bench thrice a week too much?

[Adidas2489]

is bench pressing three times a week too much? should i just keep it at two times a week or up it to three for best results?

[Steeltoe]

Are you sore the next day? Some people have quicker recovery times than others. Then again if you may not be training with 100% intensity. Thus allowing you to train more frequently. But if you feel comfortable doing it then sure. Just make sure you get some time to grow.

[FX45]

3? LOL dude you got a lot to learn. Try ONCE a week.

[rockhuddy]

3 times a week is fine as long as you're not approaching failure each time. For example, if you have a light day, a heavy day, and a speed day you're ok. If you're going balls to the wall 3 times a week on the same exercise, first of all you could be looking at overtraining, and second of all you're going to plateau fast.

[powerlifter70]

3? LOL dude you got a lot to learn. Try ONCE a week.

3x a week works for me...

[FX45]

3x a week works for me...

how do you incorporate 3 chest days a week with a full body workout? Or are you one of those guys that don't do squats or dead lifts?

[powerlifter70]

how do you incorporate 3 chest days a week with a full body workout? Or are you one of those guys that don't do squats or dead lifts?

day 1 heavy bench
day 2 deads
day 3 speed bench
day 4 squats
day 5 heavy bench

And I do assistance work on each day too.

[rockhuddy]

3x a week works for me...

^^^

Powerlifters utilize different training methods than most bbers; I mentioned light, speed, and heavy days, and these are almost never to failure. This does not tax the CNS like you might think, so it's ok. Going to failure often is bad news, though.

[FX45]

day 1 heavy bench
day 2 deads
day 3 speed bench
day 4 squats
day 5 heavy bench

And I do assistance work on each day too.

how does your chest heal enough for the 3rd day? My chest hurts for 4 days every time. Sounds like your over training unless your on steriods.

^^^

Powerlifters utilize different training methods than most bbers; I mentioned light, speed, and heavy days, and these are almost never to failure. This does not tax the CNS like you might think, so it's ok. Going to failure often is bad news, though.

ahhh okay that clears up what powerlifter70 is saying.

[powerlifter70]

how does your chest heal enough for the 3rd day? My chest hurts for 4 days every time. Sounds like your over training unless your on steriods.

I never get sore....there is no such thing as over training, only under recovery and I am not on gear. I have been training like this for a few years now and this is how I have made my best gains. Some people do better with less and some with more.

Also that is one week, the next week will have 2 speed days and one heavy. I alternate every week.

[FX45]

I never get sore....there is no such thing as over training, only under recovery and I am not on gear. I have been training like this for a few years now and this is how I have made my best gains. Some people do better with less and some with more.

are your gains more size or more strength? check out this video too: http://thefitshow.com/week3/milos_chest_med.htm

ever since I went light weight my chest size grew out a lot more, but I'm not as strong.

[powerlifter70]

are your gains more size or more strength? check out this video too: http://thefitshow.com/week3/milos_chest_med.htm

ever since I went light weight my chest size grew out a lot more, but I'm not as strong.

Yea...thanks for the link...I have seen that before...

I do have alot of strength gains but I also have a very thick chest.

[powerlifter70]

give me an example of your heavy day and your light day weight and sets please. just curious.

A heavy day I can work up to 30 sets of doubles and singles. I start out with about 6 reps then after about 4 sets I start my doubles and singles. This is a shirted workout mainly doing 2 and 3 board presses. After I train bench, I will do 8 sets of rack lockouts, 4 sets of floor presses and tri press downs...

On a speed day I will do 10 sets of 3 with bands or chains with 60% 1rm. After that, it close grip for 5 sets, skull crushers for 5 sets, incline bench for 5 sets, and finish up with dips or press downs.

The 2 heavy day is just like the 1st...

Sounds like a lot but on the heavy days, we will rest up to 5 minutes between sets. We usually work up to somewhere around 550. We have gone as high as 640 on the 3 board press. On the rack lockouts, we hit high 6 and low 7's...

[rockhuddy]

A heavy day I can work up to 30 sets of doubles and singles. I start out with about 6 reps then after about 4 sets I start my doubles and singles. This is a shirted workout mainly doing 2 and 3 board presses. After I train bench, I will do 8 sets of rack lockouts, 4 sets of floor presses and tri press downs...

I've never benched shirted, but I understand it turns the movement into more of a rack lockout than an actual bench press, by which I mean it becomes a tricep dominated movement rather than a chest dominated one. If this is true, what is the purpose of doing board presses shirted? Isn't that kind of redundant?

[powerlifter70]

I've never benched shirted, but I understand it turns the movement into more of a rack lockout than an actual bench press, by which I mean it becomes a tricep dominated movement rather than a chest dominated one. If this is true, what is the purpose of doing board presses shirted? Isn't that kind of redundant?

The only people that say that about bench shirts are the ones that have never used them....it takes a lot of training to use those things. You are the one handeling the weight...not the shirt.
The board presses help train your sticking point, which mine is right around the 2 to 3 board area. And they also get your body used to handeling heavier weight then you can do a full rom with, which in turn will lead you to a bigger bench over time.

