Training bench different than squat and deadlift - Dan Stephenson

When training to improve your maximum strength on the Big 3 (squat, bench, and deadlift), bench press requires a different approach to training than squat and deadlift.

Unlike squat and deadlift, after the first rep is completed on bench, the lifters’ position changes and the original position cannot be fully regained without re-racking the weight. Therefore each successive rep in a bench set will be slightly different than the first rep. The lifter will tend to flatten out between breathes and lose their tightness.

With the squat and deadlift, the lifter is able to reset their position before each rep and repeat the same form further enforcing the same motor pattern. This is why high rep sets, greater than 3 reps in a set, won’t do as much for bench as it will in squat and deadlift in terms training for maximum strength.

In my personal experience, I find that I need to train bench press heavy frequently. I have tried programs in the past that the training weight will start moderate-to-light in a training cycle and will gradually increase week by week with the goal of ending with a new max. I have found this to be successful with squat and deadlift although my bench has suffered and stalled out from programs like this from the first few weeks of the training cycle from only using moderate weights.