Starting new program

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rootsrockreggae

New member
I am starting my new program soon. Seriously want to break past this 155-165 bench press that I’ve stalled at for most of the year. I got my sleep as good as it’ll get 5.5-6.5 hours on my scheduled work days and 7-8ish on my days off. Have about a year of experience counting macros, trying keto, low carb, and just balanced diets. Have been consistently counting macros and am prepared to start a slow bulking phase.

I really want to get the most out of this bulk and plan to run it until 190lbs. I am currently 170. My main goal is strength and of course muscle but I want to prioritize strength because my lifts are pathetic for training for almost a year.

With my schedule the most suitable split for me is an upper/lower or a ULPPL.

I planned to start ULPPL but somebody suggested nSuns 531 and after looking into it, it seems a lot more simple to structure and might be what I need to break past this plateau.

Can I get some advice on this?
 
@rootsrockreggae Can't you get more sleep? 5.5 hours is very little and it would be easy to get better gains by just sleeping longer. I wouldn't train for strength, just because your lifts are low for your training age. You shouldn't give a single fuck about how much you can say you lift. Lift with good technique, intensity and volume and you will get bigger AND stronger.
 
@533th3r Unfortunately I work 12 hour nights with 2 hours commute daily so it leaves me with very minimal time to do much and I try to get as many hours as I can on the days I work and I try to make up for the lack of ot on my days off
 
@rootsrockreggae 5.5 hours of sleep is just too little. Doesn't matter if you do everything else right and sleep so little. Your whole post can be summarized in one sentence: "I have stalled on my bench because I sleep too little, advice please."

If your priority is strength then r/powerlifting and/or r/weightlifting may be more suitable. This subreddit is about bodybuilding, so muscle growth is the priority. Personally I think most people with a gun to the head would rather have big juicy pecs than a high number on the paper because most people who start going to the gym went there to get in shape (i.e. build muscle and loose fat) but then gets sucked into strength because it is more satisifying in the short term when you can increase your numbers on paper from week to week or month to month
 
@mrsneko OP’s amount of sleep is less than ideal, but one can still make progress with suboptimal sleep. It’s not a complete bar.

Plus he’s only looking to bench more than bodyweight. We’re not talking about a really high level goal here where everything needs to be dialed in.
 
@mrsneko I do enjoy the body building aspect more but I guess not seeing any improvement in my numbers just seems odd and that’s why I am focusing more on the strength aspect right now. I thought I would be increasing my strength while building muscle. My physique has dramatically improved in the last year but my bench has only gone up 10lbs. Thanks for suggesting those I will check them out
 
@rootsrockreggae Reposting an old comment I made on nSuns here before. nSuns is generally just too much volume in general for a program that adds load on a weekly basis. It takes the best of Sheiko and the best of 5/3/1 (two systems that work for very opposite reasons), and entirely fucks it up to make a non sustainable program. It can be awesome for a couple months and you’ll see crazy progress, but you’re inevitably going to get hurt and even if you’re lucky there, will stall constantly even if you’re not running a lot of bodybuilding accessories on top. If there as a set Deload scheme like GZCL or something maybe it would work better but it doesn’t even have that. I know you’re just trying to break your plateau and it’d likely do that but you’re better off just running something that does that but is actually sustainable long term.
 
@rootsrockreggae I can't really speak beyond my own experience but when I get stuck at a weight for too long I've found that instead of trying to add an extra 5lbs I'll jump up by 20lbs first and after that struggle I can usually get the extra 5 after. Might take me a few weeks before I can add another 5 but it helps to not feel limited.
 
@rootsrockreggae I think 160 lbs bench press is something you would reach after a few months adding weight to the bar every session as a beginner. Can you explain how you have been training? Any shoulder issues? Have you thought about technique?
 
@canyor I’ve basically been doing an upper lower split 4x a week since janurary. At first I started very heavy because I had no idea what I was doing and to me numbers were more important at first. So I started at like a 130 bench and got to 160 really quick. Stalled at 160 for like 2 months and learned about deloading. Did a deload and got up to 165. Stalled again and did another deload. Then stalled at 160 then 155 then back to 160. Just constantly working my way back up to around 160….for sure my form was terrible at first and had improved over time. But almost a year later a 160 bench feels harder than when I started.

I’ve messed with different rep schemes, 5x5, 3x5 3x 6-8 3 x 8-12.

Usually will following a routine for 4-8weeks until I realize it’s not helping me break past.

Same with squats and deadlifts and OHP. Also bicep and Tricep all numbers stalling at the same weight every time I Deload and work my way up.

I am about to start a bulking phase because I’ve mostly been maintaining all year. I’ve cut some fat and definitely recomped my physique. I have built some muscle, but not enough to look impressive, just enough to see a difference.

My goal I set for the year was a 175 bench for 5 reps by the end of the year and it just doesn’t look like that’s going to be happening now. I just recently stalled at 160lbs was able to hit it for 4 reps. Very discouraged because I’ve been very consistent with training, and my diet is dialed in. My sleep is as good as it’ll get.

Not sure what to do at this point
 
@rootsrockreggae I would suggest running Greg Nuckol's beginner 3x/week bench program from his set of 28 free programs. I like the frequency and simplicity.

It's also broken up into light/medium/heavy days, as a percentage of a working maximum weight, which I really like. I'm not inclined towards pressing. A small increase of weight on the bar can be the difference between an easy set and an ugly, disappointing set. For me, adding weight every session was a waste of time. I'd constantly plateau. On the other hand, getting a lot of submaximal volume really seemed to help with steady progress. You might experience the same thing.
 
@rootsrockreggae Bench was my strong suit when I powerlifted. Ironically I incline benched and close grip flat benched more than just regular bench. My numbers shot up always for the flat. I feel for bench it’s super valuable to get your shoulders and triceps used to a heavier load
 
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