{"id":23142,"date":"2025-04-15T22:29:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T22:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/23142\/"},"modified":"2025-04-15T22:29:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T22:29:12","slug":"this-34-day-bench-press-experiment-led-to-28-strength-gains-what-it-means-for-your-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/23142\/","title":{"rendered":"This 34-Day Bench Press Experiment Led to 28% Strength Gains \u2013\u00a0What it Means for Your Training"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"1\" class=\"body-text css-qu26ob emevuu60\">The idea of doing a one-rep max (1RM) every day for 34 days may seem crazy to some, but researchers decided to put the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/uk\/building-muscle\/train-smarter\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/uk\/building-muscle\/train-smarter\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"method\" data-node-id=\"1.1\" class=\"body-link css-1d8p8n5 emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\">method<\/a> to the test in order to analyse the effects. And the results? A 28% <a href=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/uk\/building-muscle\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/uk\/building-muscle\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"strength\" data-node-id=\"1.3\" class=\"body-link css-1d8p8n5 emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\">strength<\/a> increase for lifters taking part in the protocol, making a strong case for us to push our limits more often.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"3\" class=\"css-qu26ob emevuu60\">While we&#8217;re not recommending daily one-rep maxes, the study sheds light on our ability to withstand maximal strength efforts, without necessarily burning out.<br data-node-id=\"3.1\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The Study<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"5\" class=\"body-text css-qu26ob emevuu60\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/openurl.ebsco.com\/EPDB%3Agcd%3A2%3A35669570\/detailv2?sid=ebsco%3Aplink%3Ascholar&amp;id=ebsco%3Agcd%3A183638805&amp;crl=c&amp;link_origin=scholar.google.com\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/openurl.ebsco.com\/EPDB%3Agcd%3A2%3A35669570\/detailv2?sid=ebsco%3Aplink%3Ascholar&amp;id=ebsco%3Agcd%3A183638805&amp;crl=c&amp;link_origin=scholar.google.com\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"study\" data-node-id=\"5.1\" class=\"body-link css-1d8p8n5 emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\">study<\/a>, published in the Journal of Exercise Physiology Online, evaluated the effects of completing a bench press one-rep max on strength levels.<\/p>\n<p>The Methods<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"10\" class=\"css-qu26ob emevuu60\">The study methods included:<\/p>\n<ul data-node-id=\"11\" class=\"css-9b1pbo emevuu60\">\n<li data-node-id=\"11.0\">Seven physically active participants.<\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"11.1\">The participants performed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/uk\/how-tos\/a755647\/how-to-master-the-bench-press\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/uk\/how-tos\/a755647\/how-to-master-the-bench-press\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"bench press\" data-node-id=\"11.1.1\" class=\"body-link css-1d8p8n5 emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\">bench press<\/a> every day for 34 days.<\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"11.2\">Each training session included: determining their one-rep max, followed by 5 volume sets of either 3 reps at 85% or 2 reps at 90% of that day&#8217;s 1RM.<\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"11.3\">As a taper, on day 35 the participants completed 5 sets of 1 rep at 90-100% of their first day&#8217;s 1RM, with days 36 and 37 designated as rest days. <\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"11.4\">The programme concluded with a final 1RM attempt on day 38. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img alt=\"getting a weight off his chest\" title=\"Getting a weight off his chest\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2122\" height=\"1416\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/getting-a-weight-off-his-chest-royalty-free-image-1744716367.pjpeg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Moyo Studio\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>The Results <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"14\" class=\"body-text css-qu26ob emevuu60\">All participants saw significant improvements in their bench press one-rep max over the course of the protocol, with an average increase of 40.71 lbs (a 29.23% gain) from the first day to their peak performance. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"15\" class=\"body-text css-qu26ob emevuu60\">On average, males achieved a greater absolute increase of 50 lbs, while females improved by 33.75 lbs. However, relative strength gains were nearly identical between genders, with males improving by 29.43% and females by 29.03%. A strong correlation was also found between time (measured in days) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/uk\/building-muscle\/a748257\/how-to-calculate-one-rep-max\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/uk\/building-muscle\/a748257\/how-to-calculate-one-rep-max\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"1RM performance\" data-node-id=\"15.1\" class=\"body-link css-1d8p8n5 emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\">1RM performance<\/a>.<br data-node-id=\"15.3\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"16\" class=\"body-text css-qu26ob emevuu60\">The study findings suggest that daily 1RM bench press training is an effective and time efficient method for significantly enhancing maximal strength.<\/p>\n<p>What Does This Mean for Us?<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"18\" class=\"css-qu26ob emevuu60\">It&#8217;s important to note some limitations to the study. For example, it was a very small sample size, and there was no control group for comparison. So it&#8217;s difficult to draw solid conclusions from this study. It&#8217;s also important to add that three of the seven lifters experienced pain at some point in the protocol, unsurprisingly making daily one-rep maxes an unsuitable addition to your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/uk\/workouts\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/uk\/workouts\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"workout routine\" data-node-id=\"18.1\" class=\"body-link css-1d8p8n5 emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\">workout routine<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"19\" class=\"css-qu26ob emevuu60\">Despite this, it&#8217;s interesting to draw some insights from the results. The participants withstood a high degree of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/uk\/building-muscle\/train-smarter\/a62975595\/volume-vs-intensity\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/uk\/building-muscle\/train-smarter\/a62975595\/volume-vs-intensity\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"volume and intensity\" data-node-id=\"19.1\" class=\"body-link css-1d8p8n5 emevuu60\" rel=\"noopener\">volume and intensity<\/a> in their programme, yet managed to still see strength improvements. While working within your own limitations \u2013 with enough recovery, and in line with your experience \u2013 is imperative for long-term adherence, we often hold ourselves back and underestimate what are bodies are truly capable of. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"20\" class=\"css-qu26ob emevuu60\">While we don&#8217;t recommend maxing out daily \u2014 or at all, if you don&#8217;t want to, as one-rep max training isn&#8217;t a necessity \u2014 pushing your limits can deliver impressive results.<\/p>\n<p>Related Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The idea of doing a one-rep max (1RM) every day for 34 days may seem crazy to some,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23143,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4322],"tags":[2083,14639,1331,1630,105,1330,14638,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-23142","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-content-type-default","9":"tag-contentid-5858c759-8437-454f-b177-d0c602947ec4","10":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","11":"tag-fitness","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-locale-gb","14":"tag-shorttitle-how-daily-max-bench-pressing-can-boost-strength","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114344347162480466","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}