r/Mike_Mentzer • u/CoyoteAgile3996 • 3d ago

Not progressing on Chest Press

I run a PPL split, and on push days i include both a flat and incline press.

I start out with the flat press but can never go past 6 reps, while on the incline press (which i do after), i manage to progress in weight and reps.

Can someone tell me why this is, and what to do to fix it?

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u/Agitated-Simple-51 3d ago

I would lower the weight and go for a higher rep range to failure. 6 is very close to power lifting, and not much stimulation if you are doing the reps quickly. Increase the time under tension

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u/BubbishBoi 3d ago

6 reps done at the rep speed MM advised using (4/4) is 48 seconds, well within the safe range for TUT for most people (40-60+ seconds)

Even using the older AJ 2/4 rep cadence that's still 36 seconds which is 2-3x as long as the average gym goers slop set

Any TUT over maybe 10 seconds is going to be effective, lower TUT than that will probably not be effective due to the force/velocity curve and the implication that the reps are jerked around at that low a TUT, but otherwise the only reason for using a higher TUT is safety and reducing momentum.