What's Up With My Bench, Man

Hey guys,

First some background info:
Male, 28yo
6’1", 202Lbs, 6’7"wingspan

I ran LP for nearly three months. Before running LP I had been training for about 9 months, doing various bro templates. That is the extent of my workout experience. My best 5 rep sets during LP are as follows:
Bench: 240
Press: 145
Squat: 355
Deadlift: 425

After running LP I ran the Bridge 1.0, then 3 day hypertrophy a couple times back to back (with some changes the second time). Late 2018 I tested my maxes:

Bench: 275
Press: 165
Squat: 405
Deadlift: 525

Then I ran bridge 2.0, then ran the first 5 weeks of 12 week strength (stopped due to work travel, excuse x, y z), and just finished 4 day hypertrophy.

Based on my training numbers, my one rep max for bench is roughly the same, press is trending downward but I’m not surprised based on volume, and my squat and deadlift are slowly trending upward.

My bench is lacking. I know I have super long arms, but that’s a bogus excuse. I don’t habitually over or undershoot rpe on bench variations, I don’t have any lagging injuries, and I’m certain my technique is dialed in. Am I missing something obvious here that can explain why my bench is lagging behind my other lifts? Should I think about doing some sort of additional bench programming plug-in?

Thanks for you input.

Did it progress at all during your 5 weeks of 12WS? Might want to try the 12WS template again, it has a good bit of bench work compared to the other templates. In weeks 5-8 it’s 4x/week, then in weeks 9-12 it’s 4 slots of bench in 3 days.

I wouldn’t try to compare lifts to other lifts as far as progress. I don’t think they’re going to progress at similar rates all the time for a variety of reasons. That being said, I’m trying to understand what the problem is, besides just wanting your bench to be bigger. If the latter is the case, then join the club :). I’d probably just keep training.

It looks like you put 35 pounds on your bench in ~6 months. Cry me a river :slight_smile:

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You said most recently you ran the hypertrophy template. That template really isn’t focused on driving your 1RMs up. Try running a peaking template before you test your maxes and see what that does for you.

And from my experience, if you want to bench more, you need to bench more.

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I know that you said your technique was dialled in, but here’s a contrary view: it may not be. My own experience is not dissimilar to your, inasmuch as my progress for bench had stalled (where squat and deadlift have both continued to trend upwards). I watched the BBM “Bench Press Prescription” video, among others. During the last month I’ve run a hypertrophy cycle with no heavy singles which has given me an oppotunity to mess around with my BP technique a lot.

With some experimentation, I came to a couple of conclusions about my bench press: 1. My setup was inconsistent - unlike squat and deadlift, I didn’t really have a setup ritual for bench. My back and feet placement were never in the same place twice (grip width was consistent due to marks on my barbell).
2. As a result of 1, I was mainly using my triceps and shoulders to press the bar (I was basically just doing a really heavy push-up). My pecs went largely unused and leg drive wasn’t really helping. I’ve spent a few weeks now concentrating on setting up for BP the same way EVERY time which puts me in a consistent position (grip, shoulders, back and feet). Secondly, I’m trying hard to “press with my chest” (which for me feels like I’m squeezing my pecs together while still keeping my scapulae retracted). It’s hard to describe, but it feels like a stronger technique and I’ve easily set a few new training PRs lately. My main point is: you might still have some slack to pull out of your technique.

Food for thought.

No, it really didn’t improve in those five weeks although there could have been other variables like nutrition, life stress etc. I am for sure going to run 12 week strength again in the near future.

I know, I’m just kind of frustrated because my bench peaked at the end of LP and hasn’t improved. Definitely going to keep training!

To be fair, those maxes I listed after LP are 5 rep maxes…so 240 for 5@ RPE 10, e1RM=280 :expressionless:

You’re right I really should have run a peaking template. You are definitely right about benching more. I guess what I am looking for is advice on how to add more bench volume…but first I need to run 12 week completely to see if that’s enough for my bench to progress.

Definitely going to consider this. I am very methodical with my set-up and it feels the same 99% of the time. But my leg-drive definitely doesn’t feel the same each set (or even each rep). Maybe I need to look into this more.

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