By: Randy Herring

Below is my reverse pyramid routine I used to boost both my flat and incline bench presses during a 12-week period. A prerequisite to using the suggested routine is a bench press of at least 225 pounds for 5 repetitions. My actual weight and reps are shown below.

The exercises are provided in the given order they were performed. Note the order of the first two exercises: bench press and incline bench press. Two weeks of bench presses is followed by one week of incline bench presses. This accomplished two things: An increase in both flat and incline bench presses.

In addition, my bar dips increased dramatically, although there was a marginal increase on flyes. Yet combined, all the exercises working together helped create a bench press over the 300-pound mark in ONLY 12-weeks!

Note Everything

It is extremely important a routine that is given a time frame to complete (e.x., 12 weeks). You must monitor any joint, tendon or ligament discomfort or unusual localized soreness, especially during heavy barbell or dumbbell pressing compound movements.

These would include: barbell bench presses, barbell incline bench presses, military presses, and dumbbell presses. If you do feel any discomfort, take a few days rest and eat more protein that what you are accustomed to, to help heal the discomforted area.

Keep your rep range consistently between 3-4 reps on all your first heaviest sets. And do not attempt single RM's with a weight at any time while embarking on your 300-pound RM (rep max) goal. Be patience until you successfully do 275-285 pounds for 3-4 reps the previous week before attempting your 300-pound 1RM! Train hard, but smart and above all believe in yourself!

RELATED ARTICLE

Predicting Your 1 Rep Max! Enter how much weight and reps you did for your last workout. It tells you what your approximate one rep max would be! [ Click here to learn more. ]

The Workout

Week 1:

Bench Press - 225-5, 205-4, 185-5
Incline Bench Press - 135-9, 115-8
Bar Dips - 13, 7
Dumbbell Flyes - 60-5, 45-6, 30-10

Week 2:

Incline Bench Press - 175-7, 165-6, 155-6
Bench Press - 195-6, 185-6, 155-6
Bar Dips - 15, 6
Dumbbell Flyes - 60-4, 45-6, 30-10

Week 3:

Bench Press - 225-6, 205-5, 185-5
Incline Bench Press - 155-5, 145-6, 135-5
Bar Dips - 11, 5
Dumbbell Flyes - 50-8, 40-8, 30-10

Week 4:

Bench Press - 245-4, 225-4, 205-4
Incline Bench Press - 155-7, 145-6, 135-6
Bar Dips 25 lbs attached - 12, 7
Dumbbell Flyes - 60-4, 50-6, 40-6

Week 5:

Incline Bench Press - 185-3, 165-5, 145-6
Bench Press - 205-5, 185-6, 165-7
Bar Dips 50 lbs attached - 6, 25 lbs attached - 6, body weight - 6
Dumbbell Flyes - 50-6, 40-8, 30-10

Week 6:

Bench Press - 265-3, 235-4, 205-6, 175-8
Incline Bench Press - 155-7, 145-5, 135-4
Bar Dips - 50-9, 25-8, body weight - 3
Dumbbell Flyes - 60-5, 45-7, 30-10

Week 7:

Bench Press - 265-3, 235-4 (15-second rest/pause at the 3rd rep to complete 4 reps), 205-6 (r/p 5), 175-9 (r/p 6, 7, 8)
Incline Bench Press - 165-4, 155-5, 135-6
Bar Dips - 50-7, 25-7
Dumbbell Flyes - 50-10, 40-8

Week 8:

Incline Bench Press - 185-5, 165-7, 145-9
Bench Press - 225-4, 205-5, 185-6
Bar Dips - 50-8, 25-7, 6
Dumbbell Flyes - 60-5, 45-8

Week 9:

Bench Press - 265-3, 235-7, 205-9, 175-8
Incline Bench Press - 175-5, 155-6, 135-8
Bar Dips - 50-8, 25-7, 6
Dumbbell Flyes - 65-3, 50-5, 35-10

Week 10:

Bench Press - 275-3, 245-4, 215-6, 185-8
Incline Bench Press - 185-3, 165-6, 145-5
Bar Dips 75 Ibs attached - 8, 50-5, 9
Dumbbell Flyes - 60-7, 50-6, 40-10

Week 11:

Incline Bench Press - 205-3, 185-5, 165-7, 145-7
Bench Press - 225-5, 205-6, 185-6
Bar Dips 105 Ibs attached - 3, 70-4, 35-6
Dumbbell Flyes - 65-5, 50-8, 35-10

Week 12:

Bench Press - 305-1, 265-4, 235-6, 205-7
Incline Bench Press - 185-3, 165-7, 145-7
Bar Dips - 105-3, 70-4, 35-6
Dumbbell Flyes - 65-6, 55,7, 45-7

Click Here For A Printable Log Of This Workout.

Click Here To Bench 400 Lbs!

Thanks,

Randy Herring

Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here!

Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
Read Visitor Reviews - Write Your Own Review

Back To Randy Herring's Main Page

Back To The Articles Main Page.

Related Articles
20 Ways To Increase Your Bench Press RIGHT NOW!
Static Contraction Training
Developing The Chest - A Course In Hypertrophy

MRM 100% All Natural Whey Now With NitroZyme For Enhanced Protein Absorption! Learn More!