Bench press

Ok, I've run into a plateau or I don't have very good genetics. I've been lifting for 18 months and started benching at 15kg. My bench press is stuck at 65x5. I want to get it to atleast 100kg but it just won't go up. What do I do?

Gain some muscle mass. What's your current body weight? My bench plateaued for years until I gained some weight. Then it went up, but has since plateaued again along with my body weight.

Switch to the smiths machine for a bit, taking the control out your press allows you to focus just on generating power, then you can move back to the rack and hit that 100kg.

Increase the weight and try and do as many reps as possible. So warm up at 40 or 50, do a set of 5 at 60 then try 70 for 2 or 3 then 75 for 2 or 3. Get someone to spot you
You're not gonna improve unless you lift heavier

Switch to the smiths machine for a bit, taking the control out your press allows you to focus just on generating power, then you can move back to the rack and hit that 100kg.

You do need to lift heavy to get stronger, but if strength gains are your priority avoid going to failure on every set of every exercise in every workout.

I say this because this is what had me plateau at the exact same weight as you for months. I believed I had to push more to get stronger (I got bigger, but not stronger), but constantly grinding out reps burns out your nervous system, reinforces bad form and you gain little to no strength.

Lift heavy but leave a rep in the tank at the end of each set so that your form didn't break down. This might mean you need to drop the weight a bit and build up again, use less reps on your current weight, or bump it up to 70kg for a single rep.

Actually I found for me if I bump up the weight, do a single, then drop back to my actual working weight it feels lighter and I can get more reps. If you want to, only train to failure on your last set and go for as many reps as possible to measure progress. If you get more reps than last time, you got stronger.

You either need to gain weight, or improve your routine



Do not do this. This is how you destroy your shoulder girdle

My goal is to look like a fitness model. But I also want to be strong so I'd like to work towards a 100-140kg bench.

Are there any particular strength routines you could recommend for the bench press? Currently I'm doing Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 for beginners programme. I throw in some bodybuilding work aswell because I want to build muscle (high reps, to failure). But I don't do that type of training with the bench press. With the bench I do high weight, low reps (3-5).

Yeah form is important. I don't wanna visit snap city lol. It took me a long time to correct my form for the deadlift but bench press form is straight forward: retract scapula, arch back, medium-grip, bring bar towards upper-chest and lockout.

Good way to train the central nervous system. It'll get used to heavier weight so that weight that used to feel heavy now feels light. Some powerlifters do this with the squat. They unrack a heavy weight, then rerack it. But they don't squat it, they just hold it on their back to feel the weight.