Bench Press Tips Required Please

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
1

I have been training now for around 12 month’s after a lay off of more than 20 years. My focus is on the 3 powerlifts, whilst my squat and deadlift are reasonable with a 2 x bodyweight squat and a 2.5 x bodyweight deadlift however my bench press is a little bit lower than 1.2 x my bodyweight at 75kgs/165lb done with a pause on chest.

I weigh around 64kgs/140lbs at a height of 5ft 3 inches with an arm span of 67inches.

Due to outside commitments I’m only able to train 3 times a week so I have to take this in to consideration when it comes to programing.

In the past I have done a couple of cycles of 531 followed by a good solid 6 month’s on a Brooks Kubiks 5x5 style program and I’m currently following a Doug Hepburns A program which is basically a singles program where you start with 4 singles at around 85-90 % of your 1 rep max building up to 10 singles and then adding weight and dropping back to 4 singles.

With the 5x5 program I benched once a week but also did close grip bench on a different day, with my current program I bench twice a week and usually follow it up with a couple of sets of close grip bench.

I estimate my sticking point to be about half way up and I prefer to train drug free and with out a bench shirt, I hope this is enough back ground info.

All advise gratefully received.

Q1 how many time’s a week should I be benching ?

Q2 if more than once should each bench session be the same or should I mix it up ie heavy one session and light the next ?

Q3 whilst trying to boost my bench should I ease up on my squat and deadlift and just do maintenance work ?

Q4 should I train triceps on the same day as bench or separate ?

Q5 should close grip bench be my main assistance exercise or would you recommend something else ?

Q6 should I be doing my reps with a pause or touch and go ?

Q7 what rep range would be best for strength or should I mix it up ?

Q8 are there any bench programs that I could look up via the interenet that you recommend ?

I’m sure there are other important questions I’ve left out but at least I think I’ve covered the basic’s

Thanks in advance for any replies.

2

[quote]tredaway wrote:
I have been training now for around 12 month’s after a lay off of more than 20 years. My focus is on the 3 powerlifts, whilst my squat and deadlift are reasonable with a 2 x bodyweight squat and a 2.5 x bodyweight deadlift however my bench press is a little bit lower than 1.2 x my bodyweight at 75kgs/165lb done with a pause on chest.

I weigh around 64kgs/140lbs at a height of 5ft 3 inches with an arm span of 67inches.

Due to outside commitments I’m only able to train 3 times a week so I have to take this in to consideration when it comes to programing.

In the past I have done a couple of cycles of 531 followed by a good solid 6 month’s on a Brooks Kubiks 5x5 style program and I’m currently following a Doug Hepburns A program which is basically a singles program where you start with 4 singles at around 85-90 % of your 1 rep max building up to 10 singles and then adding weight and dropping back to 4 singles.

With the 5x5 program I benched once a week but also did close grip bench on a different day, with my current program I bench twice a week and usually follow it up with a couple of sets of close grip bench.

I estimate my sticking point to be about half way up and I prefer to train drug free and with out a bench shirt, I hope this is enough back ground info.

All advise gratefully received.

Q1 how many time’s a week should I be benching ?

Q2 if more than once should each bench session be the same or should I mix it up ie heavy one session and light the next ?

Q3 whilst trying to boost my bench should I ease up on my squat and deadlift and just do maintenance work ?

Q4 should I train triceps on the same day as bench or separate ?

Q5 should close grip bench be my main assistance exercise or would you recommend something else ?

Q6 should I be doing my reps with a pause or touch and go ?

Q7 what rep range would be best for strength or should I mix it up ?

Q8 are there any bench programs that I could look up via the interenet that you recommend ?

I’m sure there are other important questions I’ve left out but at least I think I’ve covered the basic’s

Thanks in advance for any replies.[/quote]

  1. at least 2x weekly, and I’d do it after squat
  2. nothing “light.” The weight isn’t heavy enough for you to be worrying about light and heavy. You could vary the rep ranges and you should be fine, e.g. 5s one day and 2s the other.
  3. absolutely not. If you can’t make progress on squat and dl while increasing a 165 bench, something is seriously wrong.
  4. I would minimize assistance with only three days to train. Pick one exercise and do it when you’re done with compounds. If I were you, I’d be benching every day I trained, so you’d have to train triceps on the same day.
  5. close grip on weds before or after deadlift, then do some rows.
  6. do both
  7. there isn’t one, IMO. Volume builds strength potential, and singles build maxes, IMO
  8. forget about specialty programs. You just need some frequency and more time under the bar.
3

The program doesn’t call for any assistance. No close-grip benching.

4

Gain some weight.

5

Thanks for all the advise so far much appreciated, pcdude as i’m 5ft 3 and 140lbs its not like I’m skinny that’s not to say I’m big either lol I understand where your coming from but my main goal is to get a 1.5 x bodyweight bench so whilst I don’t mind putting on a little weight I would rather get strong at the weight I’m at if possible as I’m also interested in powerlifting which has lighter weight groups.

6

Everything triple said.

  • whats often overlooked tho is the actual set up. Gettin super tight everytime. Shoulders pinched together. Legs locked in so tight if someone kickedem they wouldnt move …ect…
  • once this consistent you now have the same exact bar path each rep n set and that starts to build as well.
  • I like the idea of doing each rep explosively as possible as if each were a max effort and then follow that with a couple sets of paused closegrips. I take 80 percent of my top set of bench and pause closegrip it for 2 sets AMAP w.o failure.
  • lots of good stuff here for ya. Get it locked in and see what works for ya. Good luck
7

[quote]pcdude wrote:
Gain some weight.[/quote]
That won’t help his current muscles get stronger.

