Bench press, how many times a week?

[Rob_]

I have set a goal of increasing my flat bench by 80-100 lbs. in the next month. How many times should the chest area be concentrated on each week? Previously my chest days were once a week, but now i'm wondering if I need to do it more often? Thanks for any help.

Oh yeah, almost forgot, i'm 225 lbs 6'0" currently benching 275 for 5 reps. I know it's not much but we all need to start somewhere. My diet is in good shape also with sufficient carbs & calories and average of 250 grams protien daily.

 

[TheOak84]

ur goal might be a long term goal. id say a good 20 pounds in one month. if you change ur routine. add some speed bench along with heavy flat and military press.

maybe like

mon - flat press 5x5 or 4x6

wed - military - " " "

fri - speed bench - 9x3

along with squatting and rowing, u should be good

 

[calder]

I agree with the oak. If you want to maximize your bench you def need a dynamic/ speed day preferably with bands.

The other day, max effort. you also need to cycle your lifts. something like this:

Mon- max effort
week1 - board
week 2- floor
week 3- close grip incline
week 4 - bench

 

[sandman_007]

one HIGH VOLUME chest workout per week or even 8 days is all that is necessary provided you work your butt off!

my routine for chest:
barbell flat bench press (4 warm up sets. 5 working sets of 6-9 reps)
dumbell flat bench press (2 warm up sets. 3-4 working sets of 6-9 reps)
incline dumbell bench press (1 warm up set. 3 working sets of 6-10 reps)
flat OR incline dumbell flies OR cable crossovers (2 warm up sets. 4-5 working sets of 5-11 reps, COMPLETE STRETCH)
Weighted Dips (4 warm up sets, 4-5 working sets of 5-10 reps)

that's 19-22 DIFFICULT working sets. Note i said it could even be done once every 8 days, because you need to have a complete, undeterred focus. That's what i do anway.

 

[Dial_tone]

at most one high intensity and one low intensity workout per week. I believe 20-25 lbs is the most you can expect unless you're new to training or sandbagging it.

 

[Quadsweeps Sister]

I agree - one maximum effort day (heavy) and one dynamic effort day (focus on explosive speed). Working in some powerlifting techniques may be beneficial. Visit the powerlifting forum if needed. Take care.
__________________
Mythicwrld

"We deceive ourselves when we fancy that only weakness needs support. Strength needs it far more."

 

[Ozz2001]

To answer it to the point.....twice a week one heavy low reps one lite with high reps...If your trying to get you bench press up higher id only do heavy once a week to have maxium strength for big bench.I like 2 to 3 reps going up 20lbs each set till maxed out at one rep.Of course this is after warmup at high reps of 10 till you get to your heavyer weight(resting maybe 30sec or less at most) then drop 40lbs and finish there doing reps till spent..I have found if i rest to long before my next set when going heavy i become spent..I tryed the doing alot of reps and benchpress got me no were but looked good.Doing the heavy low reps gives you big slabs of muscle and pump...Went from 210 to 300 in 5 weeks at 1 day a week lifting.If you burn your chest out doing to much you will never get a big bench.But thats just my opinion from trial and error....But 1 heavy 1 lite day is more then enough...GL

 

[thelion2005]

Lots of opinions ... here is mine.
It is great to have goals. You are asking a lot for one month. I'm guessing you want to see those 6 plates going up and down.

I like the one heavy day, one light day by Ozz. It works. The light day for me was 80% of the heavy. Heavy day was 10, 8, 6, 4, 2. I charted the 2 so I could see progress. Light day was about 6 sets of 6.

Here's a trick that works. On heavy day after the 2, slip 10 more on each end and do partials .... slow ... about 6-8. It gets your body and mind ready for the increase.

 

[Kane Fan]

depends on how you train
but just forget the 80-100 lbs goal in one month
that's not going to happen unless you are a very lucky newbie
even most newbies don't get 100lbs in one month

 

[Rob_]

Hey guys, thanks for all the great replies. This should really help me a lot. I am not really a newbie, but am by no means a pro or even moderate. I have heard some people claim 100 lb. increase in a month before, but like you said, thats some lucky individuals blessed with genetics and probably a lot of juice. However I have been lucky so far cause 3 months ago I was repping 115 (I know it's sad) and now 275. Thats a 160 lb. increase in 3 months with a poor diet. Now I have a great diet with plenty of sleep and some help from tren & winny, so if i'm lucky i'll gain 60-70 lbs on bench? Thanks again guys. Karma to everyone

 

[anthrax]

I've trained 3 times a week with good results

As long as you've enough rest and food it's OK to increase frequency

 

[Tweakle]

i've noticed that great way to make your bench stall, if you're a genetically typical trainee, is to train it every week or better still more than once a week.

DC has the right idea here imo - pick 2-3 of the following, bench, dips, inclines, declines, db, close grips or rack work and rotate them in order. That should guarentee your bench goes up.

 

[Ozz2001]

depends on how you train
but just forget the 80-100 lbs goal in one month
that's not going to happen unless you are a very lucky newbie
even most newbies don't get 100lbs in one month

Heres a trick for your goal...yes 100 is alot in a month if you aint on gear...

Everyone wants to push that last push and strains to get it,this kills the muscle...So try this instead of pushing that last one that your killing yourself for, save it to push 10 more pounds on bar instead the next set..Why? now your already up 10lbs on your press event if you only get one...If you can get 2 your good for 10 more pounds ect...I dont have a spoter so this is how i tell how safe i can go on my bench...For every rep over one i push means i am good for 10more pounds per rep...so if i push 225 5 times i know i am good for 40 more pounds on the bar for at least one rep somethimes more...For maxium strenght on bench day, i do benchpress after my 2 days off hope this might help yea some... proper hand placement on the bar is importanted too.......Gl

 

[Oscar Yeager]

If you're making those large gains that quickly, you don't need our advice yet. Keep doing whatever it is that you've been doing, then come back here when you get stuck at a plateau and we will help you.

A 15-20 pound increase in 3-months is more normal.

 

[the.gladiator1987]

illegal bumpage!

welcome but why the hell are you bumping 4 y/o threads?

 

[Unit 2005]

one HIGH VOLUME chest workout per week or even 8 days is all that is necessary provided you work your butt off!

my routine for chest:
barbell flat bench press (4 warm up sets. 5 working sets of 6-9 reps)
dumbell flat bench press (2 warm up sets. 3-4 working sets of 6-9 reps)
incline dumbell bench press (1 warm up set. 3 working sets of 6-10 reps)
flat OR incline dumbell flies OR cable crossovers (2 warm up sets. 4-5 working sets of 5-11 reps, COMPLETE STRETCH)
Weighted Dips (4 warm up sets, 4-5 working sets of 5-10 reps)

that's 19-22 DIFFICULT working sets. Note i said it could even be done once every 8 days, because you need to have a complete, undeterred focus. That's what i do anway.

Agreed. Once a week is the way to go if you are really working the muscle group hard and with high volume.

 

[chucktown04]

lol this is an old thread...i wonder how things turned out...?