Breaking 200 Lbs For Reps On the Bench Press (Again)

Bench press has historically been one of my best lifts. Until freshman year of college, I actually was able to bench more than I could squat. I’ve always had a relatively strong chest and triceps compared to the rest of my body.

A sample old chest/triceps workout I used to do:

• 3 x 6 reps Barbell/Dumbbell Bench Press (I always start with a heavy compound movement)
• 3 x 8 Weighted Dips
• 3 x 6-8 reps Triceps Pushdown

I experienced good growth and strength increases with that routine, I feel mainly due to the proportion of compound exercises it involved. Compound exercises truly are king for building muscle and strength - I really look down on individuals who spend all day in the gym doing curls in the squat rack.

So anyway, recently I took about a 5 week break off of benching due to a sore wrist injury. I just came back a few days ago, and unfortunately I’ve dropped about 20 pounds on my bench. Before I was repping 195 to 200 pounds for reps, and now I get challenged with 175-180. I’ve decided I need to get back to old days ASAP, so I will be really pushing myself in the gym to try to get back to my old levels.