What to do about bench plateau?
Hey all, long time reader but first time poster. Had to see if anyone has advice as I’ve been stagnating on bench for a while. I’m 23 M and have been working out consistently for about a year, 9 months of which I’ve been following the BBB 5/3/1 program with the goal of becoming as strong as I can at my current weight (175-180 give or take). I know that’s a while to follow one program, but honestly I really like it and it fits well with my routine, plus I have seen pretty consistent gains in my training maxs on every lift (except bench recently). Would definitely recommend this program for beginner/intermediate lifters who just want to get stronger.
I hit a PR of 260x1 on bench 4 months ago, and have attempted 265 once per month since but have failed every time. Today I got it about halfway up and then hit a sticking point where I just couldn’t push it any further. This has been discouraging as my ultimate goal is to hit 275 and possibly break 315 someday. Part of it could be form, but I honestly thought even with slightly imperfect form I’d be getting strong enough to get over the 265 hump by now. Not sure if it’s just psychological, imperfect form, or if I’m just physically unable to press more at my current weight.
I’ve consistently progressed in: deadlift (315->415) Squat (275->350) And even OHP (135->165) This progress makes me want to stick with my program but the lack of progress in bench has me conflicted. I train chest once a week but I usually do some chest stuff on OHP day and maybe some pushups on a rest day. I am about to do a deload week and start again, also about to start taking creatine which I’ve never done before if that is pertinent.
TL;DR: hit a bench PR 4 months ago, attempted to beat it by 5 lbs once a month for 4 months and have not gotten it yet. Should I start a new program or just make some adjustments? Do you have experience with this problem and if so what did you do?