Bench Press 3 x Week

B

bennos

0
I want to quicken the upper body (pecs, delts, biceps) development.

On a rountine of 3 weight training sessions per week. Is it going to hurt or help me to do bench presses on every weight training session a week regardless of which other muscle group I'm training for that day? So, pretty much bench presses 3 times a week!
 
I bench 3 times a week, but for strength. Don't be doing 3x10 3 times a week, you will be too sore. But what I have been doing lately is volume progression. My max bench is 150. So I set the intensity to 90%, the frequency to 3x a week m/w/f, and the volume progressing. Today I did 3x3 of 135 pounds on my bench and then next week I will do 3x4 of 135 pounds and so on. Eventually I should lift it 10 times and my max will be around 180. So bench pressing 3x a week really depends on your goals. If your going for strength/power go ahead but if your going for size hypertrophy you need more rest. Hope this helped.
 
You're probably too new of a trainee to be able to pull of 3x a week with a high volume. if you were sticking to 6 rep sets (i.e. building strength, not size) you could do it if you don't over do teh total number of sets.

eating right, and giving yourself time to recover, is going to be crucial.
 
Yes, I am a 'trainee' I just started doing some weights not long ago (a couple of weeks). I did do weight training in the past but after 6 months and not seeing much in terms of body change I gave up and thought it was just the way my body is. But after reading stuff here and other sites, I realised that I was not going about it the right way... wrong diet, training routine etc.

I say 'quicken' my developement as I don't see how training a group of muscles only once a week can achieve size growth. It just doesn't seem like enough... once a week?!
 
I do bench or mil press 3-4 times per week, but I am doing a full body routine. Look at my log or read around because this sounds like what you're looking for.
 
Thanks for the replies.

If I did nothing but bench presses (3 x week), I should notice a difference in my: pecs (most noticeable), delts and triceps (and a little on the biceps).

Does that sound about right?
 
If you do nothing but bench press 3x a week for a long period of time you would have a big chest, shoulders, and triceps with a weird looking back and skinny legs. If you don't injure your self because of muscle imbalances that is.

If you are going to work out you need to do everything or things just aren't going to turn out good. Not to mention muscle growth will be faster for every muscle in your body if you work your entire body out as opposed to only one part. Basically if you just do bench press your chest will grow, but if you do your whole body your chest will grow even faster, because it releases more muscle building hormones.

In response to your original question, I workout every body part at least 2 times a week, and usually 3 times a week. I'd recommend you look into doing a full body routine 3x a week. If you want to see some good growth you need to be hitting your muscles at least twice a week, and from everything I've heard/read three times is best.
 
Last edited:
I'm leaving town shortly, but here's an example of a fullbody workout you could do 3x a week (every other day). unless otherwise noted, you'll be working up to 4-5 sets per exercise, but start off with 1 warmup set and 1-2 working sets.

Squats
Bent over rows
Bench Press
Pull ups
Romanian deadlifts
Military Press
Close grip bench (only one or two sets)
barbell curls (probably only do these twice per week...do calf raises the other day)

that's really simple. start with hard compounds, then do a little isolation at the end.
After a couple weeks you could change the exercises a little, and do something like

Front squats or deadlifts
seated cable row
incline bench press
lat pull downs or chin ups
standing leg curls
tricep extensions (agian just a couple sets)
hammer curls (again, only 2 times a week, maybe toss in shrugs or a different calf exercise)

and do that two weeks. its the same types of movements, just slightly different exercises to keep the body growing and to keep you from getting bored.

you'd also work your abs a little at the end of each workout. they're like any other muscle, 2-3 times per week max. or you're overtraining them.

This routine should not leave you extremely sore. Just stiff the next day, and 48 hrs later you should feel fine. If you don't, wait another day before training.
We do less volume per session, but 3 sessions a week. Damage the muscle a little, repair it, repeat. Rather than once a week where you just destroy the muscle and then repair it. Veteran lifters, esp. bodybuilders, have to do that to keep the body growing. Novice lifters don't...just about anything should tear your muscle fibers enough to get them to repair with a slight increase in size, as long as your diet and recovery period allow for it.
 
Hey thanks melkore that sounds pretty good. I'll give it a go... after the new year's celebrations are over.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top