Hey man, how much do you bench? If you’ve spent any time at all in the gym and have a
decent physique it’s likely that you’ve heard that one a million time already. It seems that sometime during the 70s or 80s it was decided that the bench press was going to be the reference in term of strength and manhood. As a guy who’s naturally much stronger in the lower part of my body I don’t necessarily like that bench press dogma. But a part of me just can resist having a big bench press … after all, we could all stand to be more manly couldn’t we?
Christian, you’re an olympic lifter, you might squat and clean a lot, but what do you know about building a big bench? Well my friend, it’s when you suck at something that you learn the most about it! Were I naturally gifted for the bench press everything would have worked. But since I’m not gifted, I had to experiment and find some special techniques than can make a huge difference.
The split
I’m suggesting an 8 weeks bench press specialization course. During that time bench pressing is going to be your number one priority. You will obviously perform other types of training, but mostly to maintain strength and size while blasting off your bench press. The week is going to start and end with a bench press workout. The first workout of the week will be a high intensity session since your nervous system and muscles will be fresh from the weekend. The last workout of the week will be a high volume session to promote maximum supercompensation during the weekend.
On the bench press day, the triceps, pectorals and shoulders will be worked. So that leaves either 1 or 2 workouts to do back, biceps, abs and lower body.
The split might look like this: A- 3 Workouts per week split
Monday: Bench press high intensity, abs Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Back, biceps, lower body Thursday: Off
Friday: Bench press high volume, abs Saturday: Off
B- 4 workouts per week split Monday: Bench press high intensity Tuesday: Back, biceps, abs
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Lower body, abs Friday: Bench press high volume Saturday: Off
Sunday: Off
Bench press high intensity workout
These workouts will generally revolve around lifting heavy weights on several movements. The goal is to train the CNS to handle and vanquish big loads. On this day you have one main exercise, one auxiliary exercise, one assistance exercise and one remedial exercise.
During the 8 weeks course you will have two training blocks lasting 4 weeks each. Both blocks have a similar structure, but the exercises will change.
Block 1: Week 1-4
Main exercise: 18” bench press
This is a semi-close grip bench press. The grip width is 18” (that is the width between both indexes when holding the bar). Lower the bar down to your lower chest and press it up in a straight line. On this exercise you do not control the tempo, the goal is simply to lift as much weight as possible for the prescribed number of repetitions.
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
Sets/ Reps 3 x 5 3 x 5, 3 x 4 1 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 2 1 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 2
1 x 3, 1 x 2, 1 x 1 1 x 3, 1 x 2, 1 x 1
Auxiliary exercise: Static hold
The objective of this exercise is to get you used to holding very heavy weights at arms length. By holding sub-maximal weights you condition your nervous system and motor reflexes to accept this high form of loading and muscular tension. You see, you have an inhibitory reflex which is the “gift” of the Golgi Tendon Organ (GTO). When muscle tension is very high, it tells your muscles to stop producing force. This is a protective mechanism but in most individuals it is set too conservatively and can impair your lifting prowess. Reduced inhibition is one of the reasons why you see some small individuals handle big weights. So for this exercise you simply un-rack (with a partner) a load that is greater than your maximum and hold the load in the lock-out position for a certain period of time.
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
Sets/ Time 3 x 10 seconds 4 x 8 seconds 5 x 6 seconds 3 x 4 seconds
Load 110% 115% 120% 125%
Assistance exercise: Bradford press
Start with the bar on your shoulders, press it just high enough so that it can clear the head and bring it to your clavicle. Press it just high enough so that it can clear the head and
bring it to the shoulders. That’s one repetition. This is a great exercise to develop the shoulders and the drive off the chest on a bench press.
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
Sets/ Reps 3 x 5 6 x 4 4 x 3 2 x 5
Remedial exercise: Lying dumbbell triceps extension
Lie down on a bench, hold a dumbbell in each hand, arms fully extended, palms facing each other. Bring the dumbbells down with a flexion of the elbow only then bring them back up. For this exercise use a slow tempo, something in the line of 503 will do just fine.
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
Sets/ Reps 3 x 10 5 x 8 3 x 6 2 x 10
That’s it for the first block as far as the high intensity workout is concerned.
Block 2: Week 5-8
This is the second exercises block and it’s performed after the first 4-weeks block. It’s also 4 weeks in duration.
