Improve your Bench: Part 2

Last month, we discussed the basic purpose of the bench press exercise in a performance enhancement program,  and provided some basic tips for improvement in this important upper body strength movement.  This month, it’s time to implement some basic program design into how to integrate the bench press into a strength improvement program. 

Below is a sample two day lifting  program to improve upper body strength levels especially geared towards improvements in the bench press.  This is only a sample and there are many different exercises that can be utilized to improve in this area.  The two upper body lifting sessions should be done with a minimum of 72 hours rest between workouts if at all possible.  Be sure to incorporate into your training program an equal amount of exercises geared towards improving strength in the legs, core, and back regions as well. 

The exercises listed below that are designated with an asterisk (*), are designated as the core movements and require a warmup of lighter weights to prepare the muscles for the three working sets that follow.  Warmup sets should be done with from 8 to 10 repetitions.  The undesignated sets are assistance movements and the athlete should be sufficiently warmed up at this point to train with challenging weights right from the onset.  For all your sets, choose a weight that will allow you to get all your required repetitions without assistance from your spotter. 

DAY #1

*Bench Press                                                Warmup + 3 sets

*Incline Dumbell Bench                        Warmup + 3 sets           

Barbell Upright Rows                                    3 sets of 8 reps

Dumbell Side Raises                                    3 sets of 8 reps

Weighted Dips                                    3 sets of 8 reps

DAY #2

*Incline Bench Press                                     Warmup + 3 sets

*Dumbell Bench Press                         Warmup + 3 sets

*Seated Overhead Press                         Warmup + 3 sets

Dumbell Front Raises                                    3 sets of 8 reps

Tricep Pushdowns                                    3 sets of 8 reps

This program should be implemented  for an 8 week training period at which point the athlete is encouraged to take an “off load” training week where he/she uses lighter weights in order to allow recovery for the body.  Here are the number of repetitions for each week that the athlete is to perform in each core (designated by *), movement.

Weeks 1 & 2                        10 reps

Weeks 3 & 4                        8 reps

Week 5                        6 reps

Weeks 6 & 7                        5 reps

Week 8                        3 reps

Make sure you have competent spotters at all times. Any questions? Post them up here on the blog!  Good luck and work hard!