Having trouble building upon chest gains

[BirdofParadise]

On Thursdays I do incline bench presses (3 sets of 5xwhatever weight), followed by flat bench press, and close grip bench press. I realize the first exercise is the only one that really hits the chest. Anyway, a couple weeks ago I did 3 sets of 5x125, which isn't much compared to you pros, but I thought it meant I was continuing to build strength. For the past two Thursdays, I've started out with 135 pounds but managed to lift that only 4 times. Then, even if I take 10 pounds off and go back to 125lbs for the remaining two sets, I'm already beat and perform poorly for those sets and for the other exercises.

My question is this: if I use Olympic weights (it wasn't a conscious decision but I started off not knowing anything and those were the first cheap weights I found), and the lightest Olympic plates extant are 5 pounders, and 10 pounds (5lbs on each side of barbell) is proving too much for me to transition with, is there anything I can do to continue making progress? I believe Standard weights come in 2.5lbs form. Am I going to have to switch to Standard weights? Are there other exercises I can do without different equipment? (Aside from bench and barbell weights, my equipment includes only a few sets of dumbbells ranging from 8-40 and a dip bar, and I have access to my crappy apartment complex gym, which has a Smith machine that I do not use.

Any help is appreciated. I realize I just meandered for a couple paragraphs, so if I need to clarify something please ask.

 

[EFFORT]

On Thursdays I do incline bench presses (3 sets of 5xwhatever weight), followed by flat bench press, and close grip bench press. I realize the first exercise is the only one that really hits the chest. Anyway, a couple weeks ago I did 3 sets of 5x125, which isn't much compared to you pros, but I thought it meant I was continuing to build strength. For the past two Thursdays, I've started out with 135 pounds but managed to lift that only 4 times. Then, even if I take 10 pounds off and go back to 125lbs for the remaining two sets, I'm already beat and perform poorly for those sets and for the other exercises.

My question is this: if I use Olympic weights (it wasn't a conscious decision but I started off not knowing anything and those were the first cheap weights I found), and the lightest Olympic plates extant are 5 pounders, and 10 pounds (5lbs on each side of barbell) is proving too much for me to transition with, is there anything I can do to continue making progress? I believe Standard weights come in 2.5lbs form. Am I going to have to switch to Standard weights? Are there other exercises I can do without different equipment? (Aside from bench and barbell weights, my equipment includes only a few sets of dumbbells ranging from 8-40 and a dip bar, and I have access to my crappy apartment complex gym, which has a Smith machine that I do not use.

Any help is appreciated. I realize I just meandered for a couple paragraphs, so if I need to clarify something please ask.

whats your entire routine look like? What does your diet look like? How much do you weigh? How do you warm up?

 

[Warboss Alex]

keep with 125lbs until it feels easier and then jump to 130.. baby steps. presses tend to progress slowly and if you were able to add 10lbs per week that means you'd be pressing over 600 by the end of the year.

patience, glasshopper.

ps - no need to do incline and flat in the same workout, rotate them or stick to inclines for size

 

[BirdofParadise]

Warboss, if I'm using barbells, how do I increase from 125 (45 pound bar plus 80 pounds of plates) to 130? Are there 2.5 pound plates out there?

Effort,

My routine looks like this:

Sundays - Deadlifts, bent rows, and a triceps exercise
Mondays - 40 weighted pull-ups, wide overhand grip, currently at 35 pounds of added weight and I go up by 5 each week
Tuesdays - Shoulder press, upright row, lat raise, front raise, reverse flies
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Incline bench, flat bench, flat close grip bench, bicep curls
Friday - 40 weighted pullups (also at 35, also increasing by 5 per week), narrow, underhand grip
Saturday - Rest

Everyday of I wake up at 0445, whether I'm exercising or not. I get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. My daily diet probably averages around 2500-3000 calories (I used to keep an excel spread sheet, and I still try to be methodical about eating), consists of the same meals every day. It's healthy. Since the beginning of September I've gained 6 pounds (now weighing in at a whopping 148 pounds; I'm 5'10) and I assume/hope that weight has gone to muscle. I don't see much fat on my body.

Anyway, that's the routine. I realize the lack of squats is a glaring omission, but I don't have the equipment right now.

 

[EFFORT]

Don't like the routine it has you doing tricep work 3 times a week and only getting 2 days worth of rest. Also not sure what kind of rep ranges your using for the other stuff.

I'd switch off that routine asap. And if you have the equipment for deadlifts then you have the equipment for hack squats.

 

[Quagmire911]

Try putting on 30-40lbs of muscle and see what that does for your bench.

Back in April you posted this:

http://www.sosuave.net/forum/showthread.php?t=122360

When Warboss gave you the advice then he meant what he said, and that advice hasn't changed. Why you went against his advice of working out 3 days a week instead of five who knows. Maybe you thought you knew better than he did?

In that thread you state you wanted to put on 20-25 pounds, god knows what you have been doing since then as you could have accomplished your goal, (perhaps closer to the lower end however).

You say then you weighed between 140-145 now 148, that is piss poor progress for 26 weeks. You need to take a look at your diet and training and get things moving, it is no wonder you have hit a rut.

However, myself being the generous individual I am, went to the trouble to copy and paste a link that could set you on your way:

http://www.sosuave.net/forum/showthread.php?t=125444

Now go and make a log where all your questions can be answered, follow one of the routines in there and eat your 300 grams of protein a day and stop dithering about!

Good luck,

Quagmire

 

[Master Bates]

What's the best way to split up your working out 3 days a week?

 

[BirdofParadise]

Tough crowd! I guess I did go against the earlier advice of the experts. I'll reevaluate what I'm doing, thanks.

 

[Interceptor]

Bird, realize that you're doing Shoulders before trainng Chest. You may be a little fatigued, and not fully recovered to hit chest later in the week.

You may want to cinsider doing something like:

Day 1 Chest
Day 2 Back
Day 3 Legs
Day 4 Shoulders
Day 5 Arms

Something that will hit the major muscle groups early on, and then the smaller groups.
Of course, you don't have to do them consecutively, you can add a day or two in between.

 

[Warboss Alex]

Bird, realize that you're doing Shoulders before trainng Chest. You may be a little fatigued, and not fully recovered to hit chest later in the week.

You may want to cinsider doing something like:

Day 1 Chest
Day 2 Back
Day 3 Legs
Day 4 Shoulders
Day 5 Arms

Something that will hit the major muscle groups early on, and then the smaller groups.
Of course, you don't have to do them consecutively, you can add a day or two in between.

dude, you've got back and legs next to each other (even considering a day of rest in between) and you're worrying about shoulder fatigue?

 

[muzicfreak2k3]

the lightest Olympic plates extant are 5 pounders, and 10 pounds (5lbs on each side of barbell) is proving too much for me to transition with, is there anything I can do to continue making progress? I believe Standard weights come in 2.5lbs form. Am I going to have to switch to Standard weights? Are there other exercises I can do without different equipment?

There are such things as "microweights", which come in 1.25lbs so u can increase your bench in increments of 2.5 lbs. Also, there are chains and links u can add, each link being a few ounces, and ass you want more weight you add more links.

http://www.qfac.com/gear/fraction_plates.html

Good luck.