Upping Your Bench Question

[INK]

me and my friends have been talking about how to up our poundage on bench lately and alot of them say that if u only bench 2 times a week then it will help it go up faster then benching 3 times a week. I have no idea which is true so I was hoping some of you could help me out with this question. Thanks

 

[boushee]

your chest is a rather large muscle and my personal opinion is olny once a week but to each his own and mabe that works for you but work it hard for a couple weeks only once a week doing power sets of 1-5 reps and give yourself a week to heal keep up the intensity....

 

[Illuminati]

me and my friends have been talking about how to up our poundage on bench lately and alot of them say that if u only bench 2 times a week then it will help it go up faster then benching 3 times a week. I have no idea which is true so I was hoping some of you could help me out with this question. Thanks

IMO benching 3 times a week will quickly lead to overtraining unless you are "chemically enhanced." try looking into a West Side Barbell, or a Metal Militia style program if you are wanting to increase your bench. a typical bodybuilding routine wont do much for strength when compared to a power lifting routine.

 

[2BIG4URMOM]

me and my friends have been talking about how to up our poundage on bench lately and alot of them say that if u only bench 2 times a week then it will help it go up faster then benching 3 times a week. I have no idea which is true so I was hoping some of you could help me out with this question. Thanks

I've been getting huge gains lately on my bench.

I hit chest for about 3hrs to complete failure. Four days later I hit it again along with back. I primarily try to get a really good stretch and go for reps but not to failure. Two to three days later I hit it again to complete failure.

I constatly change my routine and what excersises I do, and from bb to db to keep it confused.

I was benching 225 a year ago 365 just recently with this same routine.

 

[anthrax]

Twice a week is the way to go for me

3 times is too much unless you don't do many sets

 

[2BIG4URMOM]

Twice a week is the way to go for me

3 times is too much unless you don't do many sets

Yes I agree, my routine works out to be 2 times a week, but I only really work it out hard once a week.

The 2nd time I hit it during the week I'm primarily getting all the lactid acid out and getting a really good stretch with some blood flow.

 

[cwick0]

ONCE A WEEK IS ENOUGH!

I have only benched once a week (each body part once a week for a 5 day training week) for the past 3-4 years and i have a large chest~48-49". Secondly, my bench is my best exercise by far, about 2 months ago i did 5x5 with 405 and last week i finished with 405 for 7 reps.

BARBELL, BARBELL, and MORE BARBELL!

mix and match:
flat barbell followed by incline dbs
flat barbell followed by incline barbell
inlcine barbell with flat dbs
incline barbell with flat barbell

rest pauses at the end of your routine (rest at the bottom for 1 second)

mix and match your reps/sets:
3 sets of 10 at the same weight
5x5
sets of 8-10 pyramiding up
sets of 5-6 reps as high as you can go

NOTE: Please dont just add 5lbs to the bar at a time if you are pyramiding. I feel that the pecs are large enough to handle a minimum of a 20lb increase (im up to 40-50lb jumps). If you are not accustomed to this style, then try to approach it, up it 10lbs then till that is comfortable then go up to 20 and so on. If this means you have to warm up with the lighter weight, then please do so, you will reek the benefits.

Lastly, if your upper pecs are lagging, then predominately start with incline.

Also, overall shoulder development is crucial, that means not forgetting about the side and rear delts. Your triceps are crucial too, try incorporating close-grip bench in for your tris. This will give you your second bench day, but predominately focus on your tris.

Hope this helps.
wick

 

[wootoom]

i totallt agree with cwick. once a week is enough for me. i feel overtrained with one day a week. i go hard though.

 

[Carmen]

a big bench is way more than just pecs- triceps, lats, shoulders too.
i bench twice a week- once flat and once decline and do some auxillary stuff.

 

[cwick0]

a big bench is way more than just pecs- triceps, lats, shoulders too.
i bench twice a week- once flat and once decline and do some auxillary stuff.

How many times you bench a week is entirely dependent upon your splits. I train 5-6 days a week, so once a week of chest is enough.

NOTE: DECLINE WILL NOT YIELD A BIG CHEST. Focus on incline and flat!

 

[Tryn2]

Good info near the end of this thread the first few replies were BS....

 

[Carmen]

How many times you bench a week is entirely dependent upon your splits. I train 5-6 days a week, so once a week of chest is enough.

NOTE: DECLINE WILL NOT YIELD A BIG CHEST. Focus on incline and flat!

newsflash... a big chest does not equal a big bench... the title of this thread is "upping your bench", not "how do i get a bigger chest".
this thread is NOT about chest size. its about BENCHING MORE.

 

[cwick0]

newsflash... a big chest does not equal a big bench... the title of this thread is "upping your bench", not "how do i get a bigger chest".
this thread is NOT about chest size. its about BENCHING MORE.

REALLY.
Hence that is why i am trying to help you. Chest is by far my best exercise and that is why i am offering you suggestions. If i had a shitty bench, then i wouldnt say a word. However, when i can rep 405, i tend to think i have learned a few things over the years about "upping your bench."

Note: upping your bench should yield a bigger chest!

