How to break a bench press plateau

A stalled bench press is usually a training problem before it is a technique problem. Start by checking whether the bench is behind your other lifts, because that tells you whether to fix the bench or your training as a whole. Then work through the common causes in order: too few sets, a weight that went up too fast, the sticking point, and recovery. Change one thing at a time.

Check whether your bench is behind

The check compares the strength level of your bench with your squat, your deadlift and, if you enter it, your overhead press, for your bodyweight and sex. A bench that is behind everything else points at the bench itself. A bench in line with the rest points at your training as a whole, and the causes below still apply, just to every lift.

Not enough sets

The most common cause is the simplest. Strength follows the amount of work. A 2017 meta-analysis (opens in a new tab) grouped training into five sets or fewer per exercise per week, five to nine, and ten or more. More sets gave more strength. For novice and intermediate lifters, five sets or fewer a week did not keep pace with the higher groups.

Count your weekly sets of bench press, not counting warm-ups. If the count is five or fewer, add sets before you change anything else.

Benching more often is one way to add them. A 2018 meta-analysis (opens in a new tab) found more frequent training increased strength, but the effect disappeared when the weekly volume was the same. A second bench day helps because of the sets it adds, not the day itself.

The weight went up too fast

A program that adds weight every week or every cycle eventually adds it faster than you get stronger. The heavy sets start to grind, then stall. In 5/3/1 the training max rises by 5 pounds a cycle for the bench press (opens in a new tab), and the original article's advice is that you do not need to operate at your max to increase your max.

If your last sets have been slow for a few weeks, lower the number you work from until they move quickly again, then build back up. The training max guide covers when and how to reset it.

The sticking point

Every lift has a point in the range of motion where it is hardest. A review of the sticking point (opens in a new tab) describes it in the bench press as most often near the end of the press, though some lifters stick just off the chest. It also moves with the load, so watch a hard set, not a light one, to find yours.

The same review lists the ways to train it:

• Partial reps through the range where you stall, the most direct method.
• Pauses or holds at that point.
• Extra work for the muscles that fail there, such as chest work for a lifter who sticks off the chest.
• Lighter sets moved as fast as you can, to build speed before the hard point.
• Bands or chains, which add load near lockout and suit a sticking point near the top.

The review also warns that widening your grip to shorten the press can raise the risk of shoulder and chest injury. Change your grip carefully, if at all.

Recovery

Strength is built between sessions, and a lifter who is under-recovered cannot show it. The evidence on any one recovery habit is thin. The evidence for planned rest is stronger. A meta-analysis of tapering found that cutting volume by 41 to 60 percent for about two weeks, while keeping intensity (opens in a new tab), improved performance. 5/3/1 takes a light week every fourth week (opens in a new tab). If your program has no lighter weeks, plan one before you conclude the bench has stalled.

What to change first

Work down this list, one change at a time, and give each one a full cycle before you judge it.

1. Count your weekly sets of bench press. If they are five or fewer, add sets.
2. If your last sets grind, lower the training max and build back up.
3. If you fail at the same point every time, add one of the sticking point methods above.
4. If none of this moves the bar, add a lighter week and look at your sleep and your food.