Thread: Bench question

i have been using 4 sets of 3-5 reps lately and in the last 8wks ma bench has went up 45lbs

Give it a try and see if it works. Personally, I find that even less volume works best for me for strength gains. I typically perform a warm up with 3x3 using most of the weight of my working sets. My working sets are only 3x2 going very heavy (90%+). This means just 15 reps total between warm ups and working sets. You may find that to be suitable or you may find that you need more of a warm up (or a more gradual one with heavier weights) or just a different pattern altogether. I'm also young so this may not really work very well - it could just be my age playing a big factor in this, but most people can be successful in gaining favorable results in quite a few different ways.

i usually do 4 sets of the bench press. i find a weight that i can do 7 reps for the first set. add 10 for second. add 10 for third, etc. the fourth set you should only be able to do about 1 or 2 reps. when you are able to do the first set for 9 reps then your starting weight goes up 10. this has worked for me.




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Your body will adapt to pretty much any given rep scheme in a matter of weeks. And the more experienced you are the faster that will happen. Sometimes the best program is the one you are not on! For continued progress change things up every 4 weeks or so.

5 x 5 is good, so use it for 4 weeks and then switch again.

thanks for the help guys

i will change it up.... but as to which setup im still unsure about

lately my working sets have been around 1x4 reps, 2x3, 1x2/3
do you think changing this to 5 sets of 5 reps would be enough change in my workout? or should i go even higher, maybe as much as sets of 8?

another question: after about 4 weeks of increased reps in my sets, should I go back to lower reps? I have read through your workout gopro, which is excellent and much appreciated on this site, but im not sure if it was designed for just strength. would going back to my original lifts with low reps be best for strength gains after changing it up?

thanks

I'm with gopro, you need to change the intensity often, and I believe the volume should fluctuate as well. Sure 5x5 will work, but you should eventually try 3x3, periodizing in a linear fashion by working up to a new 1RM over many weeks, undulating periodization, etc.

Originally Posted by Hlanderr

thanks for the help guys

i will change it up.... but as to which setup im still unsure about

lately my working sets have been around 1x4 reps, 2x3, 1x2/3
do you think changing this to 5 sets of 5 reps would be enough change in my workout? or should i go even higher, maybe as much as sets of 8?

another question: after about 4 weeks of increased reps in my sets, should I go back to lower reps? I have read through your workout gopro, which is excellent and much appreciated on this site, but im not sure if it was designed for just strength. would going back to my original lifts with low reps be best for strength gains after changing it up?

thanks

Of all training parameters, the body adapts to a certain rep range faster than any other. In your case, yes, going to a 5 x 5 program should be enough. If you are looking for some more hypertrophy, than a period of sets of 8 can be quite beneficial. You might want to look into changing your tempo as well.

After about 4 weeks, yes you should make another change. You can try to go back to lower reps at this point.

As far as P/RR/S goes, this is more a program designed for hypertrophy, although every one that uses it gets significantly stronger as well.

You could do a 6/4/2 split with 75/85/95% of ur max...by the third set you won't be able to get 95% for a double, so have a spotter, when you get that double, bump it up 5 or 10 pounds...then after that put 125% of ur max or so on there and do 3 negative reps with a spotter to yank it off of you. I couldn't get 265 about a month ago but today it felt light compared to 315...got it for a double...