bench pressing from 185-225?

Question

im currently looking to bench press 225 atleast before summer.
right now my current max bench is 185.
i go to the gym every weekday but i only work on my chest on mondays.
i was wondering, in a duration of 3-4 months will i be able to get my max up by 40 more pounds?
what workout tips do you have for me to get my press up to those four plates?

Answer 1

your going to have to mix up your routines every 6 weeks or so.

eat lots of food, buy some protein powder, and drink plenty of water.

in the gym, work chest twice a week, or every 3 days. for the six weeks, start at about 145, do it 5 times (after you warm up of course) next go to 155, 4 times. 165, 3 times, 175, 2 times. 185, 1 time. Around week 4 you should feel like you can do 185 about 3 times. When this happens, start at 155 and keep going.

Once you feel like you've done this enough, move onto less more reps for about 3 weeks. you do this because by now, your muscles have gotten into that old routine and should be beginning to plateau, which means you wont make much more gains. Start at 165, doing it as many times as you can. Now, move back down to 145, and try getting it 10 times. Again, move down to 125 and try getting it 15 times. If you have anything left, you can go again at like 115 and keep going until failure.

Now, for the last 6 weeks. Your just going to go old school, and try and get these gains. Warm up and start your first set at 155. you should be able to do this about 10 times, stop at 8. Rest, next set, move up to 185. Now to test yourself. Hopefully you can get this 5 times by now. With a spotter, force yourself to get 8. Next set, move up to 205. Try and get that 2-3 times on ur own, 5 with a spotter. Now, the moment of truth. Pile on 225, take a deep breath, get pumped and go for it. Have the spotter there but try to get atleast 1 on your own, 2-3 with the spotter. and there you go!

Obviously, your going to need to tweak this to form to your needs. you may even make gains a lot faster than this. Just use this as a guide, and just keep lifting. take care!

Answer 2

For me, I found the best way to increase maximum bench press was starting with a heavy weight and decreasing weight and increasing reps during my bench work out. For example, 165x4, 155x6, 145x8, ect. When you can complete the work out without failure, increase to weight. I think this works for me, because I am not fatigued when I do the heavy end of my routine. Remember to warm up and strech before lifting, because if you pull a muscle, you definately will not achieve your goals.

Answer 3

You could if you were to increase the rate of chest exercise to twice a weak. Try lifting heavier weights with less reps.

Answer 4

work for bulk, more weight and less reps that will increase your strength; workout till muscle failure and try two days a week. Good luck.