increasing bench press weight in a calorie defecit......

[rogmel]

is it possible?? and if so, suggestions to make a difference??

a shoulder injury in the fall has kept me status quo for a while, but shoulder is almost 100% and my bench press weight is NOT improving.....

[strongchick]

I could. I never lost strength when dieting.

[Erik]

is it possible?? and if so, suggestions to make a difference??

a shoulder injury in the fall has kept me status quo for a while, but shoulder is almost 100% and my bench press weight is NOT improving.....

Possible? Yes.

Are significant strength gains something you should count on while dieting? No, and especially not when you're very lean.

It's kind of like muscle building in a deficit - very hard to do. Mind you, strength development, up to a point, will be easier.

There's a reason competitors have offseasons and contest seasons - different goals.

The former? Improvements - strength, muscle building, improving weak areas of development, etc.

The latter? Generally maintaining those improvements while dieting off excess fat.

As with muscle retention, the leaner you get, the harder it is to hold onto your improvements. Of course, that's not to say that intelligent training and eating won't go a long way to preventing/minimizing losses.

But max strength gains are going to require more food.

In terms of what to do? Perhaps look to see where you're weak in the bench - off the chest, mid point, lockout (rare). And then work on that area with other exercises.

And given that strength in a deficit will largely come from improvements made to neural efficiency, a focus on heavy, low rep training ... while managing (reducing) volume (due to the deficit) will be key.

[radgirl]

I would give anything for some gains, especially in the bench arena. Being in deficit definitely doesn't help.

[Erin]

My bench has increased significantly while at a deficit. I'm expecting it won't raise much higher from this point on though.

[rogmel]

Possible? Yes.

Are significant strength gains something you should count on while dieting? No, and especially not when you're very lean.

It's kind of like muscle building in a deficit - very hard to do. Mind you, strength development, up to a point, will be easier.

There's a reason competitors have offseasons and contest seasons - different goals.

The former? Improvements - strength, muscle building, improving weak areas of development, etc.

The latter? Generally maintaining those improvements while dieting off excess fat.

As with muscle retention, the leaner you get, the harder it is to hold onto your improvements. Of course, that's not to say that intelligent training and eating won't go a long way to preventing/minimizing losses.

But max strength gains are going to require more food.

In terms of what to do? Perhaps look to see where you're weak in the bench - off the chest, mid point, lockout (rare). And then work on that area with other exercises.

And given that strength in a deficit will largely come from improvements made to neural efficiency, a focus on heavy, low rep training ... while managing (reducing) volume (due to the deficit) will be key.


thanks......this is the one area where i seem to be much weaker compared to the rest of my lifts......in my mind i think i should be able to bench way more than i do.....


i am sure it is my mid-point where i am weakest.....i get the bar off the chest and then it is like i hit a wall.....i am sure my form has a bit to do wth it.......


so.....while i am dieting.....i wil just be happy with improving my form and making small gains.......thanks again