Quick question. I understand that you need the right amount of stress to have the desired adaption. And I understand volume plays a huge role is providing stress . But I’m curious in a instance where let’s say a persons bench press is “stalling” would it be the training volume as a whole that is insufficient or would it be the training volume for the bench press is most cases? My only confusion is when to add more volume to the whole program or to a specific lift. Or when to let’s say change the volume vs when to change the intensity.
Thank you for to it time.
for the most part I would consider each lift/muscle individually. Though it’s possible that excessive squat volume could cause central fatigue or elbow pain that interferes with BP. Also there is lot’s of overlap in the muscles used in squat and DL so it’s reasonable to think that squat progress could be driven by deadlift volume.
Went to changes intensity and volume is a very complex question, for now I’ll just say it is dependent on your preferred style of periodization and individual response.
It can be a few things. Let’s say that your diet is on point and you’re not experiencing sudden stress, interruption of sleep, etc… Then I would say it depends 
First, if it is your bench press stalling, then you mostly care about the bench press volume - unless the other stuff you’re doing is generating too much fatigue. Second, the stall may be because you need more stimulus to drive adaptations or it may be because you have generated too much fatigue and have not adapted to the training stimulus yet.
It would really depend on what you have been doing up to that point. If you have been ramping up for 8-12 weeks, then it may be beneficial to introduce a week or two of lower stress.
Again…it depends.
I have this same question with the nuance that RPEs are sometimes going up for me without an increase in weight. I am wondering if it’s fatigue or volume. Would the following be one way to modify a plan to get around a plateau and/or fatigue level? Say the volume is 20 reps, with most of the work being done 4@8 for 5 sets. What about doing 3@8 for 6 or 7 sets? Or 4@7 for 5 to 6 sets? Does anyone think either plan is useful for getting over plateaus or testing current fatigue levels?