Bench not increasing

[chalky]

My bench has always been my weak point. I've been doing Texas method, and although my squat, and deadlifts increase, my bench seems to always get stuck. I've tried reducing the weight and working my way back up, and it hasn't worked. Any suggestions on what I could do? I've stopped doing dips for sometime now as I get chest pain from it.

Just to give a general idea of my weight numbers:
Bench: 50kg for 5x5
Squat: 80kg for 5x5
Deadlift: 112.5kg for 1x5

[Mark Rippetoe]

What increases have you been taking in your bench workouts, and how much rest between sets?

[chalky]

I've been stuck on this weight for at least a year. I rest anywhere from 3-5 minutes, and bring my own weight plates (0.5kg), so 1kg each time.

[Mark Rippetoe]

So you are admitting to the people on this board that you've been stuck at 110 lbs. on the bench for one calendar year. You'd better be a 110 lb. female.

[JLascek]

Unless you're a gal, you are not an intermediate with these poundages. Nor did you give enough info for this inquiry to be answered in a serious manner anyway.

You have reading to do. Go.

[chalky]

I'm actually 65kg @ 5'8, and before you comment on my weight, I was 47kg before. It's hard to also gain weight with my Crohn's disease condition.

I've actually increased my bench a little bit, but then it stalled, and I had to reset it again

[chalky]

Please ignore my previous post if it appears as I was in a rush when I was writing it.

Anyway, just to be a bit more specific so there's no misunderstandings:

1. I'm a male, 5'8 @ 64kg. Before you guys comment, I was 47kg before hand. It's hard for me to gain weight as I have Crohn's disease, the diarehea doesn't make it any better (on average 4-5 trips to number 2 a day). I've actually stopped drinking milk recently and converted to soy milk, and it's nearly reduced my diarhea (anywhere between 2-3 trips).

2. My bench weight flucuatated around 5kg or so. Resetting doesn't help very much.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Your problem is that you are 5' 8" and 142 lbs. Sorry about your gut, but you'll have to find a way to grow.

[Platus]

It's hard to also gain weight with my Crohn's disease condition.I have colitis and have managed to put on about 50 lbs. since beginning SS. I think that it is more important that you try to get your illness under control before expecting to be able to put on mass. I have been lucky in that my colitis only tends to flare up a couple times a year. If you can make it happen, having the extra mass is certainly gives you a larger margin of safety if your illness gets very bad and you are not able to absorb nutrients for a period of time.

I have read that heavy training might negatively affect immune health proper nutrition is lacking (overtraining certainly seems to affect immune system health). If you have a chronic illness that prevents your body from absorbing the necessary nutrients, is it wise to do heavy training that might compete with your immune system for resources? It seems like 'too much training' (relative to the individual's situation) might create a harmful feedback loop in this situation.

Is there anyone out there with a medical background or experience with colitis or crohn's who has an opinion on how heavy weight training affects immune system health?

[chalky]

Platus: As I mentioned, I have gained around 40lbs or so since I started training, but I am still only around 142lbs.

P.S. I have another colonscopy booked for this Thursday. I hate them! The toilet is going to be quite the celebrity this Wednesday....

[Frozen Fruit]

Unless you're a gal, you are not an intermediate with these poundages. Nor did you give enough info for this inquiry to be answered in a serious manner anyway.

You have reading to do. Go.
Would it be different if the person is a teenager? Because my deadlift was 165 and my squat was 115 when I started the Texas Method. I stopped making gains every session on a caloric surplus following the SS method.

[George Noble]

2-3 trips to the toilet per day is not "nearly reduced diarrhoea", it is real life.

[Nick]

[quote]Is there anyone out there with a medical background or experience with colitis or crohn's who has an opinion on how heavy weight training affects immune system health?[\quote]

I'd suggest checking out Robb Wolf's blog at http://robbwolf.com - lots of good info on colitis and other autoimmune conditions, and I think he's touched on Crohn's before. Have a good read through the old stuff and the comments, if it's not answered there then you could mail him and he may cover something in a podcast.

FWIW the approach that works well with most autoimmune conditions is to adopt a diet that doesn't irritate the body (i.e. Paleo) and to do sensible exercise - and basic, progressive strength training is the most sensible exercise of all. But Robb may be able to go into more detail on immune system effects etc.

