This is especially true for long-levered lifters who will have trouble building muscle with a barbell bench press. Due to the nature of the sumo deadlift; less range of motion, more vertical torso angle and more lower body and less back dominant, lifters can handle more overall volume and higher rep sets. High arch benchers, while being able to handle more volume, should look to achieve this through increasing their set count, rather than purely increasing the number of reps per set if they find their position changing increasingly throughout a set. That, of course, is the product of a hands-wide grip and a big arch. Conversely, being loose will detrimentally impact the maximum amount of weight that you can successfully press. However, this doesnt seem to be the same for the upper body. All Rights Reserved. As a result, the muscles are exposed to a larger amount of stress which will cause a greater neuromuscular adaptation. With the pyramid approach, you complete five sets of a chest exercise, five times per week. RPE stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion and involves grading the difficulty of an exercise. This involved lengthy and exhausting preparations, so she is now A name that cannot be overlooked when discussing the greatest squatters of today is Joe Sullivan. There are a number of different models such as linear, undulating, and block periodization (1). The athlete, however, the bar is pushed backward while simultaneously being pressed vertically. This site is owned and operated by PowerliftingTechnique.com. Certain pieces of equipment like Hammer Strength machines and lots of dumbbell work and weighted dips will give you better results for building muscle. Finally, lets consider the best grip to use. Changes in exercises are more effective than in loading schemes to improve muscle strength. Leading to more technique breakdown and unnecessary lower back stress. For maximal strength you want your whole body to contribute to the lift. Going too wide can put extra stress on the shoulder joint and going too close makes the bench more triceps dominant. If you're only using a trap bar for deadlifts, you're missing out. Those that struggle with performing consistent higher rep sets may look to increase the sets instead. Consider too that powerlifters sometimes bench three times a week, so the last thing they want is for their upper body to be sore from slow-tempo training. During strength focused periods of training, you are lifting loads that you can only do for 1-5 reps, so this rep range is a necessity as well. When it comes to hypertrophy, you don't need to devote as much focus to using your whole body to press. Before considering the pyramid program, lets first consider five key components of an effective bench press program.

Five to 15 reps are great for hypertrophy. Chris Stone is a Personal Trainer and Fitness Writer who lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. So adding in some type of paused bench press can be very beneficial for pec size. For powerlifting, the general rule of thumb is to get your hands as wide as possible to minimize the distance the bar has to travel. How you squat will also impact how many reps you should do. Note that this program is entirely focused on developing your bench press and upper body strength. In addition, Chris also enjoys writing on a range of health & fitness topics including strength training, plyometrics, and speed & agility training. You may need to slightly internally rotate the hands to ensure that the bar sits in the correct position. If you are benching 3 times a week, including a lower rep (1-5) day, a higher rep (6-10) day and a variation day that targets your weaknesses is a good place to start (this structure is called daily undulating periodization). However, even on the days where you feel tired, it is still important that you are lifting heavy enough to bring about change. For the intermediate to experienced lifter who's trying to focus completely on targeting the upper body and chest, you can also try the "feet up" variation to completely take the legs out of the equation. Its important to note that with the pyramid training, high frequency is maintained for the first few weeks. By assuming a tucked and tight position on the bench, you create a solid platform to press from and promote stability and leverage. A) The purpose of all accessories is to eliminate any weakness and facilitate improvement in bench press performance. As highlighted earlier, look to vary the accessory work that you perform and select exercises that target key benching muscles in the chest, back, and shoulders. To rectify this, really focus on pulling the shoulder blades back and down. The legs end up being the limiting factor rather than your lower back. Here are nine ways to tailor your training to match your goals. The same can be said about lifters with above averagely long arms for bench pressing, yet on the other side those same people will have shorter rep distances in the deadlift. Besides, it may just put on some muscle, and that ain't bad. Maintaining the correct technique throughout a set of 8 may be difficult and lead to more technical breakdown towards the end of a set. Load is harder to manipulate as when you increase load significantly, your volume tends to drop down due to your ability to perform sufficient sets and reps. There are no lower body exercises programmed into the plans. Further away from competition your goals may be to increase overall volume via reps, sets or overall weight lifted across the session or week, build more muscle, or work on technical changes. How much muscle you have can sometimes benefit you, but I've seen people that have very little muscle bench press over 350 pounds in raw competition. Jacob runs his coaching services atEST Barbell. While specificity and maintaining position under load is key for the bench press, I am an advocate of high rep and less specific bench press training for many lifters too. While periodization is now seen as an essential part of all lifters training programs, it wasnt always this way. Whether you are a powerlifter or not, developing your bench press will have a considerable impact on strength and movement. While this article is the complete guide on understanding reps for powerlifting, Ive written a lot about this topic elsewhere on the site. This article will provide detail on a bench-only pyramid program that has the potential to bring your strength to an entirely new level. That's why many bodybuilders prefer dumbbells. In addition, arching the back will shorten the range of motion and allows you to lift more weight. Pyramid training is the simplest way of combining percentages and RPE. When building muscle is the goal, a controlled negative is a very important factor in building muscle.

