Best Way to Increase Bench Press?

Training Powerlifting
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[quote]clutz15 wrote:

[quote]pcdude wrote:
It sounds like you need to be on a real program. Look up 5/3/1.

Also, like you I was not gifted in the area of pressing either. I know you can make up for a lot of the inadequacies by adjusting your form, like retracting your lats, not overpressing, going to a wider/narrower grip, etc.[/quote]

If you’re naturally a poor bencher 531 ain’t gonna cut it. The volume is way to low. You need to be benching MINIMALLY 2x a week. Ideally I would suggest building the work capacity to bench3-4x a week. This doesn’t mean death by bench every session. Focus on quality total volume. That being said simply benching should increase your bench at this point. Don’t major in the minors. [/quote]

I’ve been reading through and then all of a sudden i was like BAM a great reply! hahaha… Anyways, I think he is very right - Just plain BENCH MORE! By no means do I suggest you go to a 1RM or ever even fail, but learn to practice the movement and become proficient at the movement. Prelipin’s tables are pure gold for this goal.

Depending on where you are now regarding work capacity etc., you might want to start with 2x/wk and build up to 4x/wk over a couple months. Frankly, if you bench in prelipins tables then odds are you can bench as often as you want and you will progress. With a 1RM of 165, sessions like 130 5x3 are your bread and butter.

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Do you have a video of you benching? It could be something technical. I had issues on 5/3/1 with my bench stalling. I had some help modifying it and actually saw improvement when bench was changed to 5x5. Also, I was told to hit my back twice a week. Heavy rows on bench day (5x5) and lighter rows on OHP day (3x10). I’ve also eaten my way thru plateaus before. Good luck!

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Benching. /Thread

Bench more often

Focus on technical set up on your bench

Bench bench bench.

My bench exploded when I started focusing on benching more and less on OHP or lats or tri involvement

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I bench heavy with low volume every other day (and heavy OHP the other days). That’s worked the best for me and I’ve tried about everything in my training career.

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For beginners. I recommend benching twice a week . Similiar to 5x5 .take that thru a few stalls n resets before making any adjustments. We can re assess after that…

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easiest way is to not overthink it. rotator cuff holding back?? common, not a chance. stick to basic movements and add a second day of bench. follow your 531 program for at least 6 months and dont go switching programs. its useless. i would add the second bench day as 5x5 with a weight that is hard to get the 5th rep each set. raw benching requires strong shoulders and tris. build those. eat like a beast. its your best friend when trying to grow the bench. cheers.

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[quote]Achilles of war wrote:
Benching. /Thread

Bench more often

Focus on technical set up on your bench

Bench bench bench.

My bench exploded when I started focusing on benching more and less on OHP or lats or tri involvement [/quote]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This.

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[quote]Justliftbrah wrote:
I’m not a beginner I have a decent squat and deadlift. However I wasn’t remotely gifted in the bench press. I’ve read that low reps high weights put too much stress on the nervous system. Then I hear something contradict that assumption so which is it?[/quote]

Personally, reps. On the Deadlift I respond well to 1-3 reps. Squat 5’s. Bench, it took me a while to figure out, 8’s and 10’s. Whenever my bench stagnates, I go back high reps.

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I don’t know if this has been covered already, but the problem may not be they way you work, but your technique. Go watch so you think you can bench by Dave Tate, it will tell you everything you need to know about the bench. After you do that then look into programming. My advice.

31

[quote]barbedwired wrote:
For beginners. I recommend benching twice a week . Similiar to 5x5 .take that thru a few stalls n resets before making any adjustments. We can re assess after that…[/quote]

I’m starting to see some progress with this approach. I follow 5/3/1 for Bench day 1 & I do 5x5-8 with a pause on Bench day 2 with 65% of my TM. Every cycle my bench numbers have gone up for the last 3 or so cycles I’ve been doing it.

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[quote]clutz15 wrote:

[quote]Justliftbrah wrote:

[quote]clutz15 wrote:

[quote]pcdude wrote:
It sounds like you need to be on a real program. Look up 5/3/1.

Also, like you I was not gifted in the area of pressing either. I know you can make up for a lot of the inadequacies by adjusting your form, like retracting your lats, not overpressing, going to a wider/narrower grip, etc.[/quote]

If you’re naturally a poor bencher 531 ain’t gonna cut it. The volume is way to low. You need to be benching MINIMALLY 2x a week. Ideally I would suggest building the work capacity to bench3-4x a week. This doesn’t mean death by bench every session. Focus on quality total volume. That being said simply benching should increase your bench at this point. Don’t major in the minors. [/quote]

wait what? I’m totally mind phucked now. So you’re suggesting I bench press up to four times a week? You see what I meant by my OP about theories contradicting each other. My never system will be fried right?
[/quote]

Like i said, don’t kill yourself. Don’t fail a rep and you’ll be fine. People are so afraid of “overtraining” but the body is capable of alot more than people give it credit for as long as you’re smart. If you attempt to hit a new bench PR 4x a week you’ll evidently stall. But things like 5s@70-75%, triples and doubles at 80-90% aren’t going to fry your nervous system. If you’ve been benching once a week don’t jump into a program that calls for bench 4 times a week, but over time you can absolutely work to that point and not overtrain.
[/quote]

I agree with Connor. I’m not built to bench but the best gains I had was running a couple of smolov junior cycles which has you benching 4 times each week. I don’t find bench as taxing as squatting and deadlifting. For reference I’m 49 and don’t have the same recovery as someone younger but still didn’t find it too much.

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My bench went up when I took it very easy on the squat and deadlift.

My gains from 170 to 360 pounds occurred over a span of 20 years, but all of the “improvement” occurred during 4 separate 6 month periods (just 2 years of work) during those 20 years. One stretch took me from 170-225 in 6 months, one took me from 225-285 in 6 months, one took me from 285-320 in 6 months and one took me from 320 to 360 in 6 months.

In all of them I benched (or pressed) 2-3 times a week (3 times a week for a while, 2 times a week for a while).

In all of them, my workout consisted of only about 10 minutes of hard work on the bench press or overhead press.

They all consisted of 4-8 work sets, and with 65-85% of my max, for sets of 3-7.

On the low end, 8 sets of 4-7 at 65-75%
On the high end, 4-5 x 3 at 80-85%

Again basically 2 or 3 workouts a week (alternating periods) with up to one workout a week being overhead presses.

Strength did not come from the workouts getting harder. When 5 x 3 starts to become very hard to finish in 10 minutes, (about 85%) cut back weight to 75-80%. Don’t keep grinding heavier and heavier.

Right now, I would probably do this:

Monday: Bench 5 x 3 at 80% completed in 10 minutes

Wednesday: Overhead press 5 x 5 at about 75% in about 10 minutes

Friday Bench: 5 x 7 at 70% completed in 10 minutes

Add 5 pounds to each one every week. If you miss a rep, or even have to cheat a little, cut back by 15-20 pounds and start progressing again.

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[quote]Justliftbrah wrote:
I’m not a beginner I have a decent squat and deadlift. However I wasn’t remotely gifted in the bench press. I’ve read that low reps high weights put too much stress on the nervous system. Then I hear something contradict that assumption so which is it?[/quote]

Singles starting at 85% for 5 sets. Focus on technique and being explosive off the chest. Add 5lbs each workout. It works.