For those of you unfamiliar with my name, I am a national level Strongman competitor in the United States. I lift stones weighing just under 400 pounds, routinely move a 900-plus-pound tire, and lift logs above my head. I eat normal food and drink a protein powder, that’s it. My strength comes from my training, and that is why you can benefit from my programs. This program and the weights used are representative of my strength several years ago. With this and other programs, my strength has soared to new heights, and so has yours!

This is a program that I have used in the past when I have not been lifting for a while and wanted to get back into bench shape as quickly as possible. They are heavy singles 3-4 times a week for as long as it works, which is usually 3-5 weeks. If you haven’t lifted anything in a while, you’ll need to do a couple of lighter bench workouts under your belt before embarking on this program. With that said, let me take you through the first time I used this program and show you what I learned about it.

When I started this program, my previous best shirtless bench was 445. After taking some time off, I couldn’t go past 385 for a couple of months. I started this program planning to bench 4-5 times a week, or basically as often as I could without overtraining. The first day I warmed up to 135 for a few reps, then 225, 315, and 365. At that point I could feel I was close to my high for the day. Since the idea was to do several singles near my max, I did 385 and then a couple more singles at 365. Some days I didn’t do any assist work, and other days I did some tricep and bicep work. The main program is just weighing in near the singles high several times a week on the bench press. I repeated that workout 4 times that week and the weight seemed to feel a little lighter by the end of the week.

When Monday came around, I was able to do 405 for 2 singles, 385 for 2 singles, and 365 for 6 more singles. I got 405 in each of the other 3 workouts that week, but my total number of sets was more like 4 or 5 singles each workout instead of 10. I felt like I could have done a bit more weight in a couple of exercises. occasions, but he didn’t want to overtrain.

The following week I was surprised when I pressed 435! I mean, I know I had done 445 in the past, but I was stuck at 385 for a couple of months and in just 2 full weeks of this program I had already gained 50 pounds! The next day I woke up 440 and was starting to really believe in this crazy program. I only did one more workout that week and only went up to 405 to be fresh for next Monday.

On Monday, after 3 full weeks on the program, I lost 450 pounds without any support equipment. That’s an all-time personal best of 5 pounds, and 65 pounds more than the 385 I had been stuck at for 2 months! I couldn’t believe it and wanted to stay on this show forever. It was then that I discovered that this program was only effective for a short time.

It is very difficult for the body to deal with the stress of doing a heavy bench 4 times a week. Suddenly 405 seemed heavy and it was obvious to me that I had reached the point where I needed to reduce my bench to once or twice a week again. Now I know the common belief is that all programs work for a while, but let’s face it: very few programs can boast a 20 or 30 pound strength gain in just a few weeks, much less 65 pounds. I also admit that it is much easier to regain strength than to gain it in the first place. My experience is that while it’s easier to regain your strength, it’s amazing to be able to break a plateau and set a personal record in just 3 weeks. Especially when the 3 week gain is 65 pounds!

I am currently testing a variation of this program with a friend who is serving in the Armed Forces in the Middle East at the moment. I will write another article about what we learn, when I return later this year.

Until next time,

Lift hard and lift heavy!