My bench won't go up....what am I doing wrong?

[TornadoMan]

Hey all!

I am new to this forum and I think that it is great and has been very helpful. However, I do not seem to be progressing with my chest routine. I work out three times a week doing chest/triceps (tuesdays), back/biceps (thursdays), shoulders/legs (saturdays). My chest exercises consist of

flat bench 12x10x6x6
incline dumbells 12x10x8x8
seated bench press 12x10x8x8

For the flat barbell bench, I have been stuck at 155 lbs for many weeks, and just can't break through it. I got to that weight quite quickly but just came to a screecing halt with it. I also run 3 times a week for 1 hour each time (14 km or so each time), but due to winter weather and fewer daylight hours, this cardio is decreasing. I try to eat healthy but probably do include too many carbs. I also use iso-pro ultra low carb protein powder, having it in the morning and again right after my workout on days that I go to the gym.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Is it possible that I should eliminate cardio completely as I have heard that doing cardio "eats up" muscle mass. Overall though, I find that I am looking a lot leaner than before (my friends all tell me that too), but I want to get bigger muscles just like most guys do.

Thanks for any help!!

[I. Kay]

Welcome, Tornado!

The first things that jump out at me:

-Too many reps on the bench. Going lower reps/heavier weight leads to better strength gains. I'd try 5x5 for a while.

-No carbs after workout? Carbs (gatorade powder/maltodextrin, etc.) with your protein ensures better recovery and better lifting the next time out. That's the one time of day that insulin-spiking carbs are what you want!

Now, things that you didn't mention, but may be a problem:

-What exactly are you doing for your back? If it's unequal in volume to your chest workout, you may be sufferring from an imbalance which could be inhibiting further chest growth.

-How much are you eating overall? Calories, grams of protein, fat, etc. per day? You need to eat a good bit to continually gain strength and size.

Also, what are "seated bench presses"?

Hope that helps some man. Ask away if you have more questions.

[TornadoMan]

Hey!

Thanks for the help! By seated press, I mean the exercise where you sit down and push the two handles away from you. I hope that that explains it? LOL

For my back, I do the following...
lat pull downs 12x10x8x8
seated rows 12x10x8x8
t-bar rows 12x12
and the 4th exercise I don't know the name...but it's for your lower back where you lean over this thing and extend your upper body upward. For that I do 3 sets, first set just my body weight, and last 2 sets I hold on to a 25lbs wieight.

For my eating habits, I don't really know how many grams/calories I eat, but I am sure that I am getting enough protein but I think that I have too many carbs. I am 26 yrs, 5'11", 175 lbs and my bf was 21.9% 6 months ago and I am sure that it has reduced, but not sure how much as I haven't gotten it recalculated. Should I be doing cardio or should I avoid it?

Regarding the carbs after workout..should I first have that and then follow it immediately with the protein shake?

Thanks again!!

[I. Kay]

Ok, I know what you mean about the seated press.

If you're having a difficult time putting on good weight, etc. and the weather is bad, just stop the cardio for a while and see if it helps.

Are you sure you're getting enough protein? How much? And you need carbs and good fats to grow as well, so you need to keep track. Check out

www.fitday.com

You could follow the carbs with protein, or simply combine them. A popular mix is gatorade powder and whey protein, or maltodextrin/dextrose and whey protein. Take a look at

www.proteinfactory.com

Maltodextrin and dextrose are very cheap and perfect for post-workout recovery.

I mix 40g of Optimum Nutrition Vanilla Whey, 50g of dextrose and 15g of Gatorade Glacier Freeze powder (mainly for flavor). Mix it all up in one big bottle. I start drinking it 15 minutes before my workout, and sip on it throughout the workout, then finish it off at the end.

Also, for a good routine that may very well break through some barriers for you, check out the "Workout Routines" thread in the FAQ section. Take a look at Ian King's "Super Strength" and "Limping", and "Ripped Rugged & Dense". That will give you a good starting point.

[lilman]

I agree with Rock, you should do loer reps with more weight. 5X5 or 4X3. Also, make sure you are working your legs as hard as your upper body. I was in a lull until I prioritized my legs and have been pressing more weight now than any other time in my life.
Another thing you may want to try if you only want to lift 3 times a week is a program like Home Grown Muscle. It will hit your whole body two or three times a week. Check out the workouts on the Fitness FAQ forum.

[Relentless]

agree with lilman, if its strength you are after, going to have to get more frequency than once a week, even once every five days may work a lot better, especially if you are doing 5x5 programs. the full body 3 times a week would be really beneficial to you as well although you should becareful of not going balls to the wall constantly as you can burn out fast like that with full body workouts of greater frequencies.

[Relentless]

oh yeah, rock an lilman did a really good job hitting the bases. But I might throw in this last tid bit of checking your rotators for weaknesses.

[Kam]

You maybe overtraining too. If you cant do 5% more than your lastwork out then you should take a few more days off and then go back to it. If you want your muscles to get stronger you have to let them fully recover.