Week Long Strength Program- Thursday

The focus of this day is every gym bros favourite exercise- bench press. No other upper body exercise allows you to shift as much weight, so apart from being great for the ego, it is a great strength exercise. Being a push exercise, your triceps, shoulders and chest are obliterated, but you still need your core and back to brace, making it a true compound exercise.

I do have something to say about technique here though, especially when large numbers are involved. This is the arching of the back. We have all seen it, that one person who arches their back enough to look like a disfigured banana, have another person unrack the bar, and then they move it 1 inch and count it as a rep. That is not a rep. The only person in the gym you are accountable for is yourself, so why lie? Now that I have had my rant, I will show you the program.

Bench Press- 5,5,5,4,3
Machine Chest Press- 3x12
One arm machine press- 3x8 each side
Dumbbell chest fly- 3x15
Tricep pushdown- 3x5 then 3x10
Skullcrusher- 3x10

The emphasis of the triceps is because of just how important they are to big bench presses. With weak triceps, you will never get big numbers regardless of how strong your chest is, they are sort of an incredibly important link in the chain. The unilateral press builds an incredible amount of core strength, but also allows for increased mind muscle connection which I believe contributes to strength greatly. I shouldn’t have to add this, but make sure you have a spotter.

Have fun chasing your gains!