When progress comes to a screeching halt............

[Darcy Tucker]

I just reached my goal of benching 225lbs and now realize that the more I progress the more likely my progress is to slow. For this reason I thought we could make a list of things to do when progress slows down.

1) Eat More and better
2) Drink more water
3) Get more sleep
4) Change workout splits and exercises
5) Do negatives on certain exercises
6) Do singles of 10 sets but week 1 allow 90seconds between sets then the next week allow only 75 seconds etc... until you can do 10 reps without any rest (got this from muscle and fitness)

[Dedicated]

You covered almost everything. Supplements are another option.

[Darcy Tucker]

But like I need some ideas...more on the lines of negatives etc....

[WillKuenzel]

I like drop sets. Pick a weight you can do 4-5 times and do it, then drop the weight a bit and immediately do it again, aiming for 4-5 reps. I'll do that 3-4 times. It utilizes heavier weights while keeping the weights heavier.

Rest/pause is another idea. Pick a weight you can 6-8 times and do that. Then rest 10-15 seconds and do it again, this time aiming for 4-6 reps or as many as you can. Give it ago one more time and then rest.

[Darcy Tucker]

I like drop sets. Pick a weight you can do 4-5 times and do it, then drop the weight a bit and immediately do it again, aiming for 4-5 reps. I'll do that 3-4 times. It utilizes heavier weights while keeping the weights heavier.

Rest/pause is another idea. Pick a weight you can 6-8 times and do that. Then rest 10-15 seconds and do it again, this time aiming for 4-6 reps or as many as you can. Give it ago one more time and then rest.

Homeyield i've never really done drop sets because I've always been scared to use lighter weights. For instance when you do weights that are lighter than you are used to lifting (but seem heavy cause you are exhausted) doesn't it make your nervous system get adjusted to these lighter weights and make it harder for you to do what you wanted to do in the first place......break through a barrier and add more weight.

[Spartacus]

take a week or two off

[WillKuenzel]

No your nervous system won't become adapted to lighter weights. People do 5x5 and get great results increasing their 1RM. Are they doing 5x5 with their 1RM?
Why aren't you training constantly with your 1RM if lighter weights makes the nervous system adjust? Why do some of the strongest lifters in the world do speed days or dynamic effort days where they train with around 50-65% of their 1RM? Okay, so maybe all that is overkill but you get the point. Your nervous system won't adapt to that.

When doing drop sets, you are using weights that you would do around 4-5 times. That's pretty heavy. But now if you drop that weight just a tad and do it again, probably getting 4-5 more reps, you are increasing the time that you are lifting while still maintaining moderately heavy tension. And I'm not saying use light weights when doing drop sets. Lets say I'm doing leg press. I'll put 9 plates on each side and do 8 reps. Then I'll take a plate off each side going as fast as I can and do it again. Now just dropping the leg press from 810 to 720 isn't really making it that light.

[Darcy Tucker]

Goodstuff..thanks Homeyield and i'm going to try them out sometime. Spartacus I can't believe I forgot that....I think that is the most important one.

[NaturalBuilder]

HST was a good plateau braker for me. Also, I am confused on what you are saying about drop sets? Are you talking about doing a heavy weight/low rep set of around 4-5, then directly following the last set doing a high rep/low weight set of 12-15 reps for lactic acid buildup? This is what I personally have found to be the most effective. I do,
Bench press
5x5 305lbs
Directly following the last set with no rest in between I do a dropset of around 12 reps. This leaves my chest absolutely burning. This may be what you were talking about in the first place, didn't understand exactly what you guys were speaking of.