weight. oh and by strict i mean i dont eat candy, cake, cookies, pie, fudge, brownies, icecream, milkshakes, cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, etc. and i dont drink soda, or beer.
:stooges:

 

[thaOrleanyte]

drinking beer is the secret to life, sir.....

 

[Necroticism]

make the changes you currently are, but if that doesnt work try drastically lowering the volume and raising the frequency. im making the best gains i ever had doing 1 set per muscle training it 3-4 times a week.(4 is a rarity)

 

[thaOrleanyte]

maybe take a little time off and let ur body recover

 

[BettrBdyMitch]

I would agree its a combination of overtraining/undernourished, and a good change in routine would be benificial.

 

[cmc]

You also have to take note of which parts of your chest are lagging. Upper? Lower? Outer? Inner? or maybe the whole darn thing? Lol.

This can help you focus on which exercises that you may want to incorporate into your routine. Flat bench is a main stay--hits the overall chest. Inclines--upper, declines--lower, close grip bench..inner and so forth. Prioritize.