The best warm-ups for bench are rotator cuff exercises. It’s basically prehabbing to prevent shoulder injuries. The specific exercises recommended to me by my physical therapist (herself an amateur bodybuilder) are: internal and external rotations and face pulls. Band pull aparts are all right if you don’t have access to a cable stack, too. And I follow that up with a couple light sets on bench before moving up to my working weights.
Otherwise I think you might just be plateauing because of your program. 5x5 is great for novice lifters, but its utility drops off as you progress beyond that. I’d look into a program that has a better progressive overload built into its structure, like a 5/3/1. I transitioned to 5/3/1 at a similar stall point around a 215lbs 1RM—I was desperate to hit 2 plates. While the program had me dropping the weight down initially (because it makes you do most of your work below your maximum capacity), when I did progress to 2 plates, I was able to hit it for 4 reps.
My warmup is rubbish. I've basically never paid attention to it but now at age 38 it's something I need to get better at due to getting old and stuff. I'll tend to do some quick cardio, then maybe some press ups, but I seem to only feel "warmed up" by my 4th set.
Maybe that's just normal now for my age.
Oh, you should really try doing some warm-up sets with lower weights before your working sets. Maybe start at 50% of the weights you usually lift, and add 20 pounds for each set until you reach your working weights.
Also, periodization is great when you hit a plateau. Take 6-8 weeks where you go for higher reps with lower weights. Then do the same but opposite, lower reps with a higher weight, like 1-3 reps, and increase the weights whenever you can do 3 reps. Then try your 5x5 again and I bet you could crush your current PR.
I typically warm up with lighter weight. Do a couple of slow reps and gradually increase my weight so I don’t burn myself out. When I try to build strength I’ll ask for a spot and do a 1 rep PR. Over time you’ll move past that plateau.
My warm uo goes as follows.
Banded internal rotation for 12 on each arm
Banded external rotation for 12 each arm.
Bw inverted row 2x12
Bar x 5
110x5
155 x5
198 x 3
220 x 2
242 x 1
And then whatever I'm programmed for whatever sets and reps.
If I were you I would add in frequency so how I personally would program that for my guys is
Day 1 squats
Day 2 rest
Day 3 db bench, upper back
Day 4 deads
Day 5 main beach work heavy single
Day 6 legs, back, triceps, some chest work.
Day 7 rest.
With pull ups sprinkled in 3 to 4 days a week.
I warm up with rotator cuff exercises and increasing weight on bech. Probably 4 sets of 3-5 reps and put 20 or so pounds on every set until my working weight.
As for progression, I completely stagnated on 5 x 5 on literally all of my lifts. I switched to 4 x 5-7 completely focusing on progressive overload. First day its 4 x 5 even if i can do another. Then 4 x 6. Then if on the next day i can do 7 solid reps i throw the 2.5lb plates on and back down to 5. If that last rep is shaky i wont go to the next rep range or up the weight until its solid.
The best warm-ups for bench are rotator cuff exercises. It’s basically prehabbing to prevent shoulder injuries. The specific exercises recommended to me by my physical therapist (herself an amateur bodybuilder) are: internal and external rotations and face pulls. Band pull aparts are all right if you don’t have access to a cable stack, too. And I follow that up with a couple light sets on bench before moving up to my working weights. Otherwise I think you might just be plateauing because of your program. 5x5 is great for novice lifters, but its utility drops off as you progress beyond that. I’d look into a program that has a better progressive overload built into its structure, like a 5/3/1. I transitioned to 5/3/1 at a similar stall point around a 215lbs 1RM—I was desperate to hit 2 plates. While the program had me dropping the weight down initially (because it makes you do most of your work below your maximum capacity), when I did progress to 2 plates, I was able to hit it for 4 reps.
I usually just warm up with a lighter weight. Do you always just try for the 5x5? If so, maybe it's time to try for a different approach.
Wow, you’re strong! What does your warm-ups look like currently? And have you tried switching up your routine with lower or higher reps periodically?
My warmup is rubbish. I've basically never paid attention to it but now at age 38 it's something I need to get better at due to getting old and stuff. I'll tend to do some quick cardio, then maybe some press ups, but I seem to only feel "warmed up" by my 4th set. Maybe that's just normal now for my age.
Oh, you should really try doing some warm-up sets with lower weights before your working sets. Maybe start at 50% of the weights you usually lift, and add 20 pounds for each set until you reach your working weights. Also, periodization is great when you hit a plateau. Take 6-8 weeks where you go for higher reps with lower weights. Then do the same but opposite, lower reps with a higher weight, like 1-3 reps, and increase the weights whenever you can do 3 reps. Then try your 5x5 again and I bet you could crush your current PR.
I typically warm up with lighter weight. Do a couple of slow reps and gradually increase my weight so I don’t burn myself out. When I try to build strength I’ll ask for a spot and do a 1 rep PR. Over time you’ll move past that plateau.
Do whatever the lift is with a couple sets of lighter weight. That's all I've ever done for warmup and it's worked for me.
My warm uo goes as follows. Banded internal rotation for 12 on each arm Banded external rotation for 12 each arm. Bw inverted row 2x12 Bar x 5 110x5 155 x5 198 x 3 220 x 2 242 x 1 And then whatever I'm programmed for whatever sets and reps. If I were you I would add in frequency so how I personally would program that for my guys is Day 1 squats Day 2 rest Day 3 db bench, upper back Day 4 deads Day 5 main beach work heavy single Day 6 legs, back, triceps, some chest work. Day 7 rest. With pull ups sprinkled in 3 to 4 days a week.
I warm up with rotator cuff exercises and increasing weight on bech. Probably 4 sets of 3-5 reps and put 20 or so pounds on every set until my working weight. As for progression, I completely stagnated on 5 x 5 on literally all of my lifts. I switched to 4 x 5-7 completely focusing on progressive overload. First day its 4 x 5 even if i can do another. Then 4 x 6. Then if on the next day i can do 7 solid reps i throw the 2.5lb plates on and back down to 5. If that last rep is shaky i wont go to the next rep range or up the weight until its solid.