[TPrewittMD]

I've actually stopped drinking milk recently and converted to soy milk, and it's nearly reduced my diarhea (anywhere between 2-3 trips).


This sounds like lactose intolerance, not inflammatory bowel disease. And if you have active Crohn's, you need to see a GI doc who is experienced in treating it.

Regarding the comments on lifting and the immune system, the exact etiology of inflammatory bowel disease is still largely unknown. But if one hypothesizes that Crohn's is immune related, then the effect would be an autoimmune response whereby the body reacts against itself. This is why steroids and other drugs that suppress the immune system would work, which they do.

If lifting suppresses the immune system, this should then be helpful for Crohn's, right? And I seriously doubt that is the case.

But it's hard to imagine that optimal function of any component of the human system can be bad. You don't want your heart, lungs, brain, kidneys, or gut to function suboptimally, right?

Why not maximize one's musculoskeletal system?

[JLascek]

I plead ignorance to dealing with Crohn's disease. Does fiber supplementation change the nature of your bowel movements at all?

[Craig B.]

I'd first look into going totally gluten free to see if that helps the Crohns. Crohns sucks, and I know folks who have done very well on Paleo after years of being fucked up by Crohns. Robb Wolf's blog is a good place to start for info, or just google crohns and paleo together.

www.robbwolf.com

[chalky]

2-3 trips to the toilet per day is not "nearly reduced diarrhoea", it is real life.

What exactly do you mean by real life? Actually the 2-3 trips now is not actually diarrhoea, but 'normal' stools. Just to clarify my definition of diarehea, it's when the stools are looser then the normal "toothpaste" consistency, rather than 100% runny.



This sounds like lactose intolerance, not inflammatory bowel disease. And if you have active Crohn's, you need to see a GI doc who is experienced in treating it.

I'm not sure, but as a kid when I was 12 or so, I never had this problem.




I plead ignorance to dealing with Crohn's disease. Does fiber supplementation change the nature of your bowel movements at all?

I haven't tried this before, but I'm sure I have enough fibre intake from food.


I'll have a look at the website, and the Paleo diet. If I recall, it involves little carb intake. If so, I'm not sure if I'm ready for that, but anyway I'll read up on it.

[bugbomb]

Would it be different if the person is a teenager? Because my deadlift was 165 and my squat was 115 when I started the Texas Method. I stopped making gains every session on a caloric surplus following the SS method.

How old were you? How much did you weigh when you quit? How much are you lifting now? I'm honestly intrigued.

[George Noble]

What exactly do you mean by real life? Actually the 2-3 trips now is not actually diarrhoea, but 'normal' stools. Just to clarify my definition of diarehea, it's when the stools are looser then the normal "toothpaste" consistency, rather than 100% runny.

I mean 2/3 trips to the toilet per day is perfectly normal if you're eating even close to enough to gain weight. The way you worded it you seem to think it's too often.

[BlazeKING]

Hey, I have Crohn's Disease but all the markers at this point suggest that I do not ...and I have not had any problems and have been able to throw away the drugs as well. First you need to do an elimination diet and find out what is causing you problems. For me, wheat/gluten was the #1 thing that was messing my intestines up (and I had to get some cut out). Next was large amounts of fiber. Think about what fiber is. It scrapes your intestines, sits in there and rots until it leaves. Meat doesn't do this nor does fat because it's obsorbed. Many will disagree with me, but I do not believe fiber is very healthy for your intestines, especially if you have intestinal issues. I have not had any problems cutting most fiber out at all.

The lowest inflammation I ever had was when I was on a meat and fat only diet, or a carnivore diet. But doing that over extended periods wasn't practical for weightlifting, so I added GOMAD, eggs etc in and haven't had any problems either.

Listen to your body. Diet is key and I am certain that your problems can be alleviated. You may do well on an intermittent fasting program to give your intestines time to heal. It would be good to look that up as well as paleo dieting. When researching, I found my ancestors were mostly meat eaters so I can see where the autoimmune diseases can enter since I am not evolutionarily adapted.

I am up to 180 from 165 in just 4 weeks doing SS and my strength has gone up substantially. I am positive you will get there as well. Don't stop researching and figuring it all out.