THE LIFTING LYCEUM
BENCH PROGRAM
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW TO BUILD A BENCH PROGRAM OPTIMIZED FOR YOUR
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES.
STEP 1: CHOOSE YOUR PRIMARY LIFT
This should be the strongest bench variation you can train consistently.
For most people, this will be a moderate-to-wide grip bench (grip width somewhere
between 1.5x and 2x the width of their shoulders). However, if you bench more with a
slightly narrower grip, or if you have to bench with a narrow grip due to shoulder or pec
issues, that’s totally fine as well.
STEP 2: CHOOSE YOUR SECONDARY LIFTS
These are sorted based on your biggest weakness in the bench. Find which of the
below best describes you.
Possible weakness No. 1: Shoulders
If you tend to just get stapled when you attempt a 1rm bench – the bar either doesn’t leave
you chest, or it only moves an inch or two – the likely culprit is weak shoulders.
I’d recommend these exercises (roughly in order):
● Incline press
● Push press
● Military press
● Reverse grip bench press
Possible weakness No. 2: Triceps
If you tend to miss the lift at lockout, the culprit is obvious: your triceps.
I’d recommend these exercises (roughly in order):
● Closegrip bench
● Dips
● Bench against modest chain weight or band tension (adding about 20% of your 1rm to
the bar in accommodating resistance)
Possible weakness No. 3: Pecs
If you have the more typical sticking point – the bar gets moving off of your chest, but you
stall in the midrange before approaching lockout – then you probably need stronger pecs.
I’d recommend these exercises (roughly in order):
● Wide grip bench
● Dips (focusing on a long range of motion, if your shoulders don’t grumble at you)
● Dumbbell bench press
PROGRAM LAYOUT
Workout 1:
Bench Progression 1
Secondary exercise for primary weakness
Upper back work
Workout 2:
Bench Progression 2
Secondary exercise addressing something other than your primary weakness
Upper back work
Workout 3:
Bench progression 3
Secondary exercise for primary weakness
Upper back work
Workout 4:
Bench progression 4
Secondary exercise targeting the third component of the lift (not addressed in the first 3
workouts)
Upper back work
Simple rules:
1) Bench 2-4 days per week, with no more than 1 pair of back-to-back bench workouts
per week. If benching 2 days per week, you’d do all 4 workouts every 2 weeks. If you
bench 3 days per week, you’d get through 2 rounds of all 4 workouts every 3 weeks. If
you bench 4 days per week, you’ll obviously get through all 4 each week.
2) If you have back-to-back bench days, workouts 1 or 3 should come on the first day of
the back-to-back.
3) Do not bench if you feel like garbage, or if your elbows or shoulders are feeling
uncomfortable from your last session. If you don’t think you’ll be able to put your full
effort into a training session, wait a day.
4) To the greatest degree possible, minimize stress outside of the gym, try to sleep 9-10
hours per night, and eat enough protein (at least 0.8-1g/lb of bodyweight, or
1.8-2.2g/kg).
5) You should not need to make any adjustments if you’re in a small calorie deficit
(aiming to lose less than 0.75% of your body weight per week), at caloric maintenance,
or in a calorie surplus. Do not attempt this program if you’re in a large calorie deficit
(losing more than 0.75% of your body weight per week).
PROGRAM PROGRESSIONS: PRIMARY LIFT
Bench Progression 1:
The first progression revolves around three different pyramids.
Pyramid 1:
65% 1rmx8
70%x6
75%x5
80%x as many as possible
75% 2x5 (sets x reps)
70% 2x8
65% 2x10
Pyramid 2:
65%x8
70%x6
75%x5
80%x3
85%x as many as possible
80% 4x3
Pyramid 3:
65%x8
70%x6
75%x5
80%x3
85%x2
90% for singles until you either miss a rep (if you have a spotter), or until you’re very
confident you’d miss the next rep. If you get 6 singles, call it there.
On the first day of the program, do Pyramid 1.
The next time the Day 1 workout rolls
around again, do Pyramid 2. The third time the Day 1 workout comes up, do Pyramid 3. The
fourth time the Day 1 workout rolls around, start back and Pyramid 1.
Progress each Pyramid independently.
For Pyramid 1, if you get more than 8 reps on your set with 80%, add 5lbs/2.5kg to all sets the
next time you to Pyramid 1. If you don’t get 8 or fewer reps, stick with the same weights, and
aim to get at least one more rep with 80% the next time around.