Main exercise: 32” bench press
This is your regular bench press. The 32” is still the distance between your two index fingers when your hands are wrapped around the bar. Lower the bar down to your lower chest and press it up in a straight line. On this exercise you do not control the tempo, the goal is simply to lift as much weight as possible for the prescribed number of repetitions.
Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
Sets/ Reps 3 x 4 3 x 4, 3 x 3 1 x 4, 1 x 3, 1 x 2 1 x 4, 1 x 3, 1 x 2
1 x 2, 1 x 1, 1 x 1 1 x 2, 1 x 1, 1 x 1
Auxiliary exercise: ½ bench press (pin press in rack)
On this exercise you still continue to stress the CNS by using an overload (load higher than your max) but you add a dynamic facet by making it an half lift. Start the bar so that you have approximately 8” left for the lock out (or just a bit higher than your sticking point). Start the bar off the pins and press it up. Lower it all the way to the pins, rest 1-2 seconds than perform the next rep.
Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
Sets/ Reps 3 x 5 6 x 4 4 x 3 3 x 2
Load 105% 110% 115% 120%
Assistance exercise: Push press
This exercise is a great shoulder builder and will really improve your strength at the start of the bench press. It also teaches you to “explode” at the start of the movement. To perform it stand upright with the bar on your clavicle, dip down slightly and push the weight up explosively with a powerful leg and arm drive.
Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
Sets/ Reps 3 x 5 6 x 4 4 x 3 2 x 5
Remedial exercise: Lying dumbbell triceps extension
Lie down on a bench, hold a dumbbell in each hand, arms fully extended, palms facing each other. Bring the dumbbells down with a flexion of the elbow only then bring them back up. For this exercise use a slow tempo, something in the line of 503 will do just fine.
Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
Sets/ Reps 3 x 10 5 x 8 4 x 6 2 x 10
Bench press high volume workout
These workouts have a little less intensity in that you will lift lighter loads. But they are still hard workouts and will participate in your development and improvement.
On this day you also have one main exercise, one auxiliary exercise, two assistance exercises and one remedial exercise.
Contrary to the high intensity workout, you will not change the program after 4 weeks. You will only perform one 8-weeks block. That’s because of the nature of this workout which can be tolerated for a longer period of time, not to mention that the exercises used do not have their equivalent.
Block 1: Week 1-8
Main exercise: Ballistic bench press
This is the only exercise in which I consider using the Smith machine effective. The objective it to lower the bar to the chest and throw the load in the air, then you catch it
and start again. The load you use should be light, because the goal is not to just be explosive, but to be ballistic.
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Sets/Reps 8 x 4 12 x 3 8 x 2 6 x 1 8 x 5 12 x 4 8 x 3 6 x 2
Load 20% 25% 30% 35% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Auxiliary exercise: Quasi-isometric/Stop/Explosive bench press
This exercise is really a combination of 2 training methods: superslow eccentric training and stop-explosion training. The eccentric (lowering) portion of the bench press is slow, 5 seconds, you do a 2 seconds pause when the bar is on your chest, then blast the weight up as fast as possible. This exercise will build a lot of muscle mass as well as strength of the chest.
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Sets/Reps 3 x 10 6 x 8 4 x 6 3 x 4 3 x 12 6 x 10 4 x 8 3 x 6
Load 55% 60% 65% 70% 55% 60% 65% 70%
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Sets/Reps 2 x 10 6 x 8 3 x 6 2 x 4 2 x 8 6 x 6 3 x 4 2 x 2 Assistance exercise no.2: Iso-ballistic push-up
Another drill to increase upper body power. Lower yourself in a push up position. Project yourself in the air. Land in a “down” push up position and hold for 15 seconds, that’s one rep.
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8
Sets/Reps 3 x 5 6 x 5 4 x 5 2 x 5 3 x 6 6 x 6 4 x 6 2 x 6
Remedial exercise: Shoulder box
This exercise is a very effective shoulder builder. It will increase strength in all the deltoids’ heads and also develop your rotator cuff muscles. Using this exercise is a great insurance policy for your shoulders during an intense bench press program.
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Sets/Reps 2 x 8 2 x 10 2 x 12 1 x 15 2 x 10 2 x 12 2 x 15 1 x 20 So there you have a very explosive 8-weeks bench press specialisation program. It will greatly increase your bench press strength as well as chest, shoulder and triceps size. It’s not for the faint of heart; you must have a strong drive to succeed on this program. But if you give your best effort it will work wonders for you.