Bench Press Countdown Workout
This is a bench press workout that my training partner and I used before the 2008 British Bench Press Championships where I lifted 225kg raw. This was my biggest raw bench and I proved to myself that my training principles worked.
The training consists of four workouts over a period of ten days. Individual sessions alternate as follows:
- Heavy bench press and assist.
- Heavy squats and speed deadlifts.
- Speed bench press and assistance.
- Speed squats and heavy deadlifts.
The 10 day cycle is a mini cycle of workouts within a larger cycle lasting 30 days and this larger cycle is part of an even larger cycle lasting 90 days. Once in the 30-day period, a single repetition max of 1 repetition was attempted to calculate progress. Each 30-day cycle focuses on a specific bank support team, eg gangs or chains. Before starting this training program, my training partner and I benched our 1-rep max so we could calculate weight percentages. My 1 rep max was 195kg. We trained three days a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The shoulders were trained hard and heavy on speed day.
The workouts are as follows:
Grades:
- Under the weight column I have written the % of my 1 rep max for the flat bench only. This figure is approximate and is rounded to the nearest 5 or 10 kilogram jump.
- On the days not mentioned, for example, on Wednesday of the first 10 day cycle I am training squats and deadlifts.
- All close grip vises are lowered to a height of 3 boards.
- On heavy bench day I always do close grip press as well.
- Perform a proper warm-up before exercise, including the warm-up in the specific exercise.
- All workouts are done with wrist wraps only.
First cycle of 30 days
Monday Flat bench press 5 sets 5 reps @ 160kg (80%) Friday Speed bench press 8 sets 3 reps @ 100kg (50%) Wednesday Flat bench press 8 sets 3 reps @ 175kg (90%) Monday Speed bench press 12 sets 2 reps @ 100kg (50%) Friday Flat bench press 3 sets 1 rep @ 200kg MAX. Wednesday Speed bench press 12 sets 2 reps @ 100kg (50%)
On heavy bench training day complete 2 chest assist exercises and 3 triceps assist exercises. The exercises are from the following lists, but the list is not exhaustive and other exercises can be added:
bank stand Incline Press Decline Press Flat, Incline, Decline Flyes Pec Dec Flye Floor Press
triceps support Close Grip Press Skull Crushers / Kettlebell / Barbell Tricep Pressdown Dips Rack Lockouts
This cycle now repeats for the second 30 day cycle only now instead of just pressing I entered BANDS. I used medium blue wooden bands that add about 20kg to the weight of the bar at the top of the movement, meaning an “empty” bar now weighed 40kg. My rep max had now increased to 200kg so all calculations now have to be done with this new weight, however due to the introduction of the bands I actually reduced the barbell weight by 10kg! The bands were used for both speed and heavy days.
At the end of the second 30-day cycle, we tested our 1-rep max bench again to figure out what barbell weight we needed for our third and final cycle. My one rep max had now increased to 205kg and I was feeling very strong and happy to have broken the 200kg barrier.
The third cycle repeated the previous two, only instead of bands we introduced CHAINS. To each side of the bar I added 17.5kg of chain weight, meaning an “empty” bar now weighed 55kg. My one rep max had now increased to 205kg so I had to recalculate my training percentages to account for this. Chains were used for both speed and heavy days.
Finally at the end of this cycle I tried my 1 rep max again and managed to bench press 210kg. The most he had accomplished without using specialized equipment. I was obviously delighted with the result and both my training partner and I had never felt stronger. Now I completely rested for 2 weeks, not training even once during this period. Then on Saturday I competed in the British Championships and benched 225kg which surprised me as it was 15kg above my previous best showing just how important rest and nutrition is within a training routine.
conclusion Gangs and chains seem confusing and are often difficult to control, but persistence can pay off big. The chest’s explosive power is greatly increased, driving it past previous sticking points. Training only ‘heavy’ once every 10 days allowed the muscles to fully recover and I felt fresh for every workout. Speed training further increased explosive power and allowed me to bench press faster even on heavy days.
For more bench press information, bench press tips, bench press videos, and bench press workouts, visit my website at www.increasebenchpressnow.com.