There’s been a lot of questions — and frankly, a fair amount of misinformation — about how we train. So let me set the record straight about our method, why we do it this way, and what it’s actually produced for the lifters who’ve trained with us.
This approach has led lifters to PRs they didn’t think were possible. It’s not uncommon for someone to hit a 30 to 50lb PR in their very first workout with us. And it’s not a fluke — almost every lifter who trains with us takes something home and keeps setting PRs week after week. Over the years, we’ve invited and traveled to train with hundreds of lifters. A full 99% of them hit a PR in their first session. Those aren’t numbers I throw around lightly.
I can’t give you hands-on coaching through an article, but I can lay out the exact workout structure we use — every movement, every set scheme, every grip. Here it is.
The Structure: Two Days, Two Purposes
We bench twice a week. One day is dedicated to low-end raw strength. The other is for top-end work and shirt practice. The days are Tuesday and Saturday — and each has a specific job.
Tuesday is raw bench day. This is where we build the base.
Saturday is assistance and shirt day. This is where we build the top end and lock in the groove.
Nothing about which day you use matters as much as the separation between them and what you do on each. The logic is intentional. Don’t blend them.
Tuesday — Raw Bench Day
Raw Bench Press — Grip: Index Finger on Ring
We work up to a 3-rep max (3RM). If all three reps go up clean, we add 10lbs and go for another set of 3. If we don’t hit all 3, we either stop there or drop to a 5RM. The following week, we attempt that same 3RM and try to move up 10lbs from there.
Total sets: 5 to 8.
The 3RM is the engine of the raw day. It builds strength at the bottom of the lift — where raw pressing lives — without destroying your recovery the way heavy singles do week after week.
Decline Press — Grip: Pinky Finger on Ring
We work up to a 5RM with all sets done for 5 reps. Total sets: 5.
The more you arch on the bench press, the more valuable the decline becomes. It trains the same pressing angle you’re working toward in competition and builds the chest and front delt strength that supports a big arch. Don’t skip this if you’re serious about your bench.
Board Work: 4, 3, 2, 1 Boards — Grip: Pinky Finger on Ring
We usually work up to a 3RM on the 4-board, then move to 1RM attempts on subsequent boards depending on energy levels and how the body feels coming off Tuesday’s main work. Sets can range from 8 to 15 or more.
Total sets for the full Tuesday session: 15 to 30. That’s a wide range, and intentionally so — the workout responds to what your body is giving you that day.
Optional Assistance — Tuesday
These are available depending on where you feel you need the work. None of them are mandatory on every session:
- Incline Press: 4 sets, 5 to 1 reps
- Rope Extensions: 2 sets, 20 to 40 reps
- Pulldowns: 4 sets, 10 reps
- Shrugs: 4 sets, 10 reps
Saturday — Assistance and Shirt Day
Close Grip Bench — Grip: Pinky Finger on Ring
This is the warmup for Saturday’s session. We use the same progression as raw bench — working up through sets — but we don’t drop back down for a 5RM if we miss. Get into your groove and get ready for shirt work.
Shirt Bench — Grip: Index Finger on Ring
The shirt goes on here if the meet is within four weeks. If the meet is further out, shirt work moves to the end of the session, after close grip and before rack work.
Everyone starts their shirt work where they left off with close grip. The first few sets are 3 to 5 reps to find the groove inside the shirt. Then we move to doubles, then singles. If the singles aren’t going well — if touch is off or the groove doesn’t feel right — we go back to the beginning and work all the way up again. No shortcuts. You work through it until you get it right.
Sets here can range anywhere from 5 to 20 or more. If things aren’t right, the set count goes up, not down. The goal is always to leave having done it correctly, not just to leave.
Board Work: 6, 5, 4 Boards — Grip: Pinky Finger on Ring
We typically max on all three boards and will sometimes work the same board twice if the groove isn’t there or we miss a goal weight. The 4-board on Saturday is optional — if you already hit it on Tuesday, you may or may not need it again depending on how everything else has gone.
Again, set counts can run high if the work demands it. That’s not a bug in the program. That’s the program.
Rack Lockouts — Grip: Pinky Finger on Ring
Three reps for all sets, working up to a 3RM. These go at the end of the workout — when you’re tired, when you want to go home, when everything in you is saying wrap it up. That’s exactly when you do them. Total sets: 6 to 10.
Heavy lockout strength doesn’t come from doing lockouts when you’re fresh. It comes from building the habit of finishing when you’re fatigued. If you’ve ever missed a lift at the top with weight you know you can handle, this is the fix.
Optional Assistance — Saturday
- Tricep Pushdowns: 3 sets, 10 reps
- Rope Extensions: 2 sets, 20 to 40 reps
- Pulldowns: 4 sets, 10 reps
- Shrugs: 4 sets, 10 reps
The Philosophy Behind the Volume
As you can see, Saturday carries significantly more volume than Tuesday. That’s by design. Tuesday builds raw strength. Saturday builds everything that lets you express that strength under a shirt, at lockout, and when the weight gets heavy enough that technique has to be airtight or you miss.
Nothing here is set in stone. The workouts are dictated by how we feel and where we feel we need the most work. Some days the groove is there immediately and sets stay on the lower end. Other days you’re working through problems and the set count climbs. The program bends to the reality of training, not the other way around.
That flexibility — combined with the structure of two distinct days with two distinct purposes — is what produces the results we’ve seen. Show up, do the work, respond to what your body tells you. The PRs follow from that.
