Title: How Many Times a Week Should You Bench Press for Strength and Mass? - BarBend
Headings: How Many Times a Week Should You Bench Press for Strength and Mass?
How Many Times a Week Should You Bench Press for Strength and Mass?
Unlike some movements, the bench press usually responds best to higher training frequency!
The Bench Press Is a Skill
What Does the Research Say on Bench Press Frequency?
Training Frequency for Strength
But to avoid going down a rabbit hole, let’s frame strength as simply getting more weight on the bar.
1 Day a Week Versus 3 Days a Week
From this study we can suggest a few takeaways for bench press frequency and strength:
Training Frequency and Upper Body Mass Gain
Training Twice a Week Vs. Three Times a Week
5x a Week Full Body Program Vs. Split Program
Each group improved their 1-RM strength in the bench press, back squat, and row, but the total body group — those who trained bench more often — saw a slightly greater increase in bench press 1-RM strength.
From these studies we can suggest a few takeaways for bench press frequency and body mass.
Practical Takeaways
Goal: Strength Improvement
Goal: Mass Increase
Programming for Strength
3x/Week Example
4x/Week Example
Programming for Mass
3x/Week Example
4x/Week Example
Wrapping Up

Content: While there hasn’t been a ton of research performed isolating the bench press and training frequency, some studies have included this exercise into a broader net that was cast on the topic. Training Frequency for Strength
Strength gain is interesting because it’s a variable that will be highly relative to one’s training age and history. What does that mean? Well, if you’re following a well-written program that takes basic training principles into account like overload, specificity, variation, and so forth, then you’ll get stronger in a movement more or less indefinitely. Plenty of programs will get you stronger benching once a week or several times a week because strength gain for one exercise will depend on multiple factors, and if your numbers are increasing on a week-to-week basis — whether it’s weight, volume, intensity, or another metric — and you’re doing the right accessory exercises, then there’s an argument to made that you’re getting stronger. Remember, strength is not always the result of simply adding more muscle. For example, an increase of weight on the bar could be a result of neurological adaptation and skill acquisition. But to avoid going down a rabbit hole, let’s frame strength as simply getting more weight on the bar. 1 Day a Week Versus 3 Days a Week
In a 2000 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, authors had 25 recreationally trained subjects follow a consistent workout program and split them into two groups ( 1 ). One group trained once a week, while the other group trained three times a week, and volume was equated for both groups to isolate the variable of training frequency.