Can Daily 1RM Training Boost Your Bench Press? Surprising Results from a Recent Study!
Have you ever wanted to test your bench press maximum every time you hit the gym?
Conventional wisdom might advise you to bench press heavy once or twice a week to allow sufficient recovery between sessions. But a recent study suggests that bench pressing to a daily maximum every single day might just work, even for those of us who aren’t competitive lifters.1
Inspired by a previous study that found significant strength improvements in competitive squatters from daily 1RM squatting, researchers investigated if the same method could boost bench press strength in physically active, recreational lifters.2
The Study: What Did They Do?
Seven physically active participants (3 male and 4 female college students) took on a challenging 38-day daily bench press protocol. Their diet wasn’t controlled, but each participant supplemented with daily creatine and caffeine (pre-workout), plus protein post-training.
Each day, they tested their 1RM (one-rep maximum) bench press, then followed up with five heavy volume sets (either 5 sets of 3 reps at 85% of their daily max, or 5 sets of 2 reps at 90%).
After 34 days of maxing out the bench press, the participants tapered briefly, rested for two days, and then tested their final 1RM on day 38 during an informal competition.
Impressive Results
By the end of the program, all seven lifters made impressive gains.
The participants increased their bench press 1RM by an average of 29.23% in just 38 days.
Here are some standout improvements:
- Participant 5 boosted their bench from 170 lbs to a massive 240 lbs (+41%).
- Participant 4 jumped from 115 lbs to 160 lbs (+39%).
- Even Participant 7, who already had a strong bench (255 lbs at the start), pushed it to 290 lbs (+14%).
However, the gains came with a price.
This regimen of bench pressing their maximum weight every day for over a month wasn’t easy and led to fluctuations in daily strength, periods of decline due to fatigue, and even instances of training-related discomfort or pain.
Despite this, the participants hung in there, maintaining an impressive average adherence rate of 90%.
Peak performances occurred at different points, not necessarily at the end, illustrating how strength gains aren’t linear.
Gender Differences?
While the males saw greater absolute increases (averaging +50 lbs compared to females’ +34 lbs), the relative strength gains were nearly identical between genders (~29% improvement for both).
Females even showed slightly steadier progressive increases across the study period, suggesting daily max training can effectively drive strength gains for everyone, regardless of gender.
These results are in line with a new meta-analysis that showed that males and females build muscle at similar rates:
Who Builds Muscle Faster – Males or Females?
Takeaways: Is Daily 1RM Training Worth It?
This study suggests that daily high-intensity 1RM training, supported by adequate nutrition and supplementation, can increase your strength significantly.
However, the demanding nature of this kind of training may not be sustainable long-term or appropriate for everyone. If you’re considering this approach, you’ll have to carefully manage fatigue and recovery and monitor for signs of overuse. For example, several participants in this study reported shoulder or triceps discomfort, causing them to miss training sessions or volume sets.
And with just seven lifters, these results need replication in larger studies to better gauge effectiveness and safety. And while they had experience lifting recreationally for wellness, they weren’t experienced bench presses, meaning some gains could reflect neuromuscular adaptations rather than long-term program effectiveness and “real” strength gains.
Regardless, the results were impressive for sure!
Should You Bench Every Day?
If you’re plateaued, bored, or simply curious, daily 1RM bench pressing might lead to fast and impressive strength increases, at least short-term, if managed carefully.
However, consider these practical recommendations if you’re tempted to try:
- Gradually adapt to frequent high-intensity lifts; jumping into daily max attempts without preparation risks injury or burnout. You want to be fairly well-trained before trying it.
- Pay close attention to recovery. Sleep, nutrition, and managing stress become critical with such a demanding training schedule.
- Listen to your body carefully. Pain or persistent fatigue indicates you may need to back off, adjust volume, or incorporate more rest days. And you likely have to cut back on your usual workout routine while following a program like this.
- Using this approach occasionally as a “shock” phase rather than a year-round strategy is probably a good idea.
Ultimately, the results of this study suggest that specific, frequent, and intense practice drives rapid strength adaptation. So if your main goal is quickly building your bench press—or squat, for that matter—a daily max approach might just be worth a try.
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If you don’t want to bench press every day but still get stronger in this classic lift, check out one of our bench press programs. Beginner, intermediate, or advanced—you’re guaranteed to find a suitable bench routine in the StrengthLog workout log app, which you can download for free with the buttons below:
References
- Journal of Exercise Physiology Online, 2025, Vol 28, Issue 1, p1. Efficacy of Daily One-Repetition Maximum Bench Press Training in Physically Active Males and Females.
- Nutr. Hosp. 2016, vol.33, n.2, pp.437-443. Efficacy of daily one-repetition maximum training in well-trained powerlifters and weightlifters: a case series.
