The bench press seems to be the bench mark for all gym users in terms of strength. Whenever you’re asked “how much do you lift”, it’s referring to bench pressing 99% of the time. So since this is the exercise that most of us love to base our strength levels on, I’m going to base this article on how to improve this one lift.
Let me first dispel a myth that seems to be the most common of all perceived ways to improve strength gains. As a youngster, I know I and many of my friends certainly fell into this routine:
Day 1 – Chest and Biceps
Day 2 – Chest and Biceps
Day 3 – Chest and Biceps
Day 4 – Chest and Biceps
Day 5 – Chest and Biceps
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I did this for a solid 4 – 5 months and was shocked when I made little or no progress on my lifts, and ended up with quite a serious shoulder injury. The sad reality is that this is 99% of gym users approach to improving chest strength, and is literally an injury waiting to happen. The difference between my routine now and then is the knowledge I now have. When you do weight training, what you’re doing is essentially tearing apart your muscle. When your muscle rebuilds, it comes back stronger, leaner and harder. The reason that the above routine is so bad for you is that this rebuilding process takes a full 48 hours to complete. If you train the same muscle group again within these 48 hours you are doing a lot more harm than good.
On that note, let’s move onto one of the correct ways of strengthening your chest. I say one of the correct ways as many different trainers will have their own preferred techniques here. I’m simply giving you what has worked for me and many of my clients. Firstly, structure your program so that you’re doing something along these lines:
Day 1 – Chest / Chest and Triceps
Day 2 – Legs / Quads
Day 3 – Back / Back and Biceps
Day 4 – Legs / Hamstrings and Calves / Day Off
Day 5 – Shoulders
I give you these options because there will be a wide variance in terms of lifting experience in those reading this article. If you are highly advanced, then go with chest / quads / back / hamstrings / shoulders. If you are less advanced, then chest / legs / back / day off / shoulders may be the best routine for you. Just make sure that you don’t try reach too far if you are not able for it, doing this is literally asking for an injury.
On your chest day, drop the barbell and pick up the dumbbells. These bad boys are a much more beneficial way of training your chest. Plan your chest workout like below:
Exercise Sets Reps Rest Period
Incline Dumbbell Press 3 8 – 12 30 – 60 seconds
Incline Cable Flies 3 12 – 15 30 – 60 seconds
Seated Tricep Extensions 3 8 - 12 30 – 60 seconds
Flat Dumbbell Press 3 8 – 12 30 – 60 seconds
Flat Cable Flies 3 12 - 15 30 – 60 seconds
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Week 1
Let’s say you can press the 15kg dumbbells for 12 reps. For set 1 and 2 use the 15kg dumbbells. For set 3, go up to the 17.5kg dumbbells (or whatever the next weight up is). Don’t worry about getting to 12, just push out as many reps as you can. If you can get 12 then great, but if not, there’s no panic.
For the next 4 exercises, do the exact same.
Week 2
You finished on 17.5kg dumbbells last week, so this week you do set 1 with the 15kg dumbbells. Sets 2 and 3 are done with the 17.5kg dumbbells. Aim for 12 reps on set 2 and as many as you can get for set 3.
For the next 4 exercises, use the same format.
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Week 3
This is where the big improvements start occurring. Start set 1 with your 17.5kg dumbbells. Set 2 and 3 are done with the 20kg dumbbells.
Again, use the same format for the next 4 exercises.
Week 4
Set 1 is done with the 20kg dumbbells. Set 2 and 3 with the 22.5kg dumbbells. Same format for the next 4 exercises.
In just 4 short weeks, you will have added 15kg to your dumbbell chest press. Continue this trend for another 4 weeks. If you find a jump in weight is too difficult or too easy, move the weight up or down depending on the scenario.
Give this routine a try. Do it properly and have your nutrition correct, you will see big jumps in your strength levels. As always, any questions regarding this article or any other aspects of your training, feel free to contact me at the links below. Stay healthy guys!
Written by Maurice Walsh, BSc of Exercise and Health Studies
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About the author
Maurice works as a personal trainer and lifestyle transformation coach at The Gym, Rathgar. He also works as a physique model. To get in contact with Maurice regarding training and nutrition go to www.facebook.com/totaltransformationfitness
To follow Maurice on Facebook, visit www.facebook.com/maurice.walsh87
