Warming Up for Bench Press Max

ok on friday im going to attempt a new bench press pr, my current pr is 135kg i want 140kg. what would be the best way too approach this with prior sets and reps? can anyone give any insight?

This should be enough…
70x8
85x5
90x4
105x3x2 sets
120x2
130x1
140x1

If you feel like doing some work…
70x8
85x5
90x4
105x3x2 sets
120x2
125x2
130x1
135x1
140x1

uhhh, wayyy too much heavy work imo. I would use at least a 20 kg jump to the max. make sure you got the blood flowing, but keep the volume low before the attempt

do 5 minutes of cardio say on the eliptical first and get heart rate up (had helped me tons and ive pr’ed alot in just a few weeks from this) then like the other guy said u 20 jumps, maybe 50x10 then do all singles, 90x1, 110x1, 130x1 140x1 that way its not too much but u get warmed up and prepare

plus one on bignate, are you looking to just do this and be done or are you going to try other PR’s or somehting?

Recommended by Charles Poliquin

When 1RM testing the core lifts, Charles has athletes perform a slow, progressive warm-up:

4 @ estimated 40%, rest 10 seconds

4 @ estimated 40%, rest 10 seconds

3 @ estimated 60%, rest 30 seconds

2 @ estimated 75%, rest 60 seconds

1 @ estimated 80%, rest 120 seconds

1 @ estimated 85%, rest 120 seconds

1 @ estimated 90%, rest 180 seconds

1 @ estimated 95%, rest 240 seconds

1 @ estimated 100%, rest 240 second

[quote]getfast24 wrote:
uhhh, wayyy too much heavy work imo. I would use at least a 20 kg jump to the max. make sure you got the blood flowing, but keep the volume low before the attempt[/quote]

Yes and no, not ever lifter is the same…personally my lifting volume is very high, bench 3-4 times a week so the warm-ups I listed are not something I’d consider high volume.

You want to find the right amount of volume that doesn’t create lactic acid build up or fatigue but you can’t skimp on the warm up either…it will fail to do its job, you won’t be warm and you may miss a weight you would of been capable of with a thorough warm-up.

20kg jump is to big unless its early in the warm up.

Power; I will have to agree with the spirit of your post, but not the detail.

I’ve seen people use both higher and lower volumes effectively as warmups, and the OP will need to figure out where he stands in that continuum.

However, being a low-volume sort, I have to take exception to 20kg being too large a jump. Back when I was benching in the 300s I would use exactly that sort of jump for a warmup chain: 95-135-185-225-275 ->PR, which works out to be a 20kg jump or thereabouts. For some folks, like myself, this really does work.

No one who is really trying for a one rep max should wait in seconds between sets. I have used this for years with the guys I train and coach.

First set: do the bar for 10 reps.
Second set: 50%(of known max)x 5 reps.
third: 60%x5
fourth: 70%x3
fifth: 80%x1
Sixth: 85%x1
Seventh: 92%x1
Attempt new max.
Make sure to rest 3-5 mins. between each set. Slow down and make sure you have full recovery before starting the next set.

If you go to a top level powerlifting meet you’ll notice it takes the more experienced lifters 30-40 mins to get ready to lift max weights. I spend no less then 30 mins getting ready to bench heavy.

Also you would never do cardio before maxing on any lift.

George