Bench press LP progression

[Sheff]

Hi all,

Age 31
Weight 240
Most recent lifts;

Squat 460x3x5
Bench 300x3x5
Deadlift 520x5

Running a short LP after coming back from a layoff

In the most recent LP podcast, Nick stated that if your bench is sufficiently heavy you should progress it similar to the squat (top set with backoffs) rather than switch to triples in order to keep progress going. In previous runs of LP I have switched to 5 triples on the upper body lift but it burned out pretty quick.

Is it better to stick with sets of 5 for as long as you can even if you have to reduce the load on the second 2 sets on bench? I am hitting my first set pretty easily but the last set is a total grinder.

Eating around 4000 calories a day and resting 5-6 mins between work sets.

[Mark Rippetoe]

The First Three Questions | Mark Rippetoe