Bench stuck on Strength 1 template

Training Q&A [Moderated]
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1

Hi guys,

Some background info:

43 y/o
181 cm
88 kg
Squat: 180kg
Bench e1RM: 130kg
DL: 190kg
press: 90kg
No medical issues. No ACL in either knee but never bothered me
training on and off since I was 14 (life and stuff)
eating well, 180 to 200 g of protein

I have been following TX method for over a year with good results (though I had to add more volume for the presses to keep them going up). I was mentally shattered from this and my lower back was taking extra time to recover so I ran strength 3 for about 6 weeks. I went on reverse losing about 8% of strength and having multiple aches, I reckon ego got in the way and I chose a program with more volume than I could take. My weights were fine since I used actual 3rms from TM as 1@rpe8.

Anyway, I swallowed my ego and started strength 1. SQ and DL started recovering, 90% of aches, pains and staleness disappeared but my bench seems to be stuck at 1@8@120kg after week 7. I was benching more on TM ironically. I don’t feel any soreness or pains as obvious symptoms of bad recovery. My rpe estimates are fine since I am not missing reps or even grinding them.

my guess is volume is still a bit high for me on the upper body lifts but not sure. Any tips?

thank you and great Info and training plans, congratulations!

Martin

2

Martin,

Thanks for the post and the business :slight_smile:

I have a few questions for you:

  1. What is your best tested 1RM on bench (if you have one) and when was this done?
  2. What were your working sets and single on strength III on weeks 1 and 6?
  3. What have your working sets and singles been on strength I on week 1 and the last 2 weeks?

-Jordan

3

  1. 126kg on May 21st. It felt like RPE 8 or 9

  2. 125kg for singles and 100kg for reps on Week 1. 122.5 and 98kg on week 5. It detrained now that I see

  3. Last two weeks 121kg for singles and 98kg for 5 reps. Week 1 was 117.5 for singles and 103 for 4 reps

It all seems to hover around the same numbers.

Thanks for the answer.

4

Looks like you may have been peaked/near a PR level when starting strength 3. Would’ve been cool to take advantage of that! Right now it looks like your training is going okay, but what I’d like to see you do is build a bit of momentum by adding a bit of weight every week or every 2 weeks- without overshooting the RPE. In other words, next week you get to either repeat 117.5 and 103 or do a little heavier, which will be determined by your warm ups. If you repeat it, the following week you should plan on increasing the weight. If that’s not close to happening, come back here and we’ll make some changes.

1 Like
5

Thank you! See you here in 2 weeks

6

Jordan,

I am back after 2 weeks. Here’s what happened:

My TnG bench went up slightly, getting close to levels before I melted down on the Strength 3 template. I did 1@8 with 122kg this past Monday, not far of the 125 I could consistently hit almost 3 months ago. However, my comp bench is still at 1@8@116kg, the bar does a feel a bit lighter, but I did not add any weight to it, since my RPE at 3 reps with the pause creeps up really fast from the prescribed 9 to 9.5 or 10.

Though there is a little bit of progress this feels a bit like stagnation when I compare with what I was doing before, adding 0.5 to 1kg to the bar a week. Maybe fatigue is creeping up a bit, but after day 2 I only feel a bit of tightness in my chest and zero DOMS in any of the main muscles used in benching, so maybe it’s the opposite: I need more volume and less intensity? not sure… Or maybe I should just keep going because this level of progress is still good enough at 43 without gaining weight…

Anyway, thanks for the time, the guidance and the outstanding training resources.

Martin