First some back ground about myself, at the moment I use a Brooks Kubik 5x5 type program that comprises of 2 x warm up sets followed by 3 x work sets, I cycle the weights used ie start light and add weight to the bar at each session.
I can only train 3 x a week due to other commitments and use the following program
Tuesday- Squats 5x5 side laterals 3x10, shrugs 4x10 ( this is the only session I do at the gym and my only reason for going is for the squats the other stuff is just because I don’t train shoulders directly)
Thursday- Weighted Pull ups/ Chins, Close Grip Bench, Barbell Curls using 5x5 once again but with just the 3 work sets for curls.
Saturday- Reverse Grip Rows, Flat Bench, Deadlifts using 5x5 for everything.
Using the following at a bodyweight of 140lbs yes I’m only a little fella at 5ft 3 I have managed a 2 x bodyweight Squat x 1, a 2.5 x bodyweight deadlift x 1 and a 1.2 x bodyweight bench x 1.
With this program I feel I have made reasonable gains in both the squat and deadlift ie I looked at some results from powerlifting meets for raw lifters in the uk and I wasn’t to far off the mark apart from my bench.
I’m leaning towards giving each lift its own day ie Tuesday- Squat plus some assistance lifts, Thursday- Bench plus close grip bench and Saturday- Deadlifts plus weighted pull ups/Chins.
My question is regards my training frequency with the bench ie is once a week enough to make strength gains or should I perhaps do my close grip bench on the same day as my deadlifts so that I still get 2 bench days ?
Any suggestions welcome