If you want to know more...PM me. We already took over this thread long enough

[AnaerobicAndrew]

3? LOL dude you got a lot to learn. Try ONCE a week.

LOL, you have a lot to learn.

[Carmen0857]

A heavy day I can work up to 30 sets of doubles and singles. I start out with about 6 reps then after about 4 sets I start my doubles and singles. This is a shirted workout mainly doing 2 and 3 board presses. After I train bench, I will do 8 sets of rack lockouts, 4 sets of floor presses and tri press downs...

On a speed day I will do 10 sets of 3 with bands or chains with 60% 1rm. After that, it close grip for 5 sets, skull crushers for 5 sets, incline bench for 5 sets, and finish up with dips or press downs.

The 2 heavy day is just like the 1st...

Sounds like a lot but on the heavy days, we will rest up to 5 minutes between sets. We usually work up to somewhere around 550. We have gone as high as 640 on the 3 board press. On the rack lockouts, we hit high 6 and low 7's...

This is an advanced PL routine for bench pressing, for someone not too serious about PLing, but wanting to incorperate some of the princeples may want to try something like this:

mon:flat bench 3x8-10 (1-2 reps short of failure for each set)

wed: speed bench 8 sets of 2-3, perform the reps with about 50% of your 1rm and move the weigth as quickly as possible. (Some guys like to change their grip for every set)

fri-max effort: warmup, do a set of 5, 3, 2, then work up to a 1rm(or close to it)

Bam weekedn to rest.

Also you can add in assistance exercises as you please, but dont lift until your gogin to be sore for 3 days.

[Rocky_Maivia]

how does your chest heal enough for the 3rd day? My chest hurts for 4 days every time. Sounds like your over training unless your on steriods.

Powerlifters train differently to Bodybuilders.

[ericszimmerman3]

I did it 3 times a week for a long time. I had nice muscle growth at first plus great strength increases but then again i only did a few sets of bench then a few flys. After a while i kept doing it and i started to get weaker even if id rest for a week then start up at 3 times a week again. I wouldnt really recommend it. Im trying to figure something out now. Ive been having a really hard intense chest work out once a week and have been having no strenght gains over the past 2 or 3 months even though im extremely sore for quite a few days after.

[highpower1111]

3? LOL dude you got a lot to learn. Try ONCE a week.

You're kidding right?

Don't give bad advice. Higher frequency is proving to be a very successful method of training. Look at the program on Madcow's page.

[rockhuddy]

You're kidding right?

Don't give bad advice. Higher frequency is proving to be a very successful method of training. Look at the program on Madcow's page.

High frequency has been shown to be effective, but that doesn't make it the only effective way to train. Everyone should try high and low frequency and then decide which works better for them. Madcow's definitely the man, but he's not me. You are right though; people need to broaden their minds and not be sucked into the "once a week, no exceptions" group.

[Morbid_Mind]

how does your chest heal enough for the 3rd day? My chest hurts for 4 days every time. Sounds like your over training unless your on steriods.

Speed bench is done with a lot less weight than "heavy bench." Also, the chest is a fairly small muscle group and recovers fairly quickly, unlike other muscles.

[DiamondDelts]

Powerlifters train differently to Bodybuilders.

I don't know about that. Almost every bodybuilder around here seems to magically morph into a PL whenever the benchpress is involved.

[Morbid_Mind]

I don't know about that. Almost every bodybuilder around here seems to magically morph into a PL whenever the benchpress is involved.

I would assume he's talking about bodybuilders training towards sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, whereas powerlifters train towards myofibrillar hypertrophy.

[Andrew69]

3 times per week works fine for me....

[rockhuddy]

I don't know about that. Almost every bodybuilder around here seems to magically morph into a PL whenever the benchpress is involved.

Lol. "I don't train for strength, I just care about size. BTW, I bench 350. For reps. As a warmup."

[Tumescent]

there is no such thing as over training, only under recovery

This has to be one of the best things I have read on these boards in ages

[DiamondDelts]

Lol. "I don't train for strength, I just care about size. BTW, I bench 350. For reps. As a warmup."

Don't you roll your eyes at me young man!

[Rocky_Maivia]

I would assume he's talking about bodybuilders training towards sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, whereas powerlifters train towards myofibrillar hypertrophy.

No. Powerlifters train for maximum strength on the Bench Press, Squat, and Deadlift. They don't have their muscle mass measured in competition.

Bodybuilders train for size, symmetry proportion, etc, etc.


Some guy asked about "working chest" 3 times a week, and chest soreness... well, he's a powerlifter. Benching has nothing to do with chest for him. He's training lifts, not muscles.

[aiwass]

3? LOL dude you got a lot to learn. Try ONCE a week.

Idiot...

You can bench 3 times a week no problem, even going to failure (concentric failure, that is, you don't want to be doing forced reps or DC style static holds). The key is to keep it at around 2 sets, and not go overboard with 7-8 sets or something crazy like that. Besides, what can you achieve with set #3 that you can't achieve with set #1 or 2? Go to the gym on Monday and hammer out 2 heavy sets, come back Wednesday and hammer out two heavy sets, then Friday, 2 heavy sets. Instead of sitting on your ass all week trying to grow from that one overkill workout, you've now grown three times in the same time period.