For Pyramid 2, the progression works the exact same way, except you’re trying to get more
than 5 reps on your set with 85%. If you get more than 5, add 5lbs/2.5kg. If you get 5 or fewer,
stick with the same weights.
For Pyramid 3, it depends how many singles you can hit with 90%. If you get six singles, go
up 5lbs/2.5kg the next time around. If you get fewer than 6 singles at 90%, stick with the
same weights, and shoot to hit one more single at 90% next time.
Bench Progression 2:
Week 1:
75% 5x4
Week 2:
80% 1x3, 75% 4x4
Week 3:
80% 2x3, 75% 3x4
Week 4:
80% 3x3, 75% 2x4
Week 5:
80% 4x3, 75% 1x4
Week 6:
80% 5x3
Week 7:
85% 1x2, 80% 4x3
Week 8:
85% 2x2, 80% 3x3
Week 9:
85% 3x2, 80% 2x3
Week 10:
85% 4x2, 80% 1x3
Week 11:
85% 5x2
Week 12:
90%x1, 85% 4x2
Week 13:
90% 2x1, 85% 3x2
Week 14:
90% 3x1, 85% 2x2
Week 15:
90% 4x1, 85% 1x2
Week 16:
90% 5x1
Week 17:
Work up to a new 1rm
Think of day 2 as a “heavy recovery day.” After week 1, you’re handling 80%+ loads every
time, but the volume is never very high. You should always have at least 2 reps left in the
tank after every set. This just helps you get in more volume, while not getting too worn
down from your workouts on Days 1 and 3, which will generally be quite challenging.
Bench Progression 3:
Progression 3 revolves around 3 sets of ladders:
Ladder 1:
70%x6
75%x5
80%x4
72.5%x6
77.5%x5
82.5%x4
75%x6
80%x5
85%x4
77.7%x6
82.5%x5
87.5%x4
80%x6
85%x5
90%x4
Ladder 2:
72.5%x5
77.5%x4
82.5%x3
75%x5
80%x4
85%x3
77.7%x5
82.5%x4
87.5%x3
80%x5
85%x4
90%x3
82.5%x5
87.5%x4
92.5%x3
Ladder 3:
75%x4
80%x3
85%x2
77.7%x4
82.5%x3
87.5%x2
80%x4
85%x3
90%x2
82.5%x4
87.5%x3
92.5%x2
85%x4
90%x3
95%x2
The first time day 3 comes up, do Ladder 1. Do Ladder 2 the second time, Ladder 3 the third
time, Ladder 1 again the 4th time, etc.
The ladders are organized into steps (that’s why they’re called ladders). You do the three
sets in one step, then move on to the next step, which is slightly heavier. If you get all the
way through, you complete 5 steps.
Odds are that things will get really challenging by the fourth step. That’s the one you should
aim to complete. If you finish the fourth step and you can move on the the fifth, that’s just
icing on the cake.
Add 5lbs/2.5kg weight each time you finish the fourth step. Just like the pyramids, progress
each ladder independently. If you finish the fourth step on Ladder 1, but not on Ladder 2,
then the next time those ladders come up, you’d add 5lbs/2.5kg to Ladder 1, but stick with
the same weights on Ladder 2 and try to make it through at least one more set.
Bench Progression 4:
Week 1:
60% 5x7
Week 2:
65% 1x6, 60% 4x7
Week 3:
65% 2x6, 60% 3x7
Week 4:
65% 3x6, 60% 2x7
Week 5:
65% 4x6, 75% 1x7
Week 6:
65% 5x6
Week 7:
70% 1x5, 65% 4x6
Week 8:
70% 2x5, 65% 3x6
Week 9:
70% 3x5, 65% 2x6
Week 10:
70% 4x5, 65% 1x6
Week 11:
70% 5x5
Week 12:
75%x4, 70% 4x5
Week 13:
75% 2x4, 70% 3x5
Week 14:
75% 3x4, 70% 2x5
Week 15:
75% 4x4, 70% 1x5
Week 16:
75% 5x4
Think of Day 4 as “light recovery day.” None of these workouts should be very hard at all.
They’ll just help keep your groove fresh between more challenging workouts, while keeping
you from getting worn down by the more challenging squat days.
PROGRAM PROGRESSIONS: SECONDARY LIFTS
All of the accessory exercises (including upper back training) are straight hypertrophy work.
