I was looking to get a bit more perspective on bench press progression. This is something that keeps popping up in my head quite regularly.
When I catch someone in my gym either squatting or deadlifting much more than me…it makes complete sense based on my own progression rate, I totally understand how they got there, and that I will likely be where they are in the not too distant future.
But with bench press, theres something i just cant put my finger on… I see guys much lighter than myself benching my goal weight of 225 for reps, the reason some of these examples dont make sense is because I never see them actually"train" bench, its usually done every now and again almost as a group social event with laughing and carrying on between sets, and most of the time the guys are doing “bodybuilding” style excercises, I.E dumbells and lots of isolation work.
So just a couple of questions that might make things clearer.
I know Austin spoke about his end of LP squat weights, I can relate to these. But what did you guys bench progress look like during and post LP?
I was reading somewhere else that bench progress is somewhat related to overall bodyweight.
I.E for someone that weighs 140lbs, then a 225 bench is impressive, but for someone that weighs 230lbs then 225 is not so impressive. I weigh 236lbs, so is a 225 bench for 5 reps realistic to hit after say…12 months of traiining, which is my current progress.
Is there a “rough” ratio of squat/deadlift/bench numbers where something might not look right, I.E (an exagerrated example and not my numbers)
Squat 5 rep max at 160kg
Deadlift 5 rep max at 210kg
Bench 5 rep max at 75kg (would this be out of synch with squat and deadlift?)
Does an improvement in lower rep ranges (1-4reps) carry over to an improvement in the 5 rep range or are they pretty different and all progress individually?
During the bridge noticed higher numbers at the lower rep ranges which I maybe foolishly assumed would carry over to my fives during PB1, but my progress on fives seems to be pretty stagnant, maybe even slightly regressed.
Ive got to admit though that these are slightly ego driven questions due to spitting the dummy out regarding bench progress, but none the less the answers will help me understand realistic progress.
More people in the gym have bench pressed somewhat consistently than they have squatted or deadlifted, even if it doesn’t fulfill the made-up criteria to be called “training.” There’s also some transference from DB and isolation work to other movements, so I wouldn’t write those off either. For your questions:
I never ran an LP, but I believe Austin was ~200 or just under.
Heavier people lift more weight than lighter people, in general, yes.
Not really, no.
1 to 4 is similar enough to 5 reps where I’d expect a lot of transference.
I would expect the Bridge to carry over to Powerbuilding I and there is a lot of direct and indirect work for pressing there. If you’re not progressing week-to-week or every other week, I’d take a look at how you’re approaching load selection and then the program itself.
No I don’t. However, it should be clear that the results of an LP (or any single program) are not predictive of future success. Who cares if you squat 315 in a 5 months if you never squat 500?
As someone else who is struggling with bench progression, may I ask what you mean in your answer to the first post that you would look at the load selection? Could you give an example?
To be honest I didnt really get my form right, until midway through the bridge, when I started using lower reps.
If I had my current form during LP, then I guess I could have finished my LP bench progress in a better position, which whould have carried through to bridge and PB1.
But im sure il get there in the end.
P.S Just another quick question based on my bench load selection.
On Week1, I chose to attempt 75kg for my RPE 8 set, but it ended up being an RPE 9.
Week 2 I attempted it again just to make sure, but rated an RPE 10 (i had to lift my but off the bench to press it back onto the hooks.
Week 3 I deloaded to 72.5kg, which I rated as RPE 8.5.
Would it make sense for me to persevere at 72.5kg for my 5 rep top set for however many weeks until I can get It down to RPE 8 before I consider going up to 75kg again.
Or should I play it safe and deload further to 70kg, which I guess would be around RPE 7.5-8.
I think a better process would be to do 60 x 5, then 65 x 5, and use the rating for both of those to tell you what your top set of 5 should be. It’s okay to have goal weights for each workout, but the warm-up should tell you what you should load instead of a calculator.
I think it’s really hard to beat ramp-up sets if we’re struggling with picking the top set. I’m okay if your top set is a little lower, but more consistently accurate, from using ramp-up sets.
Kl mate, so basically its better to keep the same reps for the ramp up sets as the work sets.
Would this be the same for higher rep sets/lifts?
For example on day 2/wednesday ive got belts squats, 10 reps at RPE 9. Ive been warming up in sets of 5 for these to keep some juice in the tank for the two sets of 10 because I know already what my RPE 9 will be. So in this case I should still be ramping up in sets of 10, and maybe have to settle for a lower weight top set?
Yes, I think ramp-up sets are useful for nearly all applications where weight selection needs a bit of work. I think if conditioning is an issue, you’ll end up getting used to it and gaining some fitness along the way