Plateaus suck, and the stronger you are, the more frustrating they become.

I’ve seen very strong guys let plateaus drive them to the brink of insanity. They become obsessed to the point of being reckless, resorting to some seriously stupid “methods” in the hopes of breaking through. And when their absolute best efforts still don’t work, the shit can hit the fan in ugly ways.

I've described how a lifter’s development tends to follow a "Shit-Suck-Good-Great" path.

SHIT > SUCK > GOOD > GREAT

Getting from shit to suck is a snap and most committed lifters can get up to good within five years or so. It’s an okay place to be—you may be the best bencher in your big box gym and get tons of high fives—but in the grand scheme of things you’re nothing special.

Getting from good to great, however, puts you in elite company. Few guys can ever do it, mainly because it requires getting through the dead zone, that period when absolutely nothing “works” and injuries (and frustration) start to mount.

This dead zone can last ten years or longer, and it’s often the last phase of a lifter’s career before either injury forces them out, or they get frustrated and quit.

The irony is, this lack of progress (the dead zone) is necessary for success unless you’re incredibly gifted.

It’s a shitty deal and woefully one-sided, but that’s what we sign up for when we decide we want to be “serious lifters” and not just “strong guys who work out.”

Besides, if it were so easy to be elite that everyone could do it, would you even bother?

Any sticking point, whether in the bench press, the squat, or the deadlift, can be attributed to one of three issues:

Mental
Physical
Technical

As a coach, the first thing I do is figure out which of the three is contributing most to the plateau, and this determines the path I take.

However, 90% of lifters think their issues are exclusively physical. They ask questions like, “what exercises should I do to improve my lockout?”, “how do I get stronger off the chest?”, or “how often should I change my program?”

The problem is that roughly 70% of sticking points are really technique related, 20% are physical, and the remaining 10% are mental. So most stuck lifters looking for help are like dogs sniffing around the wrong fire hydrant.

I came to this conclusion after many years of doing seminars. In most seminars, I can help almost any stuck lifter hit a PR that same day.

Obviously, these lifters didn’t get stronger over the span of eight hours, so their issue was either technical or mental. And since most mental issues don’t manifest at a seminar, that leaves technique as the main culprit.

However, to be thorough, we’ll touch on all three.

Mental

The typical lifter with mental “issues” is a former bodybuilder. These are guys wrapped up in bodybuilding mantras like “feel the pecs contract” that run completely contrary to proper powerlifting bench press technique.

A powerlifting bench requires pushing with the whole body, not just the pecs. That fact is, a triceps pump is more indicative of a good powerlifting bench than puffed-up pecs.

Then there are the self-imposed mental roadblocks. For example, at seminars guys will say, “I always get stuck four inches above the chest.”

So I’ll throw it back to them. “Always?” I ask.

“Yes,” they say, “four inches above my chest.”

I’ll throw it back again. “Always?”

Now they start to get it. They’ve conditioned themselves to expect to miss. It dominates their mental dialogue throughout the lift when they want to be focused on technique and performance cues.

Other guys are the opposite. They’re getting fucked over by too much false bravado and “rah rah rah” type of crap.

Again, the mind should be a blank void except for precise technique cues. If you let yourself get too aroused or are surrounded by overly-amped spotters, these important cues will likely be forgotten or ignored.

For example, when I watch a lift on YouTube and I hear a bunch of yelling and swearing and carrying on during the setup, I know right away it will likely be a miss or just an ugly lift. On the other hand, if I hear a lot of “Tuck! Tuck! Tuck!” and “Belly up!” the outcome is usually much better.

It’s not just rookies, either. Too much arousal can make even experienced lifters make a lot of obvious mistakes, like gripping the bar incorrectly or setting their feet improperly.

As for getting the right level of arousal, everyone’s different. You need to find the level that works for you, the one that has your CNS firing, yet not so much that it affects your technique.

Still, mental issues are not my specialty. I don’t spend much time addressing them, as they’re usually not the problem, and I have little to no patience for them. Get your head screwed on right, get some smart training partners, and grow some balls.

Technical

Here are the top technique issues I see when guys complain about a “stuck” bench press.

They don’t know how to get tight.
A guy who simply hops onto a bench and starts pressing is a shitty bencher. This isn’t bodybuilding—there’s a whole ceremony of actions that must take place during the setup before you even touch the bar.

A powerlifting bench press is a full body exercise and to effectively recruit the lower body into the movement, force must transfer through the hips and torso to the bar. The only way this is possible without a serious energy leak is to be tight—feet pushed into the floor, upper back driving into the bench.

So how do you assess tightness?

If you’re setup and I walk over and push your knee, it shouldn’t budge. In fact, once you’re gripping the bar, I shouldn’t be able to move any part of your body. You and the bar should be like one solid piece of iron.

It starts with finding your upper back tension. Most guys don’t have a clue what this even is, so here’s a test:

Lie on the bench with your feet on the bench and go into a wrestler’s bridge—basically push your hips as high up as you can while driving your feet and upper back into the bench.

Feel that tension in your upper back? Remember it, because that’s exactly the level of upper back tightness you want during your setup.

It should not be comfortable. The fact is, you should be turning purple when you take the bar out. The worst part of the bench press is the setup, so if it sucks to do, then you’re starting to do it right.