Taller lifters will typically favour a reduction in overall reps in their program, whereas shorter lifters can often handle higher overall volumes. Load it up and add it to any of your workouts with these moves. When you ask someone, "How much can ya bench?" For these sets, keep going until you reach an RPE of 10. However, many lifters may benefit from sticking to the lower ranges. For strength, the weight you lift is the biggest factor. Using the above tempo, the average set of 10 reps will last about 60 seconds. While this is not a rigid constraint, these ranges are used as they allow us to lift weights that are heavy enough to drive direct strength progress. Take-Home Message: For bodybuilding, the farther the bar travels, the better. Higher repetitions will benefit muscle growth and increasing work capacity, whereas lower reps will be better for maximal strength and competition. The squat will benefit from a variety of rep ranges. To do this most effectively, you will have to use microplates. Finally, note that the percentages used in the programs will correspond with an RPE. The goal should be to maximize hitting the muscle. The easier a variation is, such as touch and go or reduced ranges of motion the more it may suit a higher rep range prescription. Considering volume overall as reps, sets and load is also important beyond just increasing rep ranges. It's very simple, the less distance the bar has to travel, the better. A gym bench press is generally considered a touch and go rep. No pause. This distance travelled should be considered when programming rep ranges for powerlifting. Unfortunately, while there is an array of deadlift and squat programs, there are few effective bench programs. When looking to increase maximal strength or build into a competition, training will focus upon the 1-5 rep ranges. Lorenz, Daniel S.; Reiman, Michael P.; Walker, John C. (2010-11). However, for maximizing muscle gains, it's important to use both paused and non-paused reps in your training. After studying Sport Science at University, Chris established his own Personal Training business where he works with individuals aspiring to improve their mental health through physical activity. The excitement is quickly building up as John Haacks appearance is nearing. However, when used properly, it is undoubtedly a key piece of equipment that can help you make significant progress with your bench press. Isolation exercises (single muscle group) that aim to bring up weaker or comparatively smaller muscle groups, will be performed using 10-15 reps, and sometimes up to 20 reps per set. A high bar or safety bar squat has a more upright torso and is more leg dominant so is often more suited to higher rep ranges for the hinge dominant squatters. So, in contrast to conventional deadlifters I will potentially include sets of 6-8 reps for sumo deadlifters to accrue this volume more easily and often see the benefit to the skill practice that comes with higher rep training. The slingshot is a commonly utilized piece of benching equipment that allows you to handle heavier weights. Before beginning the program, it is imperative that you assess your one-rep max for bench. Take-Home Message: When it comes to building muscle, the weight lifted is only one factor of many. While the deadlift is prescribed with lower rep ranges, I like to incorporate higher rep training for the muscles in the deadlift through variations and deadlift accessory training. The main takeaway here is that increasing volume is key for driving muscle growth and that higher reps (6-12) are often the easiest way for us to accrue more volume across a training week. There are countless videos of people putting their bodies into such an extreme arch that they look like someone from a horror movie walking backwards down the stairs. This can be done either by completing a one-rep max test or through an estimation. Take-Home Message: To build more muscle in your chest, use a variety of bar training, dumbbell, machine, and dip work. That's why there's such a huge difference between a "gym PR" and a "powerlifting PR.". A 65 lifter performing a squat is going to be covering a lot more distance compared to a 55 lifter. High rep squats (8-15) can be very challenging and offer more downsides than benefits to some. This reduced range of motion and less distance traveled suggests they can handle more volume. With both approaches, you will complete a weekly total of twenty-five sets. The following table may be useful for understanding the relationship between percentages and RPE. Ideally, no movement should occur and you should feel grounded to the bench. A) As Many Reps As Possible. Tempo doesn't play much of a role in powerlifting because bar speed is very important for improving and maintaining strength. These exercises tend to place a demand on many smaller muscles and, therefore, heavy weight is not typically required. Typically, the muscles of the lower body respond well to low frequency and high volume. Some organizations call for the upper back and toes to be touching, while others like IPF call for the head, upper back, glutes, and feet to touch the bench. Its not uncommon to see 6-8 sets of 1-5 reps