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Novice Bench and Press Plug-In

Jordan Feigenbaum
June 14, 2018

Note: We published this protocol in the Barbell Medicine newsletter in March of 2018,
but have since added some additional context, explanation, and recommendations
for this intervention. Be sure and sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on all
the latest content!

A novice lifter is someone who can add weight to the exercises being performed each
time they train, typically every 48 hours. Ideally, the increased load functions as both
a display of the strength previously developed as well as a training stress designed to
facilitate further improvement.

As the novice phase comes to a close however, the increased loading tends to serve
more as the display rather than the driver of further progress due to an inadequate

amount of progressive overload. While it is true that total tonnage or volume-
load, de ned as the product of repetitions and weight for all sets, increases workout
to workout- the failure to display increased performance, i.e. a missed rep or set,
proves that this no longer provides enough stress for the lifter.

At this point, the novice lifter has a choice to make between acutely decreasing the
current training stress in order to allow adaptations from past training stress (e.g The
Deload Protocol) to occur or, more correctly, increase training stress in order to
further strength development (The Development Protocol).

In the rst option, the novice lifter will take 10% o the bar weight while keeping the
rep scheme and total volume the same (e.g. 3 sets of 5 repetitions), which lowers the
stress for a few workouts and allows adaptations of days and weeks prior to occur.
Alternatively, the lifter could reduce the repetition range from 5 repetitions to 3
repetitions, which reduces training stress by decreasing fatigue that accumulates
during the workout. The problem with either of these approaches however, is that
the lifter runs the risk of missing the forest for the trees. By sacri cing current
training stress -which is needed for future adaptations- in favor of short-term
performance, the lifter is setting themselves up to experience the same problem a
few weeks later because the underlying problem (insu cient stress) has not been
addressed.

In most cases this is not our preferred approach, as we favor continued development
of the newer lifter over a long period of time with minimal accommodations made to
solely display -not train- performance. That said, it may be appropriate to use the
deload protocol in a situation where the novice lifter has extenuating circumstances
such as an extreme life stress (work, relationship, medical condition), has missed
training, or has a uke form issue. Conversely, we consider perpetual cycle of
deloading and re-attempting the same workouts over and over again to be
inappropriate for outside of these contexts.

With The Development Protocol described herein we are aiming to increase the
amount of stress applied to the lifter in a way that improves both their long-term
development and short-term performance:

 Strength/Hypertrophy: Muscle size and neurological e ciency both contribute to
strength performance. Hypertrophy is most dependent upon training volume
(reps x sets), whereas neurological improvements are best improved with
intensities >70%, in general.*
Work Capacity: Regular training improves the lifter’s tolerance to and recovery
from training. Increasing the amount of training that is done over time improves
work capacity, which is a good thing since more training is needed to drive further
progress.
Skill: Regular exposure to a given task improves performance and pro ciency in
completing that task. If a lifter wants to press more weight, for example, he or she
needs to press more.

*Neurological improvements are somewhat speci c as far as their transfer to

di erent tasks. An improvement in a 5 rep maximum (5RM- about 86% of a 1RM)
does not guarantee improvement in a lifter’s 1RM, as these represent somewhat
di erent challenges. Similarly, an improvement in a 1RM does not guarantee
improvement in a 5RM. Thus, improving neurological e ciency within the context of
strength should be somewhat speci c for the goals and application(s) of the lifter. 

Training variables like increasing volume, intensity, density of training (reduced rest
periods for given amount of work), using novel stimuli (exercise variations), etc. all
tend to increase the stress on the lifter, but all do not produce the same adaptations.

For example, when rest periods are decreased to a point that much lighter weights
have to be used due to compromised force production by the fatigued muscles,
strength improvement su ers. If intensity (weight on the bar) is increased to the
detriment of volume, hypertrophy and work capacity su er. Therefore, we must
choose wisely so we don’t cut o our nose to spite our face.

In the Novice Linear Progression (NLP), the most bench press and the press tend to
be the rst lifts to require more stress to drive further progress. While it has been
said that NLP includes “too little volume” for the upper body lifts to begin with, there
is no evidence to support that claim. Rather, existing data suggests 5-9 sets per week
for a upper body muscle groups trained in compound movements tend to produce

good improvements in strength and hypertrophy, though the volume needs to
increase over time.

Therefore, when a lifter’s bench and press numbers plateau prior to their squat and
deadlift, we propose the following solution as a direct plug-and-play for workouts A
and B*:

* Novice Linear Progression (NLP) is set up on an A/B schedule where workouts “A”
and “B” are alternated on non-consecutive days, e.g. M/W/F or T/R/Sat.

Workout A
Squats per NLP
Bench x 1 @ +5% from last 5 x 3 sets on LP, then take 15% o the bar for 5 reps x 5
sets
Deadlift per NLP
Press x 8 reps x 4 sets @ -12% from previous press 5 x 3 sets on LP

Workout B
Squats per NLP
Press 1 @ +5% from last 5 x 3 sets, then take 15% o the bar for 4 reps x 6 sets
Power Cleans or Rows per NLP
Close grip bench x 8 reps x 4 sets @ -15% from previous bench press 5 x 3 sets on
NLP

With respect to progression, the lifter should attempt to add 2.5-5lbs per week on all
sets without going above RPE (rate or perceived exertion) 8, which means having
approximately 2 reps left in reserve, i.e. you could’ve done another 2 reps before
failing.

Additionally, bench presses are done touch and go style- not paused, whereas
overhead presses are all done from a dead stop. If you have a meet coming up, we
would recommend alternative programming. Additionally, you can use a belt if you
like on both the bench and/or the press. You may nd it [the belt] improves your
ability to perform a Valsalva and reduces back fatigue from accruing intra-workout
prior to any pulling work that needs to be done (deadlifts). 
We also recommend limiting rest periods to 4-5 minutes between work sets and
continuing to alternate A and B workouts as you were on NLP. The point at which
your squat and deadlift stop increasing on SSLP, start The Bridge ,as there are too
many limitations in NLP to consider it a viable programming option for a lifter at this
point.

We hope this helps! If you have any questions, post them in the comments below.
Thanks for reading.

-Jordan Feigenbaum, MD

 Training

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54 Comments

Mark Troiani Reply

June 14, 2018 at 09:10

Are you saying that if you hit a plateau in bench (or whatever lift) the
best way to overcome it is to build on some other training variable such
as volume? Why can’t repeated deloads be used as a solution?