Increasing my Bench Press weight

Player_86

Hi,

I'm new to the gym and have been given a programme involving benching 3 sets of 15 at 40kg.

Now that's not much I know, and I'm looking to increase it steadily. Should I increase it by 5kg per week perhaps, or is that too much/too little?

I'm a reasonably fit 22 year old male who wants to build upper body strength without gaining too much bulk.

Thanks.

kumate_champ07

3by8 or 5by5 would be better imo

the bulk will come from your diet. eat more and you will get bigger, eat the same and you will stay the same weight. (calories burned thru exercise/activity will also effect this)

and what about lower body strength?

Player_86

I'm doing squats for the lower body strength. I play football and rugby so I've always had quite good lower body strength and fitness.

So, do you think 5x5/8x3 at 40kg, or should I up that? I can do 3x15 at 40kg without too much difficulty, so is that indicative that it's time to up the weight?

**Timbuk2**

If you're doing 5x5, you might be able to take a higher weight than if you are doing 3x15

Remember, you should just fail on the last rep. If you are doing 5x5 and feel that you could push out 8/9 reps, you probably need to up the weight. If you're upping the weight for the first time, have someone spot you just to make sure.

I see a lot of people using the Smith machine for chest press so as they don't need a spot, but I don't like the Smith machine at all for some reason

kumate_champ07

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

If you're doing 5x5, you might be able to take a higher weight than if you are doing 3x15

Remember, you should just fail on the last rep. If you are doing 5x5 and feel that you could push out 8/9 reps, you probably need to up the weight. If you're upping the weight for the first time, have someone spot you just to make sure.

I see a lot of people using the Smith machine for chest press so as they don't need a spot, but I don't like the Smith machine at all for some reason

you should only be 'failing' on the last rep of the last set with a 5by5. you have to keep a balance between volume and intensity otherwise you are overtraining.

you can use a power cage if you dont have a spotter for bench, set the bars at each side to the appropriate height

40kg 3by15 might convert to 65kg 5by5, maybe even more. always lift as heavy as you can go(with proper form)

NoQuarter

Op i shot up from lifting 40kg to 82kg in around 3 months by benching every third day, when i could bench say 4/5 reps of one weight id throw on another 5kg the next time and try that.

Also i benched every set till i failed, so id get to the gym, if the most id benched before was 60kg id throw on 65kg, try get one rep, then onto 60 till i failed, then on to 50 till i failed etc etc

Worked extremely well for me anyways!

kumate_champ07

Player_86 wrote: »

I can do 3x15 at 40kg without too much difficulty, so is that indicative that it's time to up the weight?

without difficulty you are not training, you are just moving weight. its got to be as hard as you can make it so your body is forced to adapt