Fitness and Muscle

Most of us have been there.  You’re working out regularly, you’re seeing good results, things are going smoothly.  But soon things start to slow.  The gains you’re making are getting smaller and smaller.  You gradually reach a point where the gains stop.  No matter how hard you try you can’t seem to add a few extra pounds onto that bench press.It seems you’ve reached the dreaded plateau!

It’s easy to lose motivation at a time like this and many do.  Humans are fickle creatures.  If we don’t see results, we move on.  Don’t lose heart though.  By mixing it up a little you can easily boost your bench press and by more than a few pounds!

Pyramid Scheme

We’re not talking your typical take your money and run pyramid scheme. A pyramid routine is when you increase the weight for each set until you reach a peak, then work your way back down.

Here’s an example of a bench press pyramid routine you could try:

• Warm up with 3 sets of 10 reps, increasing the weight slightly each set.  Stay below 70% of your one rep max.  If you don’t know your one rep max go here
• Now start with a weight that’s 80% of your one rep max.  Do 6 sets of 1 rep, increasing the weight each time.  (I usually increase between 10 and 20 lbs)
• Now work your way back down, 6 sets of 1 rep and decreasing the weight each time, until you’re back to the 1st 1 rep set.
• If your muscles haven’t failed by this stage, do another 2 sets of 5 reps at 80% of your 1 rep max.
• Finish by benching 50% of your 1 rep max until failure.

Incorporating this into your workout once a week will help you move off that plateau and you’ll begin to see real muscle gains.