BENCH LIKE A BOSS
By Shane Robert
I have a confession to make - I hate the bench press. I’ve never liked it and, try as I might, I just haven’t been able to convince myself that it is the be-all-end-all lift that seemingly everyone else thinks it is. Personally, I much prefer overhead pressing or dips as my main pressing movement. If there is one bench-ish movement that I can tolerate, it’s probably incline pressing.
Despite not liking the bench, I have spent a lot of time training it. As someone who competes in powerlifting, sadly it is one of the required lifts. It also happens that benching has never come easy to me and progress has been a slog, which has forced me to try a lot of different programs and setups to see what works. While my bench is still nothing to write home about, I have managed to help clients make considerable progress on their benches. Those programs will be shared below.
Before we get to the specific programs, keep in mind that assistance work is essential with bench press, in my opinion. Very few people are such natural pressers that they can put up impressive numbers without a lot of work. Bench loves size (gaining weight really increases weight on the bar) and you build upper body size through a pretty high volume of work. Finding the correct amount of assistance work will have to be an individual process, but keep in mind that most people are better off training their bench assistance like a bodybuilder for high(er) reps.
As a general rule, starting with higher volumes and working into lower volumes with heavier weights, ala Western Periodization and phase potentiation, really does seem to benefit the bench press. Even if heavier loading is kept in with over warm-ups or higher intensity work, keeping the higher reps in during the early parts of the cycle really pays off.
RICK HUEGLI/BILL GILLESPIE INSPIRED
This is a variation that I adapted from the great strength coach and bencher Bill Gillespie. I used it for a block of reverse grip benching that I was doing and got my max up to 280 after running 3 cycles of this.
Day 1
|
WEEK 1 |
WEEK 2 |
|
50% x6 70% x4 80% x3 85% 2x3 65% 3x8-10 |
50% x6 70% x4 80% x3 85% 2x3 90% x2 70% 3x6-8 |
|
WEEK 3 |
WEEK 4 |
|
50% x6 70% x4 80% x3 85% 2x3 90% x2 95% 2x1 75% 3x4-6 |
Add 5-10 pounds to each percent and repeat the cycle |
Day 2
|
WEEK 1 |
WEEK 2 |
|
50% x6 70% x4 80% x3 85% 2x3 65% 1x max reps |
50% x6 70% x4 80% x3 85% 2x3 70% 1x max reps |
|
WEEK 3 |
WEEK 4 |
|
50% x6 70% x4 80% x3 85% 2x3 75% 1x max reps |
Add 5-10 pounds to each percent and repeat the cycle |
This doesn’t include any assistance work. I would recommend hitting a second chest movement like DB inclines, followed by 1-2 triceps movements.
KAZMAIER PRESSING MACHINE
This is the infamous Bill Kazmaier bench template. It’s simple but FAR from easy. Make no mistake — it is a ton of work. But dang does it seem to work, especially if you are in desperate need of some upper body hypertrophy.
|
HEAVY DAY |
LIGHT DAY |
|
Bench: see table Wide Grip Bench: see table Close Grip Bench: see table DB Shoulder Press (90% of day 2): 4x10 Front Delt Raise: 3x10 Lateral Raise: 3x10 Lying Tricep Extensions Behind the Head: 6x10 Tricep Push Down: 4x10 |
Bench: see table Wide Grip Bench: see table Close Grip Bench: see table DB Shoulder Press (heavy): 4x10 Reverse Fly: 4x10 Single Arm Cable Triceps Extensions: 4x10 Tricep Extension to the neck: 4x10 |
|
WEEK |
HEAVY DAY |
LIGHT DAY (90% of Heavy Day) |
Close & Wide Grip Bench (15% less than bench on both days) |
|
1 |
65% 3x15 |
3x15 |
3x10 |
|
2 |
68% 3x10 |
3x15 |
3x10 |
|
3 |
72% 3x8 |
3x12 |
3x10 |
|
4 |
75% 3x8 |
3x12 |
3x10 |
|
5 |
80% 5x5 |
3x10 |
3x10 |
|
6 |
82% 4x5 |
3x10 |
3x10 |
|
7 |
85% 3x5 |
3x8 |
3x10 |
|
8 |
90% 3x3 |
3x8 |
3x10 |
|
9 |
92% 2x3 |
3x6 |
3x10 |
|
10 |
95% x3 |
3x6 |
3x10 |
SLOW AND STEADY
I have used this template with many of my beginner and master's clients. It’s perfect for progressing strength in a way that doesn’t feel too hard on any given day. The gentle nudge upward of weights each week is small and the frequency helps make up for a lack of intensity. It adds up to a lot of progress, finishing with the starting max for 3x3.