during this training period. On chest day, by the time you reach the final chest exercises, your performance will be suboptimal as a result of fatigue. Generating tension through the lats, glutes, and legs, will most certainly allow you to lift a greater load. Exercises such as the bench are far less taxing on the nervous system than squats or deadlifts. For building muscle, the weights don't much matter. Strength training primarily causes the neuromuscular system to adapt. In addition, third parties, including Facebook, may use cookies, web beacons, and other storage technologies to collect or receive information from PowerliftingTechnique.com and elsewhere on the Internet and use that information to provide measurement services and target ads. 11 Tips To Fix, Let us help you train successfully for powerlifting, How total volume may vary across training cycles and goals, How individual differences and lifts can impact rep ranges for powerlifting. For powerlifting, distance is largely the enemy (at least in meets). It is important to draw attention to the proper position of the elbow and shoulder during the bench press as some individuals experience pain here when benching.

While this technique takes time to learn, it is worthwhile doing so and can lead to a significant improvement in benching performance. Three sets of 8, 5 sets of 12, drop sets, and pyramid sets will build your upper body and keeping your training interesting. This will ensure that the most optimal progress is made. By running the above bench press pyramid programs, you will experience substantial improvements in upper body strength and bench performance. There are always exceptions to the rule, but for most people the Olympic bar isn't a great choice for building big, thick, dense pecs. PowerliftingTechnique.com is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. Compound exercises that can address specific weaknesses with your squat or bench press, but would be increasingly difficult to push to 12+ reps. When comparing the difference between a novice lifter and an athlete, the upward bar path phases look incredibly different. (Yes, Heres Why). The extreme volume combined with the increased load may increase the chances of sustaining or developing an injury. However, with powerlifting, most rules dictate that the bar has to remain "motionless" before the press command is given. While adding five to ten pounds to each exercise every week is not likely, you still need to gradually add load. Do Powerlifters Do High Reps? When it comes to powerlifting and lifting maximal weights, longer rest periods are better to maintain strength. 1 Take 1 second to pause at the bottom, X Lift the bar as explosively as possible, 1 Pause and squeeze the muscle for 1 second before starting the next rep. One of the most influential factors in the bench press is the amount of tightness you can generate.

Lets say you perform the same exercise every day and continuously add weight with each session. Breaking this up into multiple sets of 4 or 6 may actually allow them to get in the same amount of volume, while maintaining better technique across the session. Read our articles Best Rep Ranges For Squats (Science-Backed) and The Benefits of High Rep Squats to learn more. Training for hypertrophy is largely about increasing volume and time under tension, strength training focuses upon preparing the body to handle heavier loads from a neuromuscular perspective (how the muscles are performing) . By arching the back the shoulder blades retract which places the shoulders in a safer and more effective position for the bench press. Each of the following programs follows the same methodology but differ in length to allow you to select the plan that is most suitable. There's always a focus on rep ranges, percentages, and programming. When it comes to blasting your chest for growth, a shoulder-width, medium grip is generally best. Take-Home Message: Paused reps are part of the sport of powerlifting, but using both paused and non-paused reps can help bodybuilders grow muscle. For example, if you perform five reps at 200 pounds, your estimated one-rep max will be 233 pounds. Powerlifting is all about lifting as much weight as possible and that involves getting everything you can into your bench press. What's your goal when it comes to bench pressing? However, shorter-armed guys will fare better in this regard. If you are unsure if your elbows are tucked enough, video yourself performing a rep and watch it back. Take-Home Message: Less is more for bodybuilding, while rest is best for powerlifting. Lets say that with the bodybuilder approach, you complete twenty-five sets of a chest exercise one day per week. For bodybuilding, it's all about what position puts the most stress on the pecs. Controlling the weight and making the weight work the muscle is key for hypertrophy. One of the things that most newbies don't understand about a powerlifting bench press is the arch. Individual and lift differences should also be considered when discussing how many reps for powerlifting. Consider the traditional five-day bodybuilder split that focuses on targeting specific muscle groups each day. Compare this approach