Last bench day of the program. If you aren’t psyched for bench day you may not be an American/Guy who likes chicks. Blow up a number you’ve never reached before and call in a spotter if need be; you don’t want to short yourself on weight just because you were unsure of whether you could get it up or not.
Friday:
Exercise 1: Bench Press
Sets: 3
Reps per set: 3
The man himself, Rippetoe, covers more benching basics as a final reminder of what you should be doing. Perfecting form can add more weight to your bench than 12 weeks of strict chest training. Make sure you warm up properly as the heavy sets will take a lot out of you. Work your way up to your work weight, but don’t get within 90% of your 3 rep max, otherwise you’ll just be taking away from the maximal strength available for the main lift.
Exercise 2: Pec Deck supersetted with Push Ups to failure
Sets: 5
Reps per set: 12-20
I’m not a huge fan of machine work, but pec deck will be fun for the sake of enjoying your last bench day and getting a pump for whatever beach you may be leisure diving at this weekend. The machine offers the stability that is otherwise lacking in the traditional dumbbell fly movement, therefore the focus can be on getting a huge pump that’ll leave you sore for a couple days. After each set get on the floor and bust out as many pushups as you can; this will fry your chest. Don’t worry if you can’t get as many reps on the pec deck on the next set, that is why the rep range is so large.
Exercise 3: Neutral Grip Chin Ups
Sets: 5
Reps per set: Go until failure.
Simple. If you do not have access to a pull up bar with a neutral grip, put a V-grip from one of the cable machines over a straight pull up bar. You’ll have to duck your head to one side or the other on each rep, but that will make imbalances in your back more obvious for you. Correct these should they exist.
Exercise 4: Close-Grip Bench Press
Sets: 5
Reps per set: 8-12
Just like earlier on in the week. Get more weight up than last time, even if just slightly more.