8

[quote]barbedwired wrote:
Everything triple said.

  • whats often overlooked tho is the actual set up. Gettin super tight everytime. Shoulders pinched together. Legs locked in so tight if someone kickedem they wouldnt move …ect…
  • once this consistent you now have the same exact bar path each rep n set and that starts to build as well.
  • I like the idea of doing each rep explosively as possible as if each were a max effort and then follow that with a couple sets of paused closegrips. I take 80 percent of my top set of bench and pause closegrip it for 2 sets AMAP w.o failure.
  • lots of good stuff here for ya. Get it locked in and see what works for ya. Good luck[/quote]

That’s a good point, at the moment I bench once at home on my own bench where I find I can set up much better and tighter, my second bench session is at the gym after Squats but being a shorty I find it much more difficult to set up ie I don’t feel as stable and lack leg drive so that’s something I can definitely work on.

I can see where people are coming from with the to get better at benching bench more however in the past I’ve been lead to believe that 3 times a week or more is to much which can lead to over training so its all a bit confusing.

I was thinking perhaps I could carry on with my 2 bench sessions a week and maybe do dips and close grip bench on my deadlifting days but obviously I’m still trying to absorb the information given.

Thanks again for all the useful advise :slight_smile:

9

I would get into maintenance mode with my leg lifts and then see if that started moving my bench up.

I also wouldn’t change more than one thing each training cycle. That way, you will know what is working for you.

10

[quote]trivium wrote:
I would get into maintenance mode with my leg lifts and then see if that started moving my bench up.

I also wouldn’t change more than one thing each training cycle. That way, you will know what is working for you.[/quote]
He’s benching 165 and he’s still making newbie gains…there is no reason whatsoever to go into maintenance on the other two.

11

[quote]HeavyTriple wrote:

[quote]trivium wrote:
I would get into maintenance mode with my leg lifts and then see if that started moving my bench up.

I also wouldn’t change more than one thing each training cycle. That way, you will know what is working for you.[/quote]
He’s benching 165 and he’s still making newbie gains…there is no reason whatsoever to go into maintenance on the other two.[/quote]

I for some reason read that as he weighed 165 and skipped the “I weigh 140” part. I reread his post and you are right. My apologies. I assumed that he was at least an intermediate for some reason as the 2x squat and the 2.5x dl sounded good.

Did the OP care about gaining weight? That usually seems to make people’s bench move.

OP, If I were you, I would get my diet in check, evaluate my form, and go back to 5/3/1 for the next year and a half.

For a guy your size, you should not stall on 5/3/1 until you weigh 185 and are benching in the low 300’s if you are running it properly.

Also, do the program as written until you get your bench to 275 for an easy single.

If you stall before that, you are not eating enough, or trying hard enough. DO NOT MISS REPS.

The reason I recommend Boring But Big is that you can use some size, and it provides plenty of opportunity for you to practice form in the major lifts. Wendler also has solid diet advice and recovery tips in here.

That article changed my life, no joke.

12

Now before i get ripped to pieces I would just like to make it clear that although I am a novice powerlifter (only been lifting for 12 months and focusing on PL for 6 of those) I have really struggled with bench but i have discovered what has just started working well for me so i thought id share it.

I started running 5/3/1 and everything was going up apart from Bench, it literally was going no where, I was running Big bur Boring. I came to the conclusion that I needed to get stronger in the higher rep ranges and simply build some mass in order improve my terrible leverages. My squats and deads have always gone up easy but this is because I used to be a sprint cyclist and i already had an established foundation in my lower body groups.

So I devised my own program that sees me benching 3 x week; 2 days are simply 5x8 which follows the same progression principles as any 5x5 program. the 3rd day is devoted to close grip work and have been running the stack-10 Protocol for this which is incredible. I also perform another bench variation for high volume after he primary exercises.

After only 3 weeks on this program I am already close grip benching more than i used to standard bench. Mt flat bench has increased nicely over the 3 weeks and shows no signs of slowing down just yet. I will try hitting some singles and doubles in the next few weeks to see where i am but given that I am already doing 10 reps with my previous 5 rep max I am confident It will be good.

So for me, volume and frequency certainly triumph over just intensity.

13

[quote]HeavyTriple wrote:

  1. at least 2x weekly, and I’d do it after squat
  2. nothing “light.” The weight isn’t heavy enough for you to be worrying about light and heavy. You could vary the rep ranges and you should be fine, e.g. 5s one day and 2s the other.
  3. absolutely not. If you can’t make progress on squat and dl while increasing a 165 bench, something is seriously wrong.
  4. I would minimize assistance with only three days to train. Pick one exercise and do it when you’re done with compounds. If I were you, I’d be benching every day I trained, so you’d have to train triceps on the same day.
  5. close grip on weds before or after deadlift, then do some rows.
  6. do both
  7. there isn’t one, IMO. Volume builds strength potential, and singles build maxes, IMO
  8. forget about specialty programs. You just need some frequency and more time under the bar.
    [/quote]

I agree with HeavyTriple here as well. I’ve found my bench to respond well to both frequency and volume - but at this point, you don’t have to make it complicated. You are still in the novice phase where even linear progression would work. I’d just do 5x5 and add 2.5-5lbs each workout. When that stalls, go to 4’s, then 3’s.

14

I’ve taken on board the advise given and will now be benching 3 times a week ie at each of my training session’s, Incline bench on Tuesdays, close grip bench Thursdays and flat bench Saturdays plus a couple of sets of DB bench on Tuesdays & Saturdays thanks for the advise.