Doug Hepburn Bench Press Routine 

I knew Hepburn and have sat with him in the alley of his shop in central/east van on a warm August afternoon talking about getting stronger. He was a good man. Very kind.

Old school wisdom and so simple , I am going to add this in. Thanks !

I'm 37 @225lbs. My forever goal is to have 300lbs my final working set. I dont entertain ideas of being a pro bencher it's just nice to know I'm 3 times as strong as the average guy my age and size.

Impressive mate. Also thanks for the explanation

Great explanation of Hepburn’s bench routine. Thanks! Wow, you were able to call and speak with Doug Hepburn! That’s very cool. Now, every person who takes a 4 week course to get certified thinks that they get to earn $50 to $100 an hour for their time because they are a “coach”. Hepburn could be making a fortune today.

Great lifts!

He has a few routines I think I 've read of 8 sets * 2 reps and 3 sets of 6 reps.

Hi, do you do it on overhead press? And what do you think to do the volume work on a different day? Thanks

The singles were all grinders. There is bo chance that the program is going to work optimally if you're starting with a weight where the first five singles are not executed smoothly with perfect form. The reason this program works so well is predicated on starting with a weight where you are not challenged by the load at all, and are simply practicing multiple singles twice a week so that your technique is consistently reinforced. You are ingraining the precise ibar path, kinetic linkage (timing of the order in which the muscles fire, thereby eliminating sticking points, taking advantage of the most advantageous body positioning, including nailing the set up (shoulder blades pulled in right, and shoulder girdle depressed towards the feet, a static back arch, tight flexed buttocks, feet planted on the floor to maximize stability and leg drive, gripping the bar tightly, rucking the elbows as you row the bar to the sweet spot, then drive it back towards your head as your elbows gradually open and flare out as you approach lockout. The elbow tuck allows you to maximize the use of the lats out of the hole, driving the bar back towards the dead allows the chest to be used in concert with the lats and ooening the elbows maximizes triceps power. Although Doug doesn't explain all of these modern bench press cues,when you watching Vince you can still tell he employs them. Some variation of the aforementioned technique is necessary to perform the bench press properly so that heavy weights can be used in a safe manner. If you ever watch bench press Masters hitting records in competition, rarely are world record efforts done in a grinding slow form. Many world records appear almost effortless because there is so much are speed resulting from perfect kinetic linkage. Although you should be able to grind, this program is about practicing the bench press with substantial load but always having plenty of reserve fuel left in the tank after the rep. if you really want to get the most out of this routine, let's assume that you are capable of a perfect paused single with 405. You should probably start the routine with no more then 365 at the most. On Monday go365 for 5 easy singles followed by 6x3 with 295. On Thursday do 6x1with 365 ,followed by 6x4 with 295. The following Monday do 7x1 with 365,and3x5 with 295 and 3x4 with 295. On Thursday do 8x1 with 365, and 6x5 with 295. Next Monday drop to 5x1 with 370 followed by 6x3 with 300, continue with the progression as outlined above,,, and in two weeks you should be good to add 5 pounds. 375 and 305. You should be able to continue progressing easily every two weeks until you are up around 385 to 390 pounds. and 315 to 320. At this point getting 8 singles at 390 and 6x5 with 320 using 2 minutes of rest should require real effort. Therefore, you should either reduce the weight by 10 or 20% for the next week and just bang out 8 easy single and 6x5 with a super easy weight, or take the week off. You can resume where you left off because you started without being challenged for the first several weeks. By the time you are able to complete aid singles with 405 and 6x5 with 335, you are probably capable of a 435 to 440 bench. At that point, it might make the most sense to resume the routine starting at 390 and 320 and rebuild to 425 for 8x1 and 355 6x5.. By now you are likely benching 455-465. It is probably a good idea to replace the bench press with dips or decline presses and replace the overhead press with a 55-70 degree incline press and run the same program. You should continue to perform flat and seated presses once a week for 3-5 sets of 4-8 reps with an easy load simply to reinforce the movement pattern you worked so hard to blll

Awesome bench man, ive been doing 315 for singles for years but can't get past my shoulder pain . I don't know if it's a torn labram or how to heal it. besides quitting the bench for a while. I dont wanna do that it could go up if it wasn't for the injury

How did doug recommended programming the other lifts into the routine? Thanks

Good job man! Interesting program.

Update, I'm part of the 300lb + club for the first time in over a decade.

This sure does look like a good program for the Olympic Press.

I though Paul Anderson could bench well over 600lbs. Maybe I'm wrong or it's just speculation, but it really wouldn't surