How much ya Bench?
Chances are if you’ve spent more than about 5 minutes in the gym you have either (1) asked this question or (2) been asked this question. Hopefully you are in the latter and not the former. It’s just better that way.
The latter is a gesture towards the fact that you’ve probably accomplished something in the gym and at the very least – you look like you lift. The former is the true sign of a gym noob (almost as bad as facing the plates outboard on the barbell) – but probably something that we were all guilty of doing at least once in our gym life. If you are currently the guy that walks around the gym (or worse – at the party) and asks everybody “How much ya Bench?” – please stop.
That being said, being able to Bench a lot of weight is still a productive thing to be able to do. It builds tons of muscle in the upper body, helps to build a bigger Overhead Press, and most importantly it gives you a good answer to the annoying kid in the gym who is eventually going to ask you how much you Bench.
(Hint: In reality the best answer to that question is “I don’t Bench” or “I don’t workout” – even if you do. This is especially true if you Bench over 315. A 315+ Bench immediately invites a discussion on how you benched 315 – and this should be strictly avoided, especially in social settings, and especially if you are trying to get laid).
So let’s look at a few strategies that might help you improve your Bench Press…..
#1: Prioritize The Bench Press
For many of you reading this you will have used novice and intermediate programming up to this point that pretty much had equal focus on the Bench and the Press. I’m okay with that, but the Bench Press likes frequency and volume, and to really get it to move, it might need enough work that you simply won’t have time, energy, or recuperative capacity to put equal focus on the Bench and the Press.
For a 3-day per week plan (Mon-Wed-Fri) I’d suggest Benching on Monday and Friday and Pressing on Wednesday.
For a 4-day per week plan (my preference if Benching is a high priority for you) I’d suggest a Heavy Bench Day and Press Day, and I’d follow each of those movements up with supplemental variations of the Bench Press for increased overall volume and to work weak points. Something like:
Monday Thursday
Bench Press Press
Close Grip Bench 3 Count Paused Bench Press
#2: Always Use Close Grip Bench Presses
Assistance exercises are not always reliable predictors of success on their parent lifts. But in my opinion – nothing is as reliable an indicator as a Close Grip Bench Press is to a Bench Press. Almost without fail when I can get progress for a client on their close grips – the Bench Press will move too. A close second might be the carryover of a Stiff Leg Deadlift to a Deadlift, but I still think Close Grips win out.
I’d suggest including them either as back off work to the regular Bench Press, or on a second day of the week – perhaps after Presses or as the main exercise of the day. Doesn’t really matter – just do them if Bench Presses are a priority for you. I would do a minimum of 3 sets, and perhaps as many as 6 sets mostly in the 5-8 rep range. You can occasionally take them heavier – for heavy 5RMs, heavy triples across, or even heavy singles, but Close Grips work best as a “builder” of strength rather than a tester of strength so I’m a fan of more volume on Close Grips.
#3: Use Lying Tricep Extensions To Build the Close Grip Bench Press
As the Close Grip Bench builds the Bench, the LTE will build the Close Grip. Close Grips for volume will always die out due to localized muscular fatigue in the triceps. Close Grips are notorious for dying out 2-3 reps short of when you think they are going to die out. The triceps just love to shut off unexpectedly and when they are done…they are done. If you are going to build up to big volume on the Close Grip Bench Press as a means to build your Bench, then you better due something about the work capacity of your triceps outside of just Close Gripping. My suggestion is that every time you train the Bench Press, the Press, or a variation thereof, you also train the triceps directly. LTEs are good, but so are Overhead Extensions/French Presses and Cable Pressdowns. I suggest you do these for reps in the 10-15 range for about 5 sets. Train your triceps to handle high volumes on short rest intervals (1-2 minutes) and your Close Grips will respond and in turn so will your Benches.
In Practice……
Here is a look at how we’ve programmed the last several months of the Baker Barbell Club Online – and my guys have been setting Bench Press PRs left and right (see video below).
Bench Day (every 4th workout)
- Bench Press 3 x 8 / 3 x 5 / 3 x 2 – rotate rep ranges each week. Rest as needed between sets to complete the volume and aim for a conservative PR for each rep range each time it comes around.
- Bench Supplemental (exercise varies each cycle) or Light Press 3-5 x 5-8
- Bicep Curls
- Dips 3-5 x max reps
- *Biceps after exercise #2 allows for some rest/recovery of the chest/delts/triceps before we do our Dips so we can hit better numbers of reps or use loads on the Dips.
Press Day (every 4th workout)
- Press 3 x 8 / 3 x 5 / 3 x 2 – rotate rep ranges each week. Rest as needed between sets to complete the volume and aim for a conservative PR for each rep range each time it comes around.
- Press Back Offs – 2-3 x 8-12
- Side Delts / Rear Delts
- Close Grip Bench Press or Floor Press 5 x 5-8
- Tricep Extensions (1-2 exercises) 3-6 x 8-15
- *Side Delt/Rear Delt work after the Press Back Offs allows us to hit better numbers on the Close Grips than if we do the Close Grips immediately after our Press Back Off work as the triceps are allowed more time to rest and recover from the fatigue of higher rep Pressing.
Even though the Baker Barbell Club Online Programming is a general power-building program, not specifically focused on prioritizing the Bench Press, you can see how the concepts work in practice.
