Alright guys, after quite a bit of research, I decided to write my very own upperbody program, that will hopefully add atleast 20lbs onto my bench. Right now, I weigh 165lbs and bench 205lbs, I’ve been benching for around 8 months now, but never did ANY direct tricep or back work. The only type of tricep work I’ve done started this summer, and I mostly do heavy pulldowns. I just started doing dips a couple weeks ago. For my upperback, the most I’ve done is chin ups every now and then, and barbell rows once or twice. Only recently, I’ve discovered that the key to improving one’s bench is done through strong triceps and upperback – two things I’ve been leaving out for a very long time. So, when you guys take a look at my program, you’ll notice a lot of tricep work as well as moderate upperback work. It is 6 weeks in length, tell me what you guys think and help me make suitable adjustments. I want to gain big with this one. Thanks.
Weeks 1 & 4
Monday:
Flat Bench Press – 4 x 6 @ 75%
Flat Dumbbell Benching – 3 x 8
Dips – 4 x 8
Wednesday:
Weighted Chin Ups – 5 x 3 @ Suitable Resistance
Chin Ups – 2 x Failure
Punching Bag – 1 x 15 minutes
Lateral Pull Downs – 4 x 10
Friday:
Flat Bench Press – 3 x 8 @ 70%
Dumbbell Flyes – 3 x 10
Dips – 4 x 8
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Weeks 2 & 5
Monday:
Close Grip Board Press [14’’ Grip] – 6 x 4 @ 55%
Flat Dumbbell Benching – 3 x 8
Barbell Rows – 3 x 8
Throat Crushers – 4 x 8
Wednesday:
Weighted Chin Ups – 5 x 3 @ Suitable Resistance
Chin Ups – 2 x Failure
Punching Bag – 1 x 15 minutes
Lateral Pull Downs – 4 x 10
Friday:
Flat Bench Press – 5 x 3 @ 80%
Barbell Rows – 4 x 6
Skull Crushers – 4 x 8
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Weeks 3 & 6
Monday:
Speed Bench – 9 x 3 @ 40%
Close Grip Declines [14’’ Grip] – 5 x 5
Wednesday:
Weighted Chin Ups – 5 x 3 @ Suitable Resistance
Chin Ups – 2 x Failure
Punching Bag – 1 x 15 minutes
Lateral Pull Downs – 4 x 10
Friday:
Close Grip Bench [14’’ Grip] - 2 x 8 @ 60%
Flat Bench Press – 3 x 6 @ 70%
Tricep Extensions – 3 x 12
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That’s all folks, all insight is greatly appreciated!
One more thing, do you think I should add more dips into the program. Notice, I only do dips twice in 3 weeks, is that enough? Seems a bit low, considering dips are easily the best exercise to strengthen the tri’s.
Narked, there’s a decent amount of barbell rowing in the Program. However, the lateral pull downs and chin ups account for the majority of upper back work. Is there something wrong with that?
It’s called incorporating one of Joe Defranco’s favorite tricep exercises… that’s why.
When doing board presses, it’s almost like doing a plyometric or jumping exercise. You rest on the boards for a split second and then explode. Great way to target them tri’s.
How old are you, how tall, and what are you trying to accomplish? What other weight work do you do, and, if not, why not?
Yes, other lifts and High Intensity work have a beneficial effect on the Bench (and vice versa) Many sprinters have very high bench numbers relative to the emphasis placed on the lift in their programs.
I’m 16, 5’10, and wiegh approximately 165lbs. My full squat is roughly 225lbs, max bench is 205lbs, and my number one goal is to improve my vertical leap and dunk before bball tryouts. Right now, my running vertical jump is 30 inches, and can grab rim. Need a few more inches to slam. I’ve been doing a 6 week vertical leap program which incorporates full squats, squat variations, plyometrics, sprinting, bulgarian squats, reverse hyperextensions – all the good stuff. The program has gone great! So far I am on week 5 and intend to finish the final week starting tommorow. I have upped my squat 20lbs and have also increased my vertical jump 3 inches, which is truly astounding. I plan to start this bench program after making minor adjustments on tuesday in accordance with my vertical jump program. Once I finish my VJ program, I will rest my legs for 1 - 2 weeks and then create another program that is geared towards my new needs and will get me jumping even higher. That’s about it. I thought my bench program was pretty damn good when I posted it, I researched for 6+ hours and I put a lot of thought into it. Right now, I’m getting mixed signals, I still think it’s good, but am not sure if I should do it.
at your age and weight i wouldnt be bothering with board presses or getting to complicated with %s
twice per week working up to comfortable triple in the full range BP is all you need and probably all you will need for good length of time.
make the simple straightforward programmes work for as long as possible, use the complex stuff when the simple stuff dont work no more.
Im gonna quote someone from elite on this, and sorry if i dont get it right…
“a good magician only pulls out the super-duper tricks when the simple ones dont work anymore.”
If you want to use DeFranco’s training methods, why not use his regular program template? But for a critique:
For someone as new as you, your percentages on the speed bench are way too low (40%) to get the training effect, Tate/Simmons said many times that the newer you are to the dynamic work the higher your percentage is. They generally don’t wave this either.
For someone as new as you, you’re changing exercises constantly. Pick a lift, do it for a while. The guys at Elite Fitness who’re changing lifts every week have been lifting for 20ish years, you can make great gains just sticking to a few exercises, then change them up every 3 or 4 weeks.
And if you’re 16, remember to sleep and eat real food.
My understanding of plyo’s has always been that you are trying to reduce the amount of time between the eccentric and concentric as much as possible, so no pause at all, and thus a pause is not like a plyo.
The other exercises in your program needed to be spelled out. I agree with the comments that you might do wel with slightly less variability in the bench routie and that the percentage used in speed will be greater for a relative beginner. Don’t make major changes as you’re doing well so far.
