What’s your method for breaking a strength plateau?

[FK86]

A program like DC utilizes an exercise rotation and then switching an exercise out when you hit a plateau. With only one exercise per body part in a session, this is a very effective and practical method of doing so.

For those of you incorporating multiple exercises for a body part, how do you go about this? If there are, for example, six exercises for a certain muscle group: You’d either do the same three all the time and stall out fairly quickly, or you’d employ a rotation and eventually be stalled out on all six.

What methods do you guys use to add weight to the bar or get more reps on a consistent basis?

 

[juggy38]

Switching to a strength specific periodization block for 6 weeks or so

Texas method is so simply effective and great for even intermediate powerlifters

Wendler 5/3/1, greyskull are good too.

Also, taken another note from PLs, just put on more weight. Get a little sloppy with food, as Dave Tate would say....”embrace the bloat”. My best gains came when I moved from 198-221 weight class. What did I change? More fucking food. Quads grew, chest grew, back grew. Deadlift and squat jumped quickly just cuz I was 20lbs heavier so relative weight/bar weight shifted to my advantage.

Back in 2008-2009 Arby’s had this thing called “5 for $5.95”. Id get 4 roast needs and a curly fry. Throw away a set of buns, create a layered mountain of meat and fry sandwhich and smash it.

So I guess in conclusion I’m saying...Arby’s is the secret lol

 

[FK86]

juggy38,

Thanks for sharing your approach. I was more looking to see how people go about it while staying within the parameters of their routine. An example might be someone would be working with straight sets and when they stall they start incorporating drop sets or rest-pause as an intensifier. After which they might find that was just the nudge they needed to get over the hill and then things start moving again.

 

[old timer]

For just a one-time, peaking kind of plateau bust--and I've experienced this personally several times--is just to eat WAAAY above maintenance the day before. I've seen this add two reps to a 10 rep max. I just worked out this morning after yesterday's Thanksgiving . . . ahem . . . SURPLUS and I added nearly 5% to my incline bench over my last workout just six days ago. Note that these are calculated one rep maxes using a chart but the rep ranges are very similar between this morning's and last week's.

 

[Fa Seeshus]

The progressive addition of a small amount of safe explosive training has always pushed my leg strength up. When it is stalled. The key is not overdoing it and no crazy eccentric loading.

This really can be as simple as some sprints or jumping on a trampoline. Those things just seem to get the muscles firing better. Even just once a week will do the trick.

 

[jeroendebleser]

For a single exercise, training it more frequently always works like a charm. For several exercises done in succession like you asked, I don't think there is something that will work past the first exercise. You could try loading up on the calories/carbs like someone before me said.

 

[Dancho]

up the dose

 

[jeroendebleser]

up the dose

Always works

 

[rmtt]

I follow a Wendler variant.....but I find that when I stall....a simple deload of cutting the weights by about 50% and chasing "the pump" for a week or so seems to put me back on track.

When you get up into some of these really heavy weights that are part of the strength programs mentioned above....I think the deload helps with CNS recovery.

Sent from my LG-H871 using Tapatalk

 

[maldorf]

I follow a Wendler variant.....but I find that when I stall....a simple deload of cutting the weights by about 50% and chasing "the pump" for a week or so seems to put me back on track.

When you get up into some of these really heavy weights that are part of the strength programs mentioned above....I think the deload helps with CNS recovery.

Sent from my LG-H871 using Tapatalk

I agree 100%. The trick though is to know your body well enough that you do it at the right time. As you say, doing it when you stall out and have been doing it for awhile usually works well. The one thing that is frustrating though is that you probably have already wasted 2 or 3 weeks maybe and would have been better off if you did it earlier. If you start getting a lot of aches and pain you normally don't have and/or injuries then it is definitely time. I like deloading better than taking time off from the gym and not doing anything at all. Research has shown that a nice deload phase like you describe actually speeds up recovery if done right. You recover faster than if you did nothing at all.

 

[Fit2Serve]

weight.... so glad i didnt chase weight numbers. i really just trained for looks n size. i think i am the type that would get ALOT more injuries if i trained in hopes of beating personal bests.
well, i have injuries anyway... shutting up now.
-F2S

 

[FK86]

**broken link removed**

Just wanted to get some opinions on the above. Since following the teachings of Dante, Scott Stevenson, and recently Jordan Peters I've come to realize the importance of exercise rotations. Doing one exercise per body part allows for this as I stated in my original post. But I've considered a multi-exercise approach to my training once again and as I stated this can become difficult. There's tons of exercises for a body part like chest, while for hamstrings there's only a handful.

Do you think the above link has any merit? Do any guys here stick with the same exercises for 6-8 weeks even if they're not progressing and then switch? I did Max-OT when I was much younger and that was pretty much their approach.

Wendler's 5/3/1 advocates waving down and working back up. The squat, bench, and deadlift are always done; the assistance work changes.

