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Barbell Bench Press Fastest Progress

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305pelusa

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My friend made this bet with a friend of his to see who would bench the most by the time May rolls around. His current best is 170 lbs, weighing also around 170 lbs. His competition can currently do a 225 lb max.

It's looking a bit grim, but my friend has rarely BPed much so I feel like he can really exploit some beginner gains. I'm wondering what would be the fastest way to add the most amount of weight to the bench press of a beginner in 8 weeks?

I realize if this is a silly bet and it sounds like I'm looking for a miracle program but surely building up to a 235 lb bench press with high frequency training in 2 months isn't too bad?

I thought about a LP ala PTTP for 2-3 weeks, followed by a Smolov Jr cycle? Any thoughts? Thanks!
 
so he has to overtake a 55lb gap plus whatever the other guy improves? Or is the bet who improves the most percentage wise. First option I don't really see him doing it unless the other guy trains stupidly or has been stuck there for a while and doesn't know what to do. I would probably just run multiple pttp cycles. Just do a straight linear one until he can't get more than 2-5 reps and then restart about 8 workouts below your top weight and try to gain on it at the end of the second cycle. Rinse repeat. Take a rest week or at least 4-5 days before the competition day.
 
I thought about a LP ala PTTP for 2-3 weeks, followed by a Smolov Jr cycle? Any thoughts? Thanks!

Smolov is an advanced program, not recommended for a beginner 170lb bench presser.

@James Whitmore Solid advice.

@kb02 PTTP is a great option for this presser.

There are many ways to increase your bench press:
- pressing technique, volume, intensity, and frequency
- flexibility, recovery, and tissue quality strategies
- scapular stability
- direct rotator cuff work
- shoulder, tricep, lat, and/or upper back accessory work
- pressing tempo, pause reps, partial reps, accommodating resistance with bands/chains
- different pressing variations and implements

Everyone has different technical issues and weaknesses. There is no one size fits all "8 weeks to a bigger bench".
 
@kb02 agree PTTP/GTG best option

a beginner 170lb bench presser could most likely see dramatic gains using a GTG strategy, but only if he/she first learns proper technique. touch points of feet, hips, upper back and hand placement. proper tracking of bar and proper elbow placement. breathing, tension and grip grip grip. as with any movement poor technique limits ability. your friends best bet is to learn how to press, then press everyday (but never ever to burn out! ... not even close).
 
40 Day Program might work well. 2 sets of 5 done 5 days a week, That is 50 reps a week. You can even use it for other exercises at the same time like squats, swings,deadlits,ect.. I like to use a weight that lets you perfect your form but I was getting good progres while usung weights that were tough on the final rep... Leg drive ( I personally like to push with my legs like i'm trying to push the bench towards my head) , Squeezing the bar, Open your chest and lift your chest to recruit more muscle and shorten the range of motion, bring the bar to the sternum. And if it doesn't hold you back too much then a pause on the chest makes it so much cooler. Works the chest and trains the first half of the lift off of your chest. You might wanna save that for later though
 
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Hey guys, thank you very much for the advice. It seems like a PTTP sort of program (2x5, 5 times a week) is recommended. Which is good because that's what we started with.

Just wanted to give a quick update. We started somewhat light (95 lbs) to make sure technique was on point. He had some issues in that he was used to benching somewhat close to his neck. We've now changed that a good bit to make it more by the nipple line. It was a bit weird for him to bench with upper arms a bit more tucked in, but now is getting the hang of it.

And if it doesn't hold you back too much then a pause on the chest makes it so much cooler. Works the chest and trains the first half of the lift off of your chest. You might wanna save that for later though

Actually, we are doing them all paused since the beginning. I wanted to make sure he got the hang of staying really tight and pressing back in the correct groove. When he was doing touch n go, he seemed to default back to pressing with arms out. So this seems to be helping. I was actually thinking about dropping the pauses (the contest will be without a pause) at some point later when the weight gets heavy, so he can keep the cycle running a bit longer.

Thanks for the help!
 
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Dropping the pauses one or two weeks out sounds like a good idea. You want some practice exactly like you have to perform at the comp.

Keep us posted on how he progresses.
 
Quick Update. Bench groove is quite a bit more solid, and I think he's got the hang of the HTTs. Looks to be tensing all muscles really hard, and the arch is much more consistent.

