Upper body plateau

Hello,

 

I have been stuck on HBP PE2 (5x9), REC PE2 (4x12), SPL PE1 (4x12) for a while now (I can hit these numbers, however there is some pausing and a bit of form breaks). Would it be wise for my next 4-5 week cycle after my deload to change up the volume/intensity by adding more sets and decreasing reps but still keeping the overall volume to say, 7x7 for these 3 exercises? This way I can really focus on completing all reps with good technique and form while still putting work into it. Then hopefully after that cycle, I can break this plateau. Any feedback or other recommendation would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers Guys.

hi Patrick, for now you can try adding one more set for the exercise where you have reached a plateau. If nothing happens you can consider to double the session of these exercise in a twice a week schedule.

 Patrick, sometimes there are movements beyond what we are doing that we are capable of, and I have found that if I can’t do a certain level very well I sometimes try to move past it to the next level and see how well I fair, and then return to the one I couldn’t do so well. It worked for me. Rep scheme like you stated might work too. It’s differnet for all of us at some point.

sonny

Thanks for the advice both Alessandro and Leon.

Alessandro - Just double checking you mean that I should continue with the normal given sets/reps (5x9, 4x12, 4x12) and just add 1 more set on top of that to increase overall volume?

yes, only one. then on the following training session check if you can complete the normal prescribed progression. probably using one set more is necessary for a couple of sessions but it is not a fixed rule.

Good advice. 

Hi Patrick,

I posted some advice in similar thread here, the gist of which is that once you plateau, an increase in volume is possibly what you need. 

Best,

Matt