to a pyramid approach that allows you to train the bench press multiple times per week. Im sure youre familiar with the question how much can you bench?. By combining RPE and percentages, you can ensure that youre training at the right intensity. Your email address will not be published. You can also connect with him onInstagram. same with AMRAP, What weight is required for sling shot rep range, Your email address will not be published. Individual differences will affect how many reps you can and should do for powerlifting. Most lifters will benefit from lower rep range deadlifts. Their sets may vary from 1 set to sometimes 10 sets, but you won't often see powerlifting programs prescribing anything above 5 reps. But thats not all you need to know, so in this article Ill explain. This makes a powerlifting style bench press much harder. He noted that these athletes used different loads during the year rather than constantly maintaining a high intensity. are) will all influence the number of reps you should do. As the bench press is performed with more weekly volume and frequency (often 3+ sessions per week) compared to the squat and deadlift for most lifters this allows us to utilise a wider range of reps. Within your accessory work a leg press or leg extension can be used for training with the 8-15 ranges as well. Well, depending on the rules, it might be a good rep. He will compete at the 2022 WRPF American Powerlifting has a number of inspirational and motivational athletes, and John LaFlamme is certainly one of them. How To Taper For Powerlifting (6 Mistakes to Avoid), squat will benefit from a variety of rep ranges, Best Rep Ranges For Squats (Science-Backed). In this section, we will break down the bench press technique and provide direction to ensure that you are performing the exercise most optimally. That's why the set up and proper body positioning is so important. While most training programs are focused on percentages, RPE-based training is gradually becoming more and more popular. While I recommend including an element of lower rep pressing (1-5 reps) across most of your training cycles, I believe lifters benefit from spending time working through pressing in some form of higher rep ranges (6-10). For growth, a shoulder-width, medium grip is best. The key is to find the perfect position that feels good for you and that actually works your chest. They present grip issues, and even with straps, holding onto the bar for higher reps is increasingly hard. This involves using a weight that allows you to complete a maximum of five repetitions. you always hear the craziest numbers because most people will use their rib cage to bounce the bar and create a slingshot action. This is not all that powerlifters do within their training though. When it comes to bench pressing for building muscle, the arch is pretty much a big waste of time and defeats the purpose. Your goal will dictate your reps, sets, tempo, load, and much more. Resting 3-5 minutes is a minimum between heavy sets, while waiting up to 10 minutes for some of the heaviest lifts is fairly common. On this blog we share all the things we wish we knew when getting started. Most powerlifters will use a rep range of 1-5. Email: sm(at)fitnessvolt.com Disclosure: FitnessVolt.com has an affiliate relationship with different brands and is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Studies have shown that changing up resistance exercises regularly is an effective method of improving strength and avoiding plateaus (2). The only time a powerlifter will bench light is if the programming calls for it. This is as they are more fatiguing and harder to perform for higher rep ranges than this. So, to increase volume you can look to increase sets, reps, or load (not just reps as most people would think). In this triceps extension variation, lower to your nose for 10 reps, then to your forehead for 10 reps, then behind your head for 10 reps. Maybe you're a bodybuilder through and through, but you still ought to know how to do some of the "old time" training methods like the split style. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. This is sometimes taken to the extreme. If you are a more hinge dominant squatter (more bent over and a lower torso angle) then high rep squats are unlikely to be ideal for you. If the bar has only to touch the body and then go back to an arms-locked position, you want to minimize distance. This is part 1 of a story about one man's journey into the cult of powerlifting. The reason for this is to allow fatigue to accumulate and improve your work capacity. An opposite rep range is the key for people who want to get supremely strong on the bench. By lifting heavy weight, neural pathways are strengthened and more force can be generated as a consequence. A) Five Rep Max. Powerlifters will work through a range of repetitions and intensities in their training cycles. Conversely, on days where you feel fatigued and lethargic, it also allows you to reduce some of the demand where appropriate. Instead, the bench appears to develop most optimally by using a high frequency, low volume approach. For many lifters I often recommend sticking in the 1-8 rep ranges