This week we started at 125 lbs (last week we didn't have access to a bench, so we did OAPU GTGs), still with pauses. I think if we hit a 1x5@150 lbs with good technique and pauses by the end of the week, we'll be in a pretty good spot. Competition is still 6 weeks out.

Also, we will not be pausing the bench for the competition so I think it makes sense to incorporate some touch n go reps into the program. Those reps where you lower down slowly, then when the bar is about 2 in from the chest, you let it drop a bit faster to get more out of the stretch reflex I mean. I'm wondering if we should be doing these on all reps when we drop the pauses two weeks out, OR if we should start learning this technique sooner (say 4 weeks out) by doing the lighter set of 5 with touch n go, and keeping the heavier set of 5 with pauses. Any thoughts? Any technique to help squeeze in pounds counts, and taking advantage of the stretch reflex I think could be good!
 
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Thanks James! We're still keeping up with the pauses. I think it really teaches good tension. The negative is looking a bit slow right now. It might be because he's tensing so much, or is just trying to go slower to preserve form. I think in a couple of weeks I might set up a metronome to get him to do the negative part a bit faster (so as to not waste so much energy there). Other than that, things are looking pretty solid!
 
so he has to overtake a 55lb gap plus whatever the other guy improves? Or is the bet who improves the most percentage wise. First option I don't really see him doing it unless the other guy trains stupidly or has been stuck there for a while and doesn't know what to do. I would probably just run multiple pttp cycles. Just do a straight linear one until he can't get more than 2-5 reps and then restart about 8 workouts below your top weight and try to gain on it at the end of the second cycle. Rinse repeat. Take a rest week or at least 4-5 days before the competition day.

Sorry I didn't see this post until now. The other guy doesn't bench often, most likely his best will stay at around 225. His technique also doesn't seem very good, and I don't think he knows how to bring it up much more honestly. I also think he has a false sense of confidence so perhaps his max might dip slightly once classes pick up. So I definitely think it possible.

One question. Do you think it makes sense to go for a "sort of max" in a couple of weeks once the PTTP cycle starts stalling? This way we have a good idea for our opener, plus we can recalculate exactly where to start the new PTTP (I think 80% 1RM for day 1 of the second cycle would make sense). Or just restart it 8 workouts below as you mentioned?
 
Figured I'd make one last update. My friend ended up benching 220 lbs (50 lb increase) after 9 weeks of training.

He did lose to his opponent who benched 235. So it was somewhat close.

PTTP programming was pretty good. My friend especially benefited from 5s. Overall PTTP seems to work very well if needed to boost your max in a hurry! Thanks everyone.
 
Figured I'd make one last update. My friend ended up benching 220 lbs (50 lb increase) after 9 weeks of training.

He did lose to his opponent who benched 235. So it was somewhat close.

PTTP programming was pretty good. My friend especially benefited from 5s. Overall PTTP seems to work very well if needed to boost your max in a hurry! Thanks everyone.
Your friend should be proud of himself. He may have lost against the other guy, but he beat himself from 9 weeks ago, and by a very impressive amount. Although it's always fun to test your strength against opponents, his true opponent is himself, and he proved to make himself better.
 
Your friend should be proud of himself. He may have lost against the other guy, but he beat himself from 9 weeks ago, and by a very impressive amount. Although it's always fun to test your strength against opponents, his true opponent is himself, and he proved to make himself better.

Oh gosh, he absolutely is! Despite benching for many years (sporadically though), he had never gotten above 170. It just seemed like the absolute "max". The way he described is "sure, maybe I could get to 180, or 190 if I really, really tried". He had no idea how EASY it can be to add 50 lbs to a bench, in such a short time, by just dedicating a bit of daily time.

I think this is because no one outside strength training, knows how to strength train! So it was like a miraculous discovery. He won't keep up the benching as he's not interested in it, but I think it was an eye-opener that proper programming really does deliver!
 
I used to have trouble a little while ago putting on weight on my bench as well. There was a solid 3 months where I was just plateauing and couldn't get anywhere. Kinda a depressing time actually...

One resource that helped me a ton was actually a program called critical bench. It is chalk full of tips and tricks that you wouldn't really think of that actually make a huge difference in your bench when implemented correctly. I actually wrote a little review of the program anyone can check out- Critical Bench Review- Does it Actually Work or is it Just Another Scam?
 
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