Was it a long time since you broke a personal record in the bench press?
Does it feel like you have reached a plateau in your strength and are not moving forward?
Few things are more satisfying than the feeling of bench pressing a heavier weight than you have ever lifted before. The sad part is when these moments of progress are separated by too much time.
Sometimes several months. Or years.
This is where Bench Press Boogie comes into the picture.
Bench Press Boogie is our six-week training program that makes you stronger in the bench press and includes complete upper body training.
It’s one of our most popular programs, having helped thousands of lifters become stronger in the bench press. And on all levels: from beginner up to the elite level.
We offer the program at four levels: from 2 to 5 workouts per week, depending on your training status.
Progress Begins with a Clear Plan
This program is for you who have not seen any clear progress in the bench press in several months or longer.
Do you recognize this situation?
- You come up with a great training plan.
- You start checking off the workouts. You’re moving forward for a few weeks, until you…
- …suddenly begin to adjust the plan before each session. Before you know it, you’ve completely forgotten your clever idea of how you were supposed to train, and you’re back at square one.
The above is typical.
It is possible to keep spinning your wheels in this frustrating manner for years without ever getting anywhere. I’ve tried it.
You can go to the gym, do your workouts, keep a workout log, and know all the essential theories, but your 1RM stands painfully still.
Strength training is not complicated, but once you have reached a certain level, progress starts to come slow for most people – unless they have a plan for how to train.
It does not have to be rocket science, but it requires some consideration of:
- when your training volume should increase,
- when it should decrease,
- and when you should increase the weights.
In Bench Press Boogie, we’ve done this planning for you.
The training program is roughly divided into a developmental training phase with high training volume, followed by a strength phase with slightly lower volume but heavier weights.
We’ve written the program so that you can train it continuously if you’d like, doing several six-week cycles in a row. Alternatively, you could deload by doing one or two weeks of light training after every completed cycle before rolling up your sleeves and doing another round.
When we ran a test cycle, the test pilots saw an average improvement of their 1RM of 5.5% after a single round.
90% of all who followed the program improved their 1RM.
Are you tired of standing still in strength and ready to train hard and structured for six weeks to come out on the other side as a bigger and stronger bench presser?
Do like thousands of other lifters: download our app StrengthLog and follow Bench Press Boogie!
Four Different Programs – Which Should You Choose?
The training frequency increases from two up to five bench press workouts per week in the four programs. A high training frequency enables high training volume, which you’ll take advantage of.
In the two-day program, you do an average of 20 working sets of bench press per week (10 sets per session). You’ll do 26 sets per week in the three-day program, 40 sets per week in the four-day program, and 49 sets of bench press per week in the five-day program.
In addition, there is optional supplemental training for your entire upper body.
Not all training programs are suitable for everyone.
Doing large, rapid increases in training volume is like asking for overtraining injuries. Conversely, if you are already at a high training level and take a big step down in training volume, it is unlikely that the training will be a large enough stimulus to produce new training results.
I recommend that you step in on the same number of weekly bench press workouts you are currently used to, or one step higher.
- If you are currently only doing one bench press workout per week, begin with the 2-day program.
- If you are currently doing two bench press workouts per week, begin with the 2- or 3-day program.
- If you’ve been doing three bench press workouts per week for a while now and plateaued, it might be time to give the 4-day program a spin.
- Are you used to very high training volumes and have been training the bench press four times per week for (at least) several months, then a fifth workout per week might be what it takes to push your results to the next level.
Don’t bite off more than you can chew by hopping on a training program with higher volume than you have the capacity for. That will only slow you down in the long run when you have to take time off because of overuse injuries.
If you start with the 2-day program, you can gradually work your way up through the programs. When you feel that your body is ready to handle more volume, move up to the next level. Keep at this for several cycles, and you’ll see excellent results.
Bench Press Boogie – 2 Days/Week
Bench Press Boogie – 2 days/week is the runt of the litter but also the program that carries the most concentrated punches. You only train two workouts per week, but each session is quite voluminous. The two workouts alternate between slightly lighter and slightly heavier weights to build a broad base capacity and a high peak in strength.
In addition to bench pressing, you also do accessory work for the chest, triceps, and upper back every workout. Together, this makes it a pretty comprehensive upper body program. However, to save time, we have omitted isolated training for your biceps and your lateral and rear deltoids. You can add this yourself if you feel like it.
The 2-day program offers solid training every time you are in the gym, covering most of your upper body training.
Who is it for?
- You who have previously only trained the bench press once or twice a week and want to follow a structured plan to become stronger.
- You who are used to training the bench press often, but are looking for a time-efficient training program where you only bench press twice a week.
Bench Press Boogie – 3 Days/Week
Bench Press Boogie – 3 days/week means you’ve climbed one rung on the ladder of bench press gains. The number of bench press workouts per week increases from two to three, and the training volume increases by 30%. The load (% of 1RM) varies between the three sessions, and you’ll do both low reps with heavy weights and high reps with light weight. This combination will increase your strength and muscle mass and simultaneously help keep the training interesting and fun.
Depending on the session, each workout begins with bench press training, followed by extra work for your chest, triceps, upper back, biceps, and lateral delts.
This program offers robust bench press training combined with comprehensive upper body training – everything you need to become a bigger and stronger bench presser.
Who is it for?
- You who have been training the bench press two or three times a week for a while and now want a clear plan to become stronger.
- You who are looking for a complete upper body strength and hypertrophy program, with a focus on bench pressing.
Bench Press Boogie – 4 Days/Week
In Bench Press Boogie – 4 Days/Week, things are getting serious, and both training volume and frequency increase compared to the 3-day program. You’ll hit the bench press four times per week, moving between light, medium and heavy workouts. The load and volume change in an undulating pattern, working up to a peak towards the end of the program.
To become a good bench presser, you will need a lot of bench press training and a lot of muscles. And in the 4-day program, you’ll get both. The accessory work for your upper body almost resembles bodybuilding training. In addition to bench pressing, you will work your shoulders, chest, back, and arms. However, this accessory work is optional, and you are free to decide whether you want to do it all or only stick to the bench press part.
This program’s total training volume is high, and it is not for everyone.
Who is it for?
- You who are used to training the bench press three times per week, and want a clear plan for how to balance your training load when you move up to four bench press workouts per week.
- You who have good recovery circumstances in terms of sleep, diet, and other stressors.
Bench Press Boogie – 5 Days/Week
Bench Press Boogie – 5 Days/Week is the pinnacle of the program suite. It has the highest training frequency and volume, intended for you who come with the best preparation and the highest ambitions.
In this program, you’ll do five bench press workouts per week in a wave-form daily undulating periodization, with a battery of accessory work for your upper body. You’ll find no less than an average of 49 sets of bench press per week, with another (optional) 20 sets of accessory work for your chest and triceps. And on top of that comes the training for your upper back, shoulders, and biceps.
The 5-day program is our most challenging bench press program, and you should very likely adapt it to your specific needs and capacity. At the level you’re at, if you’re attempting this program, that should not be a problem.
Follow These Programs
Want to give Bench Press Boogie a go?
It’s available exclusively in our workout app StrengthLog.
While this program requires a premium subscription, StrengthLog itself is entirely free. You can download it and use it as a workout tracker and general strength training app – and all basic functionality is free forever.
It even has a bunch of free programs and workouts. However, our more advanced programs (such as this one) are for premium users only.
Want to give premium a shot? We offer all new users a free 14-day trial of premium, which you can activate in the app.
Download StrengthLog for free with the buttons below:
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