Bump for some more input.

 

[alfresco]

Can’t believe that nobody mentioned negatives. Strictly negatives.

They are safer than drugs and other training methodologies but
more difficult to execute. While not always practical in all situations
and for all exercises (you will need a couple of strong training
partners) it has been proven to be the most effective way to
increase ones strength. Be careful though, it is extremely ‘easy’
to over train using this method but one will always see positive
(no pun intended) results.

And they will produce an increase in muscular size. So it’s a virtual
no brainer, a real and established win win.

Of course some will say they have tried it with zero results when
in fact they did too much, i.e. too many sets too frequently or
did not train hard enough. Which is not surprising given that most
bodybuilders are raised on so much misinformation and
commercial bias.

A little history lesson . . .

“In the state of Florida, weightlifting has been a competitive sport at
the high-school level for more than forty years, while all Florida high
schools do not have weightlifting teams a lot of them do. But, prior to
1972, the DeLand school did not.

Seven years later, more than 100 weightlifting meets later, his team
was undefeated and untied; within a matter of a few months after
they started training, he had boys in their middle teens who were bench
pressing more than double their bodyweight. And how did he train his
lifters? Negative only. Two weekly workouts with only one set of each
exercise, with from six to eight repetitions in each set. This record is
probably unprecedented, in any sport.”

 

[bg091593]

A program like DC utilizes an exercise rotation and then switching an exercise out when you hit a plateau. With only one exercise per body part in a session, this is a very effective and practical method of doing so.

For those of you incorporating multiple exercises for a body part, how do you go about this? If there are, for example, six exercises for a certain muscle group: You’d either do the same three all the time and stall out fairly quickly, or you’d employ a rotation and eventually be stalled out on all six.

What methods do you guys use to add weight to the bar or get more reps on a consistent basis?

Do you not like using DC’s methods? It was hard for me to get used to, the lower volume approach I mean. But I’ve been nothing but successful the last 18 months using it.

I’m not sure how often you’re training but I don’t typically go 2 days in a row. Every other day, push/pull, and it’s worked very well in many aspects.

 

[concreter]

Negatives would be my Go-To!!!
Loved him when I was Younger!
Like having the Donut on a Bat!

 

[maldorf]

Can’t believe that nobody mentioned negatives. Strictly negatives.

They are safer than drugs and other training methodologies but
more difficult to execute. While not always practical in all situations
and for all exercises (you will need a couple of strong training
partners) it has been proven to be the most effective way to
increase ones strength. Be careful though, it is extremely ‘easy’
to over train using this method but one will always see positive
(no pun intended) results.

And they will produce an increase in muscular size. So it’s a virtual
no brainer, a real and established win win.

Of course some will say they have tried it with zero results when
in fact they did too much, i.e. too many sets too frequently or
did not train hard enough. Which is not surprising given that most
bodybuilders are raised on so much misinformation and
commercial bias.

A little history lesson . . .

“In the state of Florida, weightlifting has been a competitive sport at
the high-school level for more than forty years, while all Florida high
schools do not have weightlifting teams a lot of them do. But, prior to
1972, the DeLand school did not.

Seven years later, more than 100 weightlifting meets later, his team
was undefeated and untied; within a matter of a few months after
they started training, he had boys in their middle teens who were bench
pressing more than double their bodyweight. And how did he train his
lifters? Negative only. Two weekly workouts with only one set of each
exercise, with from six to eight repetitions in each set. This record is
probably unprecedented, in any sport.”

I believe it, negatives are scientifically proven to be effective especially for strength. Ive never done them much because I always lifted alone. If you have at least one lifting partner I say try it. So by negative only you mean that the partner will help yank up the weight for the concentric part of the lift and then you do the negative solo. Ive messed with them a few times and always did mine nice and slow. Resist the weight and bring it down real slow. Never been so sore. Handle a lot more weight of course. Another good strength builder is partial reps, since you can use more weight if you do the range of motion where you are strongest.

 

[Dave Perez]

Buy some blue bands and bench, squat and shoulder press in a power rack using the bands hooked up overhead...

 

[Kaladryn]

Everyone says, to be bigger, you must get stronger...

But also, to get stronger, you must get bigger. If you aren't providing the correct environment to grow, your strength gains will stall (food, supplements, recovery, etc).

 

[alfresco]

Everyone says, to be bigger, you must get stronger...

But also, to get stronger, you must get bigger. If you aren't providing the correct environment to grow, your strength gains will stall (food, supplements, recovery, etc).

For many years I have kept what I consider to be
accurate records of my exercise routines, my
weight, body composition and measurements.

With that information, I plotted the relationship
between size and strength.

Everything else being equal . . . in my case, size has
always preceded a strength increase. And size has
always come in a stair - step like fashion (plateaus)
getting bigger, and then getting stronger.

 

[pickapeck]

Cookies meat and deca.