Bench Press ????

WI Crippler · 05-21-08, 10:31 AM

I have been working hard at increasing my bench press numbers, as they have always been historically pathetic for a guy my size. I just recently finished up a 10 week routine that has helped increase it a bit, but I need to have a new routine to keep from plateuing(I already feel as though I am not making anymore gains), to increase both my chest size and weight I am pushing.

The routine I just finished was called 5x5 and 10x10. You weren't supposed to be able to complete every set from the start. So on a 5x5 night, during week one, you should only be able to actually press the weight for a total of 17 or 18 times out of the 25 you were aiming for, and on the 10x10, maybe 75-80. At the end of ten weeks you should have been able to nearly complete the entire sets, which is what happened for me.

1 day a week I would lift 85% of my max for 5 sets of 5 reps. Then I would do another chest excercise for 5x5, and then 2 other chest excercises 3x8. So that night would look like this..

Flat Bench Press
5 reps/5 sets

Flat Bech Dumbell Press
5 reps/5 sets

Incline Press
8 reps/3 sets

Decline Press
8 reps/3 sets

The 10x10 workout uses 65% of max bench press. You press 10 sets, with 10 reps each.
The 10x10 alternates weeks with the 5x5. So the above was week 1. Week two looked like this.

Flat Bench
10 reps/10 sets Flat Bench

Incline Press
12 reps/3 sets

Decline Press
12 reps/3 sets

Then during the week, at home I would just do some bench presses on my flat bench. But I bought a cheap bench, and where I naturally want to grip the bar, its right where the bench holds the bar, so I have to do either wide grip bench presses or narrow grip bench presses. I usually do this excercise(for the chest) 3x a week, but not on my chest night.

15 reps/ 2 sets Wide grip Bench
15 reps/ 2 sets Narrow grip bench

So thats the routine I was on. But like I said, I feel as though I plateued. My question is, should I keep the routine and just increase the weight? Or is their another routine I should look at doing?
If you do make another suggestion, please include percentages of 1RM so I can get the correct weight. Thats what so many excercise manuals are missing. They tell you how many reps and sets, but if you don't know what percentage of 1RM you should be doing for those sets, you probably aren't pusing yourself correctly(IMO).

Also I notice in magazines they talk alot about warm-up sets. What percentage of 1RM should be used for a warmup set. I always shy from them, because I don't want to work my muscles too hard, where I cannot perform my excercises, but I want to warm them up.