 

[Carmen]

REALLY.
Hence that is why i am trying to help you. Chest is by far my best exercise and that is why i am offering you suggestions. If i had a shitty bench, then i wouldnt say a word. However, when i can rep 405, i tend to think i have learned a few things over the years about "upping your bench."

Note: upping your bench should yield a bigger chest!

i'm not the one needing help.
ed coan writes my routine for me. i'll tell him to come to you for advice.

 

[cwick0]

Excuse me for saying you are the one who requested the assistance. However, the way you responded towards me, i thought we needed to clear things up.

Thanks, but i would rather learn things on my own and devise my own plan of attack.

 

[drbones2]

Work on your weak points if you want to bring up your bench.

If your stalling near the lockout, work on your tris, do board presses etc.

If your stalling on the transitional part of the press between where the chest is moving the weight and your triceps, do some rolling tricep extensions.

etc... etc...

 

[Mike_Rojas]

What's wrong with declines, cwick0?

 

[Carmen]

What's wrong with declines, cwick0?

nothing at all. i've raised my raw bench 10% in the last 6 months by doing the routine i'm on, which includes a lot of decline work. and i'm not a new lifter.

 

[Mike_Rojas]

I've had good success with them myself.

 

[Illuminati]

Good info near the end of this thread the first few replies were BS....

hey bro, how is telling someone to looking into doing a WSB or a Metal Militia type of routine for increasing their bench BS? please explain...

 

[Carmen]

hey bro, how is telling someone to looking into doing a WSB or a Metal Militia type of routine for increasing their bench BS? please explain...

i thought your advice was great.

 

[Illuminati]

i thought your advice was great.

thanks. i ran with a WSB routine for a while, and saw some huge gains in my bench. i did a lot of band work on speed days, and was starting to incorporate the bigger bands on ME days to do some lockout work (suspending the bard with the bands.) but my upperbody was taking a pounding from the bands. so i have backed off it for a little bit...

 

[Carmen]

thanks. i ran with a WSB routine for a while, and saw some huge gains in my bench. i did a lot of band work on speed days, and was starting to incorporate the bigger bands on ME days to do some lockout work (suspending the bard with the bands.) but my upperbody was taking a pounding from the bands. so i have backed off it for a little bit...

i haven't used them, for a few reasons. I used boards in my last routine, but my raw bench suffered, even though my shirted bench improved (205).
I do my aux work twice a week- shrugs, lats, shoulders. my upper back is pretty strong - i think thats whats helped my bench, along with the increased tricep strength from doing the declines.
i'd love to break 200 raw some day.

 

[Illuminati]

i haven't used them, for a few reasons. I used boards in my last routine, but my raw bench suffered, even though my shirted bench improved (205).
I do my aux work twice a week- shrugs, lats, shoulders. my upper back is pretty strong - i think thats whats helped my bench, along with the increased tricep strength from doing the declines.
i'd love to break 200 raw some day.

Sugarplum...if you can get some bands, and do the suspended bench, you will be amazed at how they work the tri's. i was skeptical the first time i went to do them, but i was feeling them for the next couple days.
just curious, but what are you reasons for not using a WSB? also, you shouldn't say that you would love to break something (as in a PR), that is the defeatist mentality. rather, you should say "i will break 200!"

 

[Carmen]

Sugarplum...if you can get some bands, and do the suspended bench, you will be amazed at how they work the tri's. i was skeptical the first time i went to do them, but i was feeling them for the next couple days.
just curious, but what are you reasons for not using a WSB? also, you shouldn't say that you would love to break something (as in a PR), that is the defeatist mentality. rather, you should say "i will break 200!"

i just haven't had a coach that showed me what to do. i workout alone, in a gym where i'm the only one powerlifting, and often the only female. so trying something new without help is a daunting task, but i do it. just not with bands yet.
i'm joining a new 'hardcore' (supposedly- i haven't seen it yet) gym tomorrow, so i shall see.
oh, and i will break 200.
i just hit 170 raw, so its gonna take some time.

 

[Illuminati]

i just haven't had a coach that showed me what to do. i workout alone, in a gym where i'm the only one powerlifting, and often the only female. so trying something new without help is a daunting task, but i do it. just not with bands yet.
i'm joining a new 'hardcore' (supposedly- i haven't seen it yet) gym tomorrow, so i shall see.
oh, and i will break 200.
i just hit 170 raw, so its gonna take some time.

i was going to ask about that. i think it was about a week or so ago that you posted about going for a 170 PR. and i don't think you ever said anything about whether or not you made the lift. so, belated congratulation! keep pushing it.

and yes, it is kind of daunting to try something new in the gym. first time i busted out the bands to do some speed work, i didn't know how much weight to use, and wasnt' ready for them, and i was almost flattened. and then the first time i did some suspended bench work, i had them all set, everybody was staring at me, and out of no where, this guy comes up, and said "you train WSB? mind if i lift with you?" made it a lot easier. and the whole time i thought that there were no other PLers in the gym.

 

[INK]

Thanks alot guys. Your advice has helped alot.

 

[Tom Treutlein]

Twice a week would be ideal for strength. Westside Barbell. ME and DE days.