The good news is, all this tightness doesn’t just transfer force better, it’s also much better for shoulder health.

They’re misaligned.

The barbell must be in line with the wrists and elbows. The number one thing I see are the wrists being cocked back. This takes them out of alignment and leads to less force transfer.

Correcting this solves a ton of problems. It helps keep the bar from traveling too far behind the elbow, which turns the bench press into a triceps extension, or too far in front of the elbow, which results in a shoulder rotation and/or dumping the bar on the stomach.

They have no leg drive.

Guys refuse to accept how important this is. To say it again, the bench press is a full body exercise, and if you aren’t driving with your legs you’re leaving a ton of force on the table. If you want to bodybuild, then fucking bodybuild—don’t try to mix methods cause you’ll only achieve marginal results in both.

Here’s how you do it. If you bench with your feet out in front, then push your toes through the front of your shoes (like you were trying to scoot up the bench) while driving your back down into the bench. Basically, you’re trying to push the floor away from the bench with your feet while driving your traps into the bench.

If you’re the type who prefers to tuck their feet under for a really big arch, try to push the heels down into the floor. This flexes the ass and helps achieve greater upper back tightness. The heels may never be totally flat on the floor (though some federations require it), but that leg drive comes from pushing the heels downward.

Physical

This is what everyone thinks is holding them back. What’s the magic exercise, the secret sauce to get me from a piss-poor bench to the big kahuna?

Face it, this isn’t what’s holding you back. You don’t know how to fucking bench, period. Quit reading now and re-read the previous section a few more times. Cause this here isn’t your issue, friend.

But just in case it is, I’ll address each sticking point:

1. Weak at the bottom?

Dynamic work

This fixes almost anything. Being weak off the chest is no exception. Include at least one dynamic effort day a week.

Dumbbell work

Doing sets of relatively heavy dumbbell presses in the 10-15 rep range works well. Notice I said “relatively heavy” and “10-15 reps”—this is tough. Rest as long as necessary between sets to hit the rep targets.

Don’t go too heavy. Sets of 4-6 reps may look more badass, but I’ve never seen them do shit for bench press performance. Don’t forget to tuck your elbows—just because it’s a dumbbell movement doesn’t mean we’re now bodybuilding.

Floor press

You want to stop 1-2 inches above the chest, which can be problematic if you’re a long-armed skinny bastard. Do maximum effort-type work, for 1-3 reps.

Ultra-wide bench presses

Grip should be forefinger on the rings using a Texas power bar. This should be done for higher reps—50% of 1RM for sets of 5-6. Dumbbells can also be used for variety.

Soft-touch bench presses

These are great for bottom-end work. Slowly lower to your belly, pause for a moment, and drive up.

Board presses

Use a single board and come to a soft touch, not a bounce. For guys who train alone and can’t use boards, use the shoulder saver pad or the repboard set.

Pin presses

Forget I wrote this. I hate pin presses. The pins can never be set exactly where they should be and they’ve been the root cause of many a pec tear. I would much prefer you do a suspended bench press from chains as this allows you to press the bar from exactly where you need it.

2. Weak in the middle?

Dynamic Work

Imagine if I took a light, flimsy, balsa wood board and held it at your sticking point and told you to press the bar slowly into it. The board would likely bend and flex but would stay intact.

Then I tell you to do the same thing but this time lift explosively. The barbell would crash through the board.

Now, we repeat the scenarios except we’ll use a thick, dense piece of pine held at your sticking point.

You press slow and the board doesn’t budge. Then you press explosively and this time the board doesn’t crack, but it does bounce up a few inches. That becomes your new sticking point.

That’s how dynamic work affects your mid-range sticking point. It helps you blow through it so you can reach ranges where you may be stronger and finish the lift.

Board Presses

Use three boards for a weak middle range.

Incline Close-Grip Bench Press

The incline takes the lats out of the movement, putting more focus on the triceps and shoulders. Grip the bar a thumb away from the smooth on a Texas power bar and push heavy for sets of three to five reps.

Incline DB Presses

Keep the reps higher (10-15) and the palms facing inward.

Slight Decline Presses

Don’t use too much of a decline or the ROM will become too short. Keep the reps on the higher side—I’ve seen way too many injuries from this.

3. Weak at the top?

Welcome to triceps heaven.

4-Board and 3-Board Press

Go for low reps here. It’s an elbow-friendly movement so get after it!

Suspended Bench Press from the High Position

This should be set to about the same height as the 3-board press.

JM Press

This is a highly underrated exercise. There are plenty of videos on YouTube showing how to JM Press. Learn it.

Triceps Extensions

There are too many to list. Rolling DB triceps extensions, triceps extensions from the floor, etc. Just don’t do the same one every workout. Rotate a different one in right before you usually get stuck.

How do you determine where you get stuck? By keeping a detailed training log. So, if your log shows that at week five of using a particular exercise you tend to plateau, start changing things up at week four.

Addressing The Weak Point
Once you identify where you are weak and how to address it, the smartest approach is to split things up into three phases.

In the first two phases, you address your weak points first while putting your strong points on the backburner. So, if you suck at the lockout, for two phases your focus would be on board presses, JM presses, and extensions.

On the third phase, however, you flip the script—you avoid your weak points and just hit your strong points.

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