If a muscle is limiting you, the easiest way to fix the weakness is simply to make that muscle
bigger. There are are three basic rules for hypertrophy work:
1) The movement should be limited by the muscle(s) you’re trying to train, not some
other factor such as another muscle, or your balance (as may be the case for push
press or DB press, for example).
2) Do the movement through the longest range of motion for that muscle possible.
3) Don’t stop the set until you get very close to failure - within 1-2 reps.
In general, stick with sets of 8-15, with occasional sets of 20+ if you’re feeling masochistic.
You’re getting plenty of heavy, high tension work from your bench work, so go with
moderate and higher reps for these exercises.
I’m not going to give you concrete prescriptions here, because they aren’t too important.
Just get in 3-5 sets of 8+ reps, through the longest range of motion possible, stopping the set
when the target muscle(s) are reaching their point of failure.
In general, stick with an exercise for at least 5-6 sessions before rotating another one in. Try
to improve your performance (adding weight, adding sets, adding reps, etc.) each time if
possible, but not at the expense of range of motion or focusing on the target muscle(s).
Putting it all together, one cycle may look like this, assuming you bench 200lbs and your
weak point is your pecs:
Day 1:
Bench press (Progression 1):
● 130x8
● 140x6
● 150x5
● 160x10 (meaning you’d add weight for Pyramid 1 next time)
● 150 2x5
● 140 2x8
● 130 2x10
Wide grip bench: 135x12, x10, x9
Barbell row: 145 3x12
Day 2:
Bench (Progression 2): 150 5x4
Dips: Bodyweight, 4 sets to failure
Pull-ups: Bodyweight, 4 sets to failure
Day 3:
Bench (Progression 3):
● 140x6
● 145x5
● 150x4
● 145x6
● 150x5
● 155x4
● 150x6
● 155x5
● 160x4
● 155x6
● 160x5
● 165x4 (since you completed the fourth step, you’d add weight next time)
● 160x6
● 165x5
Dumbbell bench press: 4x10 with 60lb dumbbells
Dumbbell row: 4x10 per arm with 70lb dumbbells
Day 4:
Bench (Progression 4): 120 5x7
Incline Press: 95x15, x12, x10
Chin-ups: 4 sets to failure with bodyweight
ANTICIPATED QUESTIONS
How should I modify this based on how long I’ve been training?
You shouldn’t need to.
There will be two big differences in terms of how people experience this program:
1) Newer lifters with more room to grow will be able to keep up Progressions 1 and 3 for
longer before they start having trouble adding weight.
2) Newer lifters will have a much easier time with Progression 2. If you get 3% stronger
over the course of 16 weeks as a more advanced lifter, the singles and doubles will
still be at ~82% and ~87% of your new 1rm by the time you get to them. That still
shouldn’t be very hard, but for a new lifter who gets 20% stronger over 16 weeks, the
doubles and singles with 85-90% of their old 1rm will be a breeze. However, that’s
entirely fine since newer lifters generally take a bit longer to recover well between
sessions, so having the “heavy recovery day” lean a bit more toward “recovery” and a
bit less toward “heavy” is perfectly okay.
How often should I rotate the secondary exercises?
Stick with one exercise for at least 4-6 cycles. This will give your nervous system long
enough to learn the movement fairly well to ensure your muscles can be stressed hard
enough to grow. Though the scientific literature is mixed on this subject,
in general
,
research shows that you don’t actually grow very much from your first couple weeks with a
new exercise, probably because your nervous system isn’t very good at recruiting your
muscles to perform that exercise yet. After your nervous system learns the movement, you
can train the muscles harder and start growing.
In general, I’d recommend sticking with secondary exercises for somewhere around 8 cycles
before rotating a new one in. When it starts becoming difficult to improve your
performance in an exercise workout-to-workout, it starts becoming tempting to start
cutting off your range of motion or cheating with your form. Sticking with the same
secondary exercises for too long can also just get boring.
When should I deload?
If you have three workouts in a row where your performance is down from the
corresponding workout in the last cycle, take it easy for a week to recharge. One or two bad
workouts could just be a fluke, but by the third, it starts to become a trend.
For your deload, simply run through a cycle as you usually would with 15-20% less weight for
each exercise. So if you were benching 200 for sets of 5, you’d do 160-170 for sets of 5
instead. After one round of training with the loads reduced a bit, you should feel fresh and
ready to pick right back up where you left off.
