Before you design your benching workout plan, you need to know your training goal. Bodybuilders are mainly concerned with increasing muscle size and maintaining body symmetry. Benching for strength requires a slightly different plan of attack than benching for muscle size, although many of the training factors are similar for both goals.
Results
Those who bench for bodybuilding are seeking different physiological results than those who bench for strength. You have to design your workout program to cater to your specific training goal. If you are a bodybuilder, your main concern is to increase muscle size, which is called hypertrophy. Your goal is to increase the size and amount of your muscle fibers.
If you are benching for strength, your main concern is to increase your ability to press more weight. In general, a larger muscle produces more force than a smaller muscle, but other factors contribute to strength, including increased neural recruitment and faster motor unit activation.
Sets and Repetitions
The National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends completing eight to 12 repetitions of an exercise for three to 10 sets if your goal is muscle hypertrophy. Rest one to 1.5 minutes between sets.
If your goal is to increase benching strength, do three to five sets, four to six repetitions each. Rest two to three minutes between sets. Once you can complete eight repetitions of the benching exercise for at least two consecutive training sessions, increase the weight by two to 10 percent.
Execution
A concentric contraction involves an active shortening of the muscle fibers. An eccentric contraction involves a lengthening of the fibers against resistance. For a benching exercise, an concentric contraction occurs when you press the weight, and an eccentric contraction occurs when you lower the weight. Whether your goal is to build muscle or increase strength, perform the benching exercise through a full range of motion with emphasis on both types of contraction. Do not allow the weight to simply fall with gravity; control the lowering of the weight.
Frequency
Regardless of your training goal, your muscles require rest to recover and improve. Never train your benching muscles two days in a row. The frequency of your benching workouts depends on your body split and your level of training experience. If you are a novice trainer, work your entire body two to three days per week. If you are an intermediate to advanced trainer, split your routine, working your entire body over two or three sessions. Intermediate trainees schedule three to four workouts per week; advanced trainees schedule four to six days per week. Depending on your body split, work your benching muscles two to three times per week.
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