|
WEEK |
DAY 1 |
DAY 2 |
DAY 3 |
|
1 |
60% 5x5 |
70% 4x4 |
80% 3x3 |
|
2 |
62% 5x5 |
72% 4x4 |
82% 3x3 |
|
3 |
65% 5x5 |
75% 4x4 |
85% 3x3 |
|
4 |
67% 5x5 |
77% 4x4 |
87% 3x3 |
|
5 |
70% 5x5 |
80% 4x4 |
90% 3x3 |
|
6 |
72% 5x5 |
82% 4x4 |
92% 3x3 |
|
7 |
75% 5x5 |
85% 4x4 |
95% 3x3 |
|
8 |
77% 5x5 |
87% 4x4 |
97% 3x3 |
|
9 |
80% 5x5 |
90% 4x4 |
100% 3x3 |
OVERLOAD
This program uses a SlingShot, or some kind of similar device, to accumulate a lot of overload volume. It works very well but can really hammer your central nervous system, so make sure recovery is a priority if you run it.
|
DAY 1 |
DAY 2 |
|
80x1, 85x1, add sling shot 85x3-5, 90xAMRAP, up to 1@8, no sling shot 70 5x8 |
Buffalo Bar Bench: 60% 3xAMRAP |
|
82x1, 87x1, add sling shot 87x3-5, 92xAMRAP, up to 1@8, no sling shot 72 4x8 |
Buffalo Bar Bench: 62% 3xAMRAP |
|
85x1, 87x1, add sling shot 87x3-5, 95xAMRAP, up to 1@8, no sling shot 75 3x8 |
Buffalo Bar Bench: 65% 3xAMRAP |
|
87x1, 90x1, add sling shot 90x3-5, 97xAMRAP, up to 1@8, no sling shot 77 2x8 |
Buffalo Bar Bench: 67% 3xAMRAP |
|
90x1, 92x1, add sling shot 92x3-5, 100xAMRAP, up to 1@8, no sling shot 80 5x5 |
Buffalo Bar Bench: 70% 3xAMRAP |
|
92x1, 95x1, add sling shot 95x3-5, 102xAMRAP, up to 1@8, no sling shot 82 4x5 |
Buffalo Bar Bench: 72% 3xAMRAP |
|
95x1, 97x1, add sling shot 97x3-5, 105xAMRAP, up to 1@8, no sling shot 85 3x5 |
Buffalo Bar Bench: 75% 3xAMRAP |
|
97x1, 100x1, add sling shot 100x3-5, 102xAMRAP, up to 1@8, no sling shot 87 2x5 |
Buffalo Bar Bench: 77% 3xAMRAP |
|
100x1, add sling shot 105xAMRAP, up to 1@8, no sling shot 90 5x3 |
Buffalo Bar Bench: 80% 3xAMRAP |
|
100x1, add sling shot 107xAMRAP, up to 1@8, no sling shot 92 4x3 |
Buffalo Bar Bench: 82% 3xAMRAP |
|
100x1, add sling shot 110xAMRAP, up to 1@8, no sling shot 95 3x3 |
Buffalo Bar Bench: 85% 3xAMRAP |
|
100x1, add sling shot work up to max, no sling shot 97 2x3 |
Buffalo Bar Bench: 87% 3xAMRAP |
AUTOREGULATED
This is about as simple as you can get. 3-week waves of increasing effort, cycling down into lower reps after each block. It’s autoregulated in that it uses RPE to determine the top set weight and back-off set volume. Day 2 follows the same format using a buffalo bar. If you don’t have access to one, use incline benching.
|
DAY 1 |
DAY 2 (w/buffalo bar) |
|
Work up to 8 @8, drop 10% and do max sets of 8 until RPE is 8 |
Work up to 8 @8, drop 10% and do max sets of 8 until RPE is 8 |
|
Work up to 8 @8, drop 7.5% and do max sets of 8 until RPE is 8 |
Work up to 8 @8, drop 7.5% and do max sets of 8 until RPE is 8 |
|
Work up to 8 @8, drop 5% and do max sets of 5 until RPE is 8 |
Work up to 8 @8, drop 5% and do max sets of 5 until RPE is 8 |
|
Work up to 5 @8, drop 10% and do max sets of 5 until RPE is 8 |
Work up to 5 @8, drop 10% and do max sets of 5 until RPE is 8 |
|
Work up to 5 @8, drop 7.5% and do max sets of 5 until RPE is 8 |
Work up to 5 @8, drop 7.5% and do max sets of 5 until RPE is 8 |
|
Work up to 5 @8, drop 5% and do max sets of 5 until RPE is 8 |
Work up to 5 @8, drop 5% and do max sets of 5 until RPE is 8 |
|
Work up to 3 @8, drop10% and do max sets of 3 until RPE is 8 |
Work up to 3 @8, drop10% and do max sets of 3 until RPE is 8 |
|
Work up to 3 @8, drop 7.5% and do max sets of 3 until RPE is 8 |
Work up to 3 @8, drop 7.5% and do max sets of 3 until RPE is 8 |
|
Work up to 3 @8, drop 5% and do max sets of 3 until RPE is 8 |
Work up to 3 @8, drop 5% and do max sets of 3 until RPE is 8 |
|
Work up to 1 @9 |
Let us know if any of these help you bench a new PR!
