The author : Andrew Malcolm is a military attack pilot, trainer, fitness model and nutritionist. Your bench press strength has long been a staple measurement for impressing your fellow man. Here’s how to hit respectable numbers, no matter what your age
Your chest is not the only muscle involved in the bench press because your triceps and shoulder muscles also play a significant role. The ranges for these exercises will primarily be in 3-7 rep range with any reps below five specifically targeting strength to aid with the load you can handle in the higher rep ranges.
It’s important to understand that you should be failing on your final rep, so don’t choose a weight in which you can achieve 10 reps and only complete five because the program says so.
The man in his 20s
Average: 100% of his bodyweight
Tactics: The barbell bench press is the staple exercise for adding strength to the chest. The dumbbell shoulder press serves the same purpose for the shoulders as the barbell bench press for the chest. Weighted dips have been known to not only add strength and size to the chest, but also the triceps.
These exercises will produce extreme growth on bench press strength and are ideal for the man in his 20s, since he does not have many years of weight training behind him and should respond rapidly to these exercises.
Barbell bench press (5 sets of 3-5 reps)
Works: Chest, shoulders, triceps
Dumbbell shoulder press (3 sets of 5 reps)
Works: Shoulders, triceps
Weighted dips (4 sets of 3-5 reps)
Works: Triceps, chest, shoulders
Time: 45-minute workout
Food: High protein, high carbs before and after each training session.
Supplements: Creatine, whey protein, beta-alanine
The man in his 30s
Average: 90% of his bodyweight
Tactics: In your 30s, you may be a father and husband with a career and less time is available for training. These exercises will give the man in his 30s more bang for his buck. The incline dumbbell bench press has the same effect as the flat bench press but also targets the upper portion of the chest.
This is the portion primarily used to initially push the weight off the chest. The decline barbell press and dumbbell fly both fill in in the areas of the chest that the incline dumbbell press misses.
Incline dumbbell bench press (5 sets of 3-5 reps)
Decline barbell bench press (3 sets of 5-7 reps)
Works: Chest, shoulder, triceps
Dumbbell flyes (5 sets of 4-6 reps)
Time: 45-minute workout
Food: High protein, high carbs and good fats before and after each training session.
Supplements: Creatine, whey protein, amino acids.
The man in his 40s
Average: 80% of his bodyweight
Tactics: The man in his 40s will have more challenges than his younger counterparts. One reason for this is the decrease of testosterone as we age. Testosterone is a major hormone for strength. The higher it is, the stronger we typically are and vice-versa. The man in his 40s should supplement with tribulus and ZMA to naturally increase his testosterone to be able to receive the strength gains he seeks.
Smith machine flat bench press (5 sets of 3-7 reps)
Works: Chest, shoulders, triceps
Machine bench press (5 sets of 5 reps)
Works: Chest, shoulders, triceps
Tricep pushdown (4 sets of 5-10 reps)
Works: Triceps
Time: 32-minute workout
Food: High protein, moderate carbs and good fats before and after each training session.
Supplements: Whey protein, Tribulus, ZMA, amino acids.
Hit these routines and you can maximize your bench press strength, whatever your age.
