8 Ways on How to Get Past Your Bench Press PLATEAU

Have you been benching the same weight for months? Is your bench press stuck even though you've tried everything? Below are a couple things you might've missed. Read on to overcome your benchpress plateau. {googleAds}

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I'm sure you've already heard all sorts of tips on how to break out of a plateau. Here are some other ideas you can try.

1) Workout your legs – YUP! Your leg muscles are the biggest muscles in your body. Working out heavy on the legs will send a big shock to your body and release more growth hormone to stimulate your leg muscles into growing back stronger. In return, the bigger and stronger leg muscles will give the rest of your body more room to grow. Think of a pyramid with 10 different plates of all different sizes lying on top of each other with the biggest plate on the bottom, and the smallest plate on top. Imagine each your different muscle groups are one of these plates. Your small muscles like forearms would be the very top plate. Your leg muscles would be the very bottom plate. Now if you think logically, for a plate in the middle to grow BIGGER…all the plates under it have to get bigger. So there we go…workout your legs to make room for more growth from your chest. IT WORKS!

2) Rest – This is actually a common mistake that many lifters make. They are so quick and eager to get stronger that they don't give their muscles enough time to rest and rebuild. So how long do you rest before you can lift again? Ok, I'll make it simple for you: right on the daywhen you feel like your chest and tricep muscles are fully healed, WAIT ONE MORE DAY! That's right, wait one extra day to rest before you lift. Just because your muscles feel 100% doesn't mean they are. If extra rest days doesn't help, try staying off the bench for 2 weeks. I've stories where some people did nothing but push-ups everyday for two weeks, and then jumped back on the benchpress with more strength.

3) Eat right – This might sound like common sense but you'd be surprised at how many people there are that don't eat right and still expect to make gains. Eat carbs, proteins, vitamins, calcium..eat everything and eat a balanced diet! Do not just go straight for protein. Carbs give you the energy you need.

4) Workout your support muscles – Maybe the reason why your bench isn't getting bigger is because your small muscles can't support the weight. Forearms for example are one commonly overlooked muscle group. They are actually very important for handling the weight of a bench press. It doesn't matter if your chest can lift 250lbs when your forearms can only carry 200lbs. Your forearms will hold the weight steady for your chest to lift it straight up. Other important support muscles are the triceps. Many people do not do any specific tricep exercises. For triceps, try cable pulldowns and dips. Triceps will help you lockout at the top of the bench press lift and finish it off.

5) Change your routine – The same old routine will get you nowhere. I am hoping that you are not lfiting the same weight every week and adding reps every single week. This will work for a beginner, but once your muscles adapt…you're going to have to find other constantly changing routines to shock your body into more growth. Try different routines and perfect one for yourself. Some people need a light/heavy workout. Other's need more intensity. Other's need more rest. Use trial and error to find a perfect routine for your body.

6) Workout with weights heavier than your current max. We have another great article on this in the bodybuilding-exercises section. But basically, put on a heavier weight load and try to hold it up in the air as it slowly falls against your chest. Repeat several times.

7) Lift STRAIGHT! – Drop your workout benchpress to a lighter weight load and start working on a stricter form. There are too many people out there that don't benchpress in a straight line. A straight line means less lifting and a more concentrated effort. Work on your form!

8) Do not give up – Here's a common one. Some people will lift the weight half way, and then become overwhelmed and cower out when the weight slows down. A heavy max load is SUPPOSED to slow down. You're supposed to only be able to barely do it! It will always slow down, just keep pushing! (This tip is pretty obvious but there are still alot people that expect for their max benchpresses to fly up into the air.)

Another funny tip is to have your friend discreetly at a workout, trick you by adding some weights on to the bar when you're not paying attention. Many times, people are limited by their own psychology minds. For example, someone would be able to bench 499lbs but not 500lbs. It's all in the mind.

Keep trying and try everything. Everyone is different and so is every body. Things change over time and what might've worked great in the past may no longer have the same effect now that your body is different. Stay positive and keep trying. Some people may be at the same bench press for years. Talk to other experts and keep learning. Goodluck!