yeh so heres the story..i switched my routine from dumbell presses to barbells in the beginning of december....i was able to do 10 x 145, 8 x 155, and then 5-6x175 with a spotter...then i went away for 3 weeks around xmas didtn lift and got mad sick before i came back..actually ended up losing some weight and still havnet gained it back..ne who..ever since i came back and started again...like the second week of jan i can only do 10x145, barely 8x155 and now i struggle with 5x170 i need alot of spotting ont he last 2 reps...i also do tris on my chest day and recnetly changed rope pulldowns for dips, because i heard those help ur bench....i also do incline, and chest flies machines in addition to flat bench...does anyone have any suggestion of how i can get this up..i have always been weak on bench...i'm 6'0 200lbs..somone help...maybe its more mental..and should i be doing warmup sets cuz i jump rite in flat bench first

Yes, warm up will help. Ride a bike for 5-10 minutes to get your body warm and blood going. Then do at least 3 warm ups (with bar, with 60% of your working set weight, and lastly with 85% of your working set weight).

Everytime I have a chest plateau I always revert to the good old 5x5 routine. Stick to the same weight, and do 5 sets for 5 reps... if you can get this, add 2 1/2 lbs the next week. I promise it will work (assuming you eat well...)

Maybe first see exactly what you can do without spotters and also time the rest periods between sets. That way you reduce the variables so you can tell if you are improving, even a little. So for example if you rest exactly 2 minutes between sets and you can do 4 x 175 on your third set with no spotter but you are struggling on the last rep, do that same routine for several sessions to see if the last rep gets a little easier. If it does get a little easier then add a pound (or even a half pound) for your last set each session until you've added 5 more pounds then in a later session remove the 5 extra pounds from your third set and try for another rep instead. If none of that works maybe you are doing too much work and/or not getting enough rest inbetween workouts.

warm up does indeed help. i have increased in some areas 15-20 lbs from last week with warm ups and MAXOT

warm up does indeed help. i have increased in some areas 15-20 lbs from last week with warm ups and MAXOT

Do you mean warm ups as in...
Yes, warm up will help. Ride a bike for 5-10 minutes to get your body warm and blood going.
or as in ....
Then do at least 3 warm ups (with bar, with 60% of your working set weight, and lastly with 85% of your working set weight).
or both?

how many times a week are you doing all that chest work and how many sets and reps are you doing for your chest(not just bench) each chest session?

Do you mean warm ups as in...

or as in ....

or both?

I meant for the second one, the lifting warm up.

12 @ 50% of lifting weight
10 @ 65%
6 @ 75
3 @ 85
And sometimes an acclimation of 1 @ 95-100%
About 1 and a half minutes in between the warm ups

I don't strech, but I find the warm up routines really do open up my muscles and enables me to lift more than I would have with just a stretch or beginning without any warm up.

this is what I do its my chest/tris day

flat bench 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
incline bench 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
pec dec machine butterflies 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
skull crushers 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
assisted dips 3 sets of 10, 8, 6

hows that llook i jus added dips and i'm not sure if i'm dion them rite

how about your shoulder workout. just looking for the weakest link. actually post your entire workout if its not too much trouble.

yeh heres my entire workout

Back/Bis
Lat Pull Downs 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
Dumbell Rows 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
Assited Pull up machine 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
lower back machine 2 sets of 12, 10
close grip ez bar curl 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
standing dumbell curls 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
forearms

Shoulders
Dumbell Press 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
Side Raises 2 sets of 10, 8
Front Raises 2 sets of 10, 8
machine for rear delts 2 sets of 10, 8
upright rows 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
barbell shrugs 2 sets of 12, 10

Chest/Tris
flat bench 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
incline bench 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
pec dec machine butterflies 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
skull crushers 3 sets of 10, 8, 6
assisted dips 3 sets of 10, 8, 6

on off days i do leg work...mainly rehab for my post acl surgery knee...and i do abs sometimes on those days along with riding the bike..thres my whole workout...i dont really diet...i should...but i was thinki of waitin when i can start running to do that...i try to eat "clean" but don't really kno what that means

80% of bulking up is to do with your nutritional diet mate,

id suggest you'd sort your diet out first ;)

good advice with the diet.

im not going to design a workout for you but i think i can give you some good advice on structuring your own. i remember how great of a job you did last time with losing weight and building muscle. im sure you will get to those numbers again.

first of all. how limited are you with the acl. you didnt mention any specific leg work. if you are still doing actual rehab then continue as ordered by the doctor. if you can do squats and deadlifts please do. this will help every other muscle group in your body.

your volume is not incredibly high per workout. i prefer lower volume than you do but thats a personal preferance. some prefer more. i think yours is fine but one of the things you could consider is lowering it.

i would never do the workout that you do. that does not make it bad but i dont think anyone would rate it as good. your workout is centered around your shoulders and chest. you have one exercise for your back and one for your lats. then three for your chest and four for you shoulders.

your shoulder workout breaks down into one for your anterior, one for posterior and two for your lateral. this is a lot of seperate shoulder work. plus you hit your anterior deltoid two more times on chest day.

bottom line. i would focus more on compound movements for you shoulders. be sure to do as much back work as you do chest work as well as as much pulling down work vs. pushing up work (example reverse grip cable pulldown vs. arnold press.)

i left out things like calves and arms but they have the same rules. this is a good starting point. you might want to check out some reading. Jeremy has some good stuff on balance and i think he has a cd about designing your own routines. a good low volume training site is www.drdarden.com i have his latest book shown there on the homepage and i found it to be a great resource. he has other books too but the most current obviously has more current information.

changing up your workout should help you get higher on the bench. big long answer to what seemed like a simple question. if you want a very simple answer. change up your workout. maybe drop the seperate shoulder work and do compound shoulder work. squat and deadlift definetly if you can.

^ I never posted up my pics yet or mentioned any results but ne way thanks for that info...and in terms of legs I am only doing the leg machines now, leg extensions, curls and leg press, calf raises and I ride the bike. I'm still a lil confused on the workout...can you maybe help me revise mine...i thouth my workout was pretty decent..thanks

theres another guy than with a name very similar to yours who had lost a lot of weight a while back then.

i guess my first question for you is can you do squats and deadlifts? do you want to do a full body workout three times a week or continue a three day split? do you want to continue to three sets lowering the number of reps with each set? making a workout is a very personal thing thats why i ask what you want to do. you should have a workout that you enjoy so that you will want to go to the gym and do it. i have done programs out of books and had trouble going to the gym because i did not enjoy the workout.

No i cannot do squats or deadlifts as i do not have full extension on my left leg yet. Isnt a three day split the same as working out three times a week too, i do my upperbody excercises M W F and off days like i said leg training/rehab stationary and abs on some of those days...and in terms of reps and sets i'm jus doing whatever really, i like what i do, but if its not good let me know..so get back to me on how i can improove my workout...thanks man!

if you like what you do and you are seeing overall progress than i would stay with it. if you are just concerned about getting past that weight in bench try doing something like negative only work for your chest http://www.ironmagazine.com/printout53.html (from rtestes thread on hit on the web) for a week and then go back to your regular routine. if you want ill outline my routine for you so you can get a better idea how to balance it out and what its like to do low volume training.

yeh just put up yours so i can see hwo it is, and just tell me what i can do to improove mine i guess