for squats, and looking to train the higher rep ranges through more squat variations and accessory work. As you will likely be aware, lifting heavy weight is best for developing serious strength (3). When it comes to a bodybuilding style bench press, there's no need for commands and most often you won't see paused reps. Ideally, the bar should sit in the meaty part of the hand with the fingers tightly gripping the bar. Differential Effects of Heavy Versus Moderate Loads on Measures of Strength and Hypertrophy in Resistance-Trained Men. There are five to choose from a four, six, eight, ten, and twelve-week training program. In order to create the most solid position, apply the following coaching points: A useful method of checking whether or not you are tight enough is to have someone nudge you while on the bench. Read our article How To Taper For Powerlifting (6 Mistakes to Avoid) to learn the specifics of tapering for a competition and how reps change. Heavier loads also increase the chances of technical breakdown, so lower reps are more suited as it is easier to maintain position and technique for 1-5 reps than 6-12 under these heavier loads. Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level, 2022 T Nation LLC. For the majority of lifters, I will look to increase set counts rather than rep counts to increase overall volume, adding sets in the 1-6 rep ranges rather than including sets of 6+. However, a key difference is that volume is seen to taper more in the lead up to a competition. Schoenfeld, Brad J.; Contreras, Bret; Vigotsky, Andrew D.; Peterson, Mark (2016-12-01). With the novice, the bar is pushed in a vertical fashion. If your goal is mainly to build a bigger chest, then use a wide variety of reps, anywhere from 1 to 15. The best rep ranges for increasing strength are 1-5 reps. If you experience elbow pain when performing the bench press, it is likely that your joints are not aligned. A) While you wont experience the benefits of overloading the muscles, exercises can still be performed without a slingshot to add volume. Those with increased ranges of motion, think your short armed deadlift or long armed bench presser, will favour slightly reduced volumes whereas your long armed deadlifter or short armed bench presser can aim for increased volumes. Creatine For Women: Should Women Take Creatine? So how does your training phase and goals specifically affect how many reps you do? Varying exercises can also prevent overuse injuries. Not only does stacking the joints prevent pain and reduce injury risk, but it also gives you a biomechanical advantage. Jacob Wymer is a powerlifting coach and PhD Candidate in Biomechanics and Strength and Conditioning, researching the application of barbell velocity measurements to powerlifting. All Rights Reserved. To estimate your one-rep max use a weight that allows you to complete three to five reps and then use the following equation: One Rep Max = (Weight x Repetitions) / 30 + Weight. Paused reps allow a controlled stretch of the muscle. Therefore, increasing our overall rep or set count is far easier to increase overall volume. Periodization. over and over. However, maintaining this position becomes increasingly difficult throughout higher rep sets. Do you want to be a powerlifter or do you want to be a bodybuilder? Sports Health. pause squats, narrow grip bench, deficit deadlifts), leading up to a competition, you will want to perform the lower rep training in the competition movements only (squat, bench press, and deadlift). The best rep ranges for growing muscle are higher repetitions between 6-12 reps. With these higher rep sets it is easier to accrue more total volume and time under tension (how long the muscles are worked for under load), which are key for muscle hypertrophy. Before doing so, we must address the idea that arching the spine during the bench press is dangerous and should be avoided. Take-Home Message: If you're trying to get strong, go as wide as you can without pain to minimize distance (not always the case, but for most people). When it comes to strength, 1-5 reps are best and doing 3-5 reps for most of your training will keep you strong and healthy. The squat, bench press and deadlift all have their own considerations for the rep ranges used by powerlifters. The more difficult a variation is, be that technically or via tempo, pauses or similar constraints, the more it will favour a lower rep range. Take-Home Message: When it comes to bench pressing for powerlifting, big weight starts with the set up and a good set up always makes a good lift. Are Powerlifters Stronger Than Bodybuilders? PowerliftingTechnique.com also participates in affiliate programs with Clickbank, CJ, ShareASale, and other sites. If you find that the primary exercises have depleted your energy levels, focus on light weight, and treat these isolations as active recovery. 2. The bar path will have a big impact on the feel of the movement. For a more detailed breakdown of the bench press, check out this informative video by Calgary Barbell: Evidently, the set-up is critical, however, the lowering and drive phases will ultimately dictate whether or not you are successful in lifting the weight.