I’ve been running the free Beginner Prescription for a few weeks which programs Bench day 1 for sets of 10 and day 3 sets of 8 on day 2 OHP at sets of 4. I’ve just purchased the Beginner Template on the app and see that the programming is different with OHP day 1 sets of 10 and day 2 sets of 4 with BP day 3 sets of 8. I know the app is new so I just want to verify that this isn’t a typo and I should be doing the OHP day 1 &2.
Thanks,
Brad
It’s not a typo per se’, but the default choices are meant to be changed by you, the user as you see fit. I don’t have any strong preference for benching or pressing 1x vs 2x/wk.
Thank you for the response! I appreciate all content and am really enjoying the program.
Awesome, glad to hear it!
Hello Doc,
I was pondering a very similar question! I do not own the Beginner Template yet, but I am starting the Beginner Prescription, as I have returning to training as a masters lifter (47 years old) after a long break. In studying over the Beginner Rx, I was perplexed as to why the Bench Press does not follow the same rep pattern as the squat and DL?? The squat has you using 4, 7, 10 reps over 3 days and the DL uses 4 & 8 reps over 2 days w/ rows in between.
BUT the BP uses 10 reps on M and 8 reps on F w/ OHP at 4 reps in between. Thus, why did you prescribe the reps on the BP so close at 8 & 10? I would think it might follow the same prescription as the DL at 4 & 8 reps—did this change with the addition of the Beginner Template? So as Bssapp mentioned above, would it be fine for me to move the reps on the BP to 4 on day 1 and 8 on day 3 or would you switch the days? In addition, what rep scheme would you recommend for the OHP on day 2?
Thank you for the clarification! My job ended at the end of February, so I cannot afford BT right now. However, I do plan to purchase it as soon as I start a new job. I greatly appreciate that you guys have made the Beginner Prescription available for free! Thank you!
Paul,
Thanks for the post. I hope I can answer this sufficiently.
In general, I like programming higher intensity and/or higher volume work for the upper body as compared to the lower body. I do not typically program SQ, BP, and DL the same and would not expect that to be the case. I also think 7 and 8 rep sets are pretty similar. However, I do think that conditioning becomes a bit more relevant to completing the training on the lower body lifts than the upper body lifts- hence the lower rep range.
Neither bench press or overhead press are prioritized in the Beginner Template and I don’t think that I would adjust any of the rep schemes or move any of the days. As a beginner or someone returning to lifting, I do not see an advantage to these changes. That said, you can change what you want and I won’t mind 
-Jordan
Thank you for responding Jordan! I appreciate you explaining your rationale on the higher volume/intensity on the bench. I will plan to keep things the same for now! 
Also, I would assume that after I complete phase 1 of the template (which is essentially the Beginner Rx), that the second phase of the BT would introduce a different volume or intensity on the bench???
Thanks and have a blessed day!
-Paul
One more thing…why do you feel the bench responds best (I assume this why you like to program this way) to higher volume or higher intensity? I find that the higher reps at 8 & 10 really challenge me, but I suspect this is due to being used to sets of 5 in my previous training.
Thanks again!
-Paul
Yes, all phases are different from one another
I think that the relatively short ROM, smaller amount of muscle mass being used dynamically, reduced absolute load, difference in muscle fiber types between upper and lower limbs, and a host of other biological, psychological, and perhaps sociocultural factors contribute. I don’t know that it’s true all the time, but it’s a hedge I’m comfortable with when programming for a wide swath of people.
Again, thank you for the detailed explanation!