This is something that I haven’t tried out yet, but an idea that came to my head while working out this morning. Some people base their workout routine around compound lifts (bench press, pull up, shoulder press, squats, and deadlifts). They usually mix up those workouts or use one of those as the base of a workout.
Today, I figured why not try just doing bench press for my workout and see what happens. My bench press has sort of plateaued at 185 pounds for my rep and set range, so this might get that up a bit as well.
I tried this for a couple of reasons. First, I want to get my bench press max up so that my bench workouts are more effective with more weight later. Second, I wanted to try and shock my muscles a little. You should always be changing up your workouts so that your muscles don’t adapt to what you are doing. Muscle growth and weight loss come from shocking your body so it has to react and adapt to those changes by adding muscle or shedding extra weight.
The main reason though, is the gym was packed today. I locked down a bench press and refused to leave since I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get onto another machine or station in the gym. There were towels all over the place…which means people were holding spots that they weren’t using. I HATE THAT!
So in the middle of my third set, I decided that I was going to stay on the flat bench and going forward I will try and work in a routine where I do just a compound lift for an entire workout every few weeks for each muscle. It might help me get passed a plateau, or I might waste my time. It’s worth experimenting to see since I haven’t been able to get much to happen for pec growth.
While writing this I just came up with a routine for focusing on this:
- Week 1 – Strictly flat bench press (on chest day)
- Week 2 – Strictly lat pull down (on back day)
- Week 3 – Strictly squats (on leg day)
- Week 4 – Strictly shoulder press (on shoulder day)
- Week 5 – Strictly deadlifts (on back OR leg day)
- Week 6 – Rinse and repeat
A lot of people do the 4 week routines and then repeat, like their body knows about the month schedule. Your body has no idea what a calendar month is, so don’t act like it does.
Hopefully I can do this routine three times to see if any changes happen, and I’ll obviously keep you posted on it.
As for how I feel after the bench press day, I feel pretty sore…in a good way. I have that big pump going that makes you feel like you got a great workout, so I’m going to say it at least feels like a good idea.
Thansk for the great tips in your post, Mike. Sometimes when my bench presses plateau, I just forget about the weights for a little while, try other forms of workouts, and sure enough when I pick the weights again, I am able to do a lot more bench presses.
Hi,
Nice workout routine, I am going to share it with my wife. Thanks
Kevin