If you have a lifting friend do some negatives. Load the bar with about 20% on top of your 1 RM. Have them lift off for you and then slowly lower the bar to about 3 inches off your chest and pause for a second. Then have them help you lift it back to starting and go for 3-5 reps. Should help stimulate your nervous system being able to handle the heavier loads.
Keep it up, looks like you have about 285 rn. To break through you honestly may need to bulk a bit, as someone who has been stuck in a similar range due to injury gaining a few pounds is always what pushes my bench up regardless of anything else. Your foot position shifted quite a bit on the last lift, obviously you're getting pumped up to max out but IMO try to stay consistent. Good luck!
As you lift bring that weight back towards the rack. Looked like you were kind of a straight up and down position. Try doing some high rep sets with 65% of your one rep max. Let's call your max 285 so try doing a total of 40 reps divided over 3 sets. Basically you could do 15 reps, rest then 13 reps, rest then 12 reps or how ever you can do it to accomplish the 40 with three sets. Do that at least once a week. You will increase your one rep max a lot. If your body is strong enough to pump out 15 reps at 185# you will find that one rep at 290# isn't hard to do. I know this is a year old but maybe it can help someone else. I'm 51 and still benching right and 350# with this method. I do my high rep sets with 225#.
@@untappedstrength7548 those can be a pain! But ive been there. Just got to look after them more in future. And take adequate time off to recover fully. Do shoulder prehab exercises and rehab exercises. Dynamic movements and stretches for shoulder area before workouts Improve technique on bench or ohp and avoid shoulder unfriendly exercises You’ll get there buddy, keep up the belief. I never thought 315 would be within reach but im close.
A little late on the comments, but I noticed you switched your technique towards your top sets. Maybe you lost some leg drive by getting up on your toes? Hope you got that lift in the bag now brother!
I don't know what you already do in terms of training but. Pin pressing - helps with explosiveness. Throw that in once a week. Banded bench press - find a weight where you can be explosive but its not too light 3x5. Aim of these is not the weight but to be really explosive with a weight you can be and it slowly gets harder at the top. Paused Larson press - This combined with the others will help you get that locked out. If you have never ran smolov Jr - you should run it. You will hit 290lbs easily considering you are so close. You will peak a bit. You are very close man, keep it up. Smolov will get you 290lbs if you run it soon. Wait this was a few months ago maybe you already have 290 now aha. Any of these things will help your bench though mate. Good job!
We should race to a 300lb bench I've only been benching for 8 weeks I took a 6-7month lay off to let my shoulder and torn Achilles heal quicker. I'm unsure what my max is ATM 260lbs by 1 pause rep is the most I've done at the end of a pyramid.
