The first and worse thing you can do to delay your bench press strength is to overtrain. You're only breaking down the muscles and causing them to get weaker when you overtrain. Remember, if you're not 100% healed or recovered by your next chest workout, or any workout for that matter, you're overtraining and your muscular growth will surely be delayed.

But I saw a pro bodybuilder's chest workout in a magazine and he was training his chest 3 times per week?

Most of the magazine workout routines by top bodybuilders are perfect for steroid users, but not for the natural lifter . . .

EATING TO IMPROVE MUSCLE RECOVERY

Be sure to get plenty of calories! Don't neglect the power of food! If you're 160 pounds, taking in 2,000 calories a day, and your body is using 2,000 calories a day or more for energy, then you won't have enough calories and protein left over to repair hard worked muscles. You're wasting your time!

So how much do I need to eat?

It depends on how much you weigh. For example, if you weigh 170 to 185 pounds, you need at least 3,500 calories per day just to maintain quality strength and size. Ideally, you want to get about 4,000 calories per day at a bodyweight of approximately 170 to 185 pounds.

It breaks down like this: If you were to eat 1 potato, 1 serving of lean red meat, 2 slices of bread, and at least 3 cups of juice at least 4 times per day, you're easily fulfilling your requirement for calories needed per day. Remember, these numbers are based on someone who weighs 170 to 185 pounds. Some people may need more, some may need less.

How much protein should I eat after my workouts?

No more than you normally do! The body actually wants, and responds extremely well to complex carbohydrates such as potatoes, bread, pasta, rice, etc. Complex carbs should be the majority of "all" post workout meals for muscle-building and replenishing purposes.

Which supplements can I benefit from?

Be sure to focus on the importance of nutrition for strength and size! Of course you can benefit from creatine, but a pure whey protein supplement and the amino acid L-glutamine (powder preferred) are probably best for preserving and building muscle.

Both whey protein and L-glutamine supplements can be taken with or in between meals, or even before you go to sleep. You'll definitely notice a strength difference with this high-quality stack.

Additionally, the aforementioned supplements are recommended and considered legitimate by all major personal training organizations.

There's one highly neglected supplement that I forgot to mention, and that's water. Don't count this awesome supplement out! Water has unlimited functions including aiding in muscle recovery and muscular development by transporting proper nutrients where they need to go. Be sure to get plenty of water!

THE SECRET TO BENCH PRESS STRENGTH

Training to increase your bench press is easy! As mentioned before, increasing your bench press is not done by performing excessive sets on the flat bench. Instead, it's important to increase strength throughout your "entire" body. In particular, biceps, triceps, back, shoulders, and abs. Yes, even abdominals are a major contributor to overall bench press strength! These are all "key" neglected secondary muscles used in the bench press.

If you strengthen these secondary muscles, as opposed to solely trying to build your chest strictly through bench pressing, I guarantee you'll notice a big difference in upper body strength.

Strengthening the legs also helps to increase upper body strength. Huh? Yes, you heard it right. Leg movements such as squats or leg presses can be a big help in creating total body strength. I personally perform squats during my leg routines but do not recommend them when there are alternatives such as leg presses and other leg machines. They're much safer on your lower back and knees.

But how would training your legs make your upper body stronger?

Squats [in particular] and leg presses have a hidden growth element. These two exercises actually work the "entire" body. The amount of work it takes to squat down requires involvement from almost every muscle in your body, including abdominals. Most wouldn't realize it, but you're actually flexing and tensing most of your upper body [stabilizer or secondary] muscles just to get the weight up from the squatting position. More testosterone than any other exercise is released as a result of intense leg training.

The following is a sample rundown of how you should structure your weekly workout schedule for strengthening your bench press:

Monday: Chest & Back

Wednesday: Abs

Friday: Shoulders & Biceps

Saturday: Legs

Tuesday (following week): Triceps

Notice: How this schedule isn't based on what you can fit into 1 week. Instead, this plan uses about a week and a half to finish the entire body. This ensures you're getting plenty of rest in between workouts.

You can mix and match body part combinations if you wish. For example, instead of chest and back, you could train chest and triceps. You could even switch the days in which certain body parts are trained. For example, if legs are trained on Saturday, you could train them on Monday of the following week instead. Experiment with different training styles and combinations to find out which is best for your body type.

Bottom line: Before you try to increase your bench press, try to get stronger in your secondary muscle movements. This is the secret to increasing bench press strength. You want to train for at least 6 to 12 weeks before going for your one rep max (1RM).

How often should I train chest per week?

Some people train chest up to 3 times per week. These people are seriously overtraining. Two days per week, per muscle group is pushing it, although some can get away with it. The ones that train this way usually incorporate a light day and a heavy day. This method can be extremely effective, but I don't recommend training any muscle group twice within 1 week if you're goal is to build power. Instead, try training heavy during one week, then light during another week.

Bottom line: Once per week is preferred, but some people may be able to get away with training chest twice per week .

How many reps should I do?

For bench pressing, the best number of reps for size and power is about 6. Lower reps (i.e. 1 - 3) is good for strengthening the muscles for extra "temporary" strength. Higher reps ( i.e. 12 and up) will flush your muscles, shock them into temporary growth (i.e. the pump), and give them stamina.

Cycling reps is best. It's a very simple strategy. You lift light for about 2 weeks, and perform about 12 reps per set. During the next 2 weeks, or the mid-phase, decrease your reps to 8.

The week after the mid-phase, move to the power phase. Here, you're doing anywhere from 1 to 3 reps per set. At this time, you should feel a tremendous increase in strength.

Once the power phase is complete, you'll move back to the initial high-rep phase. The amount of time you spend on each phase is optional. Typically, you want to stay on each phase for about 2 - 4 weeks. Nothing more, nothing less!

The same technique used to build pectoral strength is the same technique you should use on all of your secondary muscle exercises. Use the different phases to maximize muscular strength and muscular growth.