The Ultimate Bench Press Workout to Increase Strength and Muscle

The ever-popular bench press has built its reputation over the last few decades as a rite of passage, a trial by fire, and a founding member of the powerlifting “big three.” This exercise is all that, and more. The bench press is so popular that it even has its own day of the week — “International bench day” has become synonymous with Monday in many gyms.

The bench press is a go-to exercise when you’re looking to increase the size and strength of your chest, shoulders, and triceps. The stability of the bench and the fixed range of motion of the barbell allows you to use more weight. And moving more weight means building more size and strength.

If you’re looking for a standalone bench-focused workout to increase strength and muscle in your upper body, you have come to the right place. Let’s dive in below.

To gain absolute strength, you must focus on moving heavier weights, working around 85-90% of your one-repetition maximum. (1) The cluster set technique will give you all you can handle in this regard — performing multiple “mini-sets” of low repetitions with heavy weights to accumulate significant volume. This helps set the table for more muscle because a stronger muscle has the potential for more size. After the heavy work, two different supersets concentrate on exercises that efficiently increase your chest size and strength.