Introducing the Henriques Bench Chart By Jason Jason | | June 13, 2016 | 2016 | Training Training | | | Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a simple chart chart you could look look at that would provide guidance as to how many reps you should train with and what kind of weight you should should use for each each competitive competitive lift? You have probably probably seen Prilepin’s chart – which attempts to do that, but there are 4 big problems with Prilepin’s Prilepin’s chart. That chart was set up to guide the training of Olympic Weight Lifters, not powerlifters, and those two sports are not the same. It gives a decent guideline of what to do in one specific workout, but it doesn’t say how often one should perform that workout. It is not specific to what lift it is referring to: Clean and Jerk or the Snatch, and those two lifts are quite similar. In powerlifting the 3 lifts themselves are quite different, you don’t train a deadlift the same way you train the the bench. It doesn’t take into account your training age. Training will obviously vary if you are are a beginner, intermediate, intermediate, or advanced advanced lifter. lifter. It is my goal to solve those problems – to provide you – the lifter – with a clear and easy to read chart. chart. This chart was made for powerlifting, powerlifting, this chart will provide a weekly weekly guideline for total volume, volume, and there is a specific chart for each lift (squat, bench, bench, and deadlift). In addition there there is a section on each part of the chart based on what your training age and experience are.
Click to Download (right click save as) How to Read the Chart
You start by classifying where where you are with the lift. Don’t let your your ego get in the way and use the following guidelines: Beginner:
New to the lift (may not be new to lifting however) Have not trained the lift consistently for 6+ months Must completely learn new form on the lift Has not hit a plateau on the lift Intermediate:
Has trained the lift consistently for at least 6+ months, often up to several years Has achieved at least a decent level of performance in the lift (note this can vary significantly) Has hit at least one plateau on the lift Advanced:
Has been training the lift consistently for 5+ years Performance is significantly above initial levels Has hit several plateaus on the lift and may be in one now Once you have your correct classification, you will then find your total weekly volume suggested suggested for the lift. lift. A range is given, given, generally start start at the minimal suggested volume or in the middle, I would not suggest starting with maximal volume as that that should be something something you work work towards over time time with your program. You need to decide how often you want want to train the lift each week. week. For the bench, 2 times a week is the most most common recommendation recommendation and and some prefer prefer to go 3 times a week. It is tough to maximize strength developmen developmentt benching only once a week.
Once you have your total weekly volume and your overall frequency, now simply divide that up as you see fit. Of course if you are lifting just once a week, you will hit hit your suggested suggested volume all in one one workout. If you are doing doing two or more sessions sessions per week for that lift, then divide divide it up. An even division of the workload works fine but it is not mandatory to do that. Here are 2 sample workouts using the chart so you can see how this plays out. Our sample lifter is an intermediate intermediate level male lifter lifter who can currently bench 295 and and hopes to hit 315 in 10 weeks. weeks. In each example he will bench two times a week, for example on Monday and Thursday Program 1 – Change in Training Weight Occurs Every Week
Week 1 Monday: Workout 1: 190!8 5 sets Thursday: Workout 2: 190!12 3 sets Note: 76 reps performed performed at 65% this this week Week 2 Monday: Workout 3: 225!5 5 sets Thursday: Workout 4: 225!8 3 sets Note: 49 reps performed performed at 75% this this week Week 3 Monday: Workout 5: 250!3 6 sets Thursday: Workout 6: 250!5 4 sets
Note: 38 reps performed performed at 85% this week Week 4 Monday: Workout 7: 275!2 4 sets Thursday: Workout 8: 275!3 3 sets Note: 17 reps performed performed at 92.5% this week Week 5 Monday: Workout 9: 295-2 3 sets Thursday: Workout 10: 295-3 2 sets Note: 12 reps performed performed at 100% (negatives (negatives only) only) After week 5 add 10 lbs to all all sets and repeat repeat Program 2 – Change in Training Weight Occurs Every Workout
Week 1 Monday: Workout 1: 190!8 5 sets Thursday: Workout 2: 225!5 5 sets Note: 40 reps at at 65% and 25 reps reps at 75% Week 2 Monday: Workout 3: 250!3 6 sets Thursday: Workout 4: 275!2 4 sets Note: 18 reps at at 85% and 8 reps at at 92.5%
Week 3 Monday: Workout 5: 295-2 3 sets Workout 6-10: either either add 5 lbs and repeat OR OR use the progression progression listed listed below Thursday: Workout 6: 190!12 3 sets Week 4 Monday: Workout 7: 225!8 3 sets Thursday: Workout 8: 250!5 4 sets Note: 24 reps at at 75% and 20 reps at 85% Week 5 Monday: Workout 9: 275!3 3 sets Thursday: Workout 10: 295-3 2 sets Note: 9 reps at 92.5% 92.5% and 6 reps at 100% (negatives (negatives only) In addition to the routine this lifter follows for the bench, they would likely want to include include some assistance assistance work. The more traditional traditional bench work work you do (the higher your volume is on the chart) the less assistance work you should do and vice versa. For this lifter I would suggest they include two additional bench/chest related exercises each workout since they are training bench twice a week (if they were training training it 3 times a week they they would probably probably do 1 assistance assistance exercise, exercise, and if they were only training the bench once a week they would likely do 3 assistance exercises). One of the exercises would be more bench specific and a compound lift, such
as: Closegrip Bench; 2-3 Board Press; Barbell Incline; DB Incline; DB Press; Spoto Press; etc How these are programmed are up to you, 3-5 sets of 4-8 reps would be pretty common One of the exercises would be more muscle specific and it might be an isolation exercise, such as: DB Fly; DB Incline Fly; Dips; Cable Fly; Cable Crossover How these are programmed are up to you, 2-4 sets of 8-20 reps would be pretty common To see that concept fleshed out, the bench part of the training program might look like this: Monday
Thursday
Bench
Chart
Bench
Chart
DB Incline
4x8
Incline
4x6
DB Incline Fly
3 x 12
Cable Crossover
3 x 15
If that was part of a larger workout routine this lifter might choose to do a push/pull routine as follows: Monday
Tuesday
Thursday
Friday
Bench
Squat
Bench
Squat
DB Incline
Deadlift
Incline
Front Squat
DB Incline Fly
Lunge
Cable Xover
Leg Curl
Mil Press
Pull-ups
DB Mil Press
Barbell Row
DB Lat Raise
DB Row
DB Rear Delts
Hammer Strength Row
Pullover
Kneeling Tri
Skullcrusher
EZ Curl
Pushdown
DB Curl
Overhead Rope Tri
DB Hmr Curl
Bench Dips
Reverse Curl
The goal in providing the above workout is to serve as a sample that you could follow if you wished to do so, it is not something set in stone by any means. In my opinion, one of the strengths of the Bench Chart is you can apply the guidelines it provides into a program of your own design. Use the Bench Chart to help program lift. Classify your level of advancement, find your desired volume for the week, create your program, incorporate progressive overload as you see fit, and enjoy adding plates to the bar. Know someone who wants to get strong?...
By Jason Jason | | June 13, 2016 | 2016 | Training Training | | |