What I’ve learned from the Bench Press Program
I just completed a seven week, fourteen workout bench press training program. I took the time to write a blog post after every workout, since putting my thoughts in writing always helps reinforce what I learned. Now that’s its finished, I’ll summarize the entire experience in this post.
I started with a 1 rep max lift of 220. At the end I was able to do a single lift of 235. A hard-earned 15 pound strenth increase. But in this case, for me the journey through the program was a lot more valuable than the actual strenth gains. Encouraging, discouraging, amazing, disappointing, easy, hard, these are all words I’d use to describe my workouts at various times. It was a roller coaster ride, for sure. But it is an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything. Here’s what I’ve learned:
- When I started I thought I knew how to bench press. I was wrong, there is much more to doing a good bench press than I realized. I corrected flaws in my form during the program and now I can go on from here doing the bench press the right way.
- I can’t expect to have a great bench press workout every time. There are so many variables that go into it, from when and what you’ve eaten, to what muscles you worked out in your previous workout, to how much rest you’ve had. Everything has an impact on your strength and energy levels.
- Don’t dwell on the success or disappointment of the last workout. Treat every workout as a new opportunity to learn and grow.
- Focus on the lift you are doing and specifically the mechanics of the lift. Forget about how much weight is on the bar or what you next lift is going to be.
- I can make make better gains if I follow a training program and it is a whole lot better then just doing bench press on a random basis when I feel like it.
- Having a good spotter who understands when to step in and when to leave you alone can make a big difference.
- When benching I should rest between sets and not work out any other muscles. My best workouts were when I focused entirely on benching.
- A lot of people I see bench pressing have serious flaws in what they are doing!
- Getting support and encouragement from other lifters is important for your confidence. Many thanks to Jason and Dave for all their on-line support.
I’m going to build on what I’ve learned by doing this program again, probably to start off the new year. In the meantime I’ll do bench once a week to maintain my gains and I’ll do chest regularly to help add some mass so I’ll hopefully be stronger when I’m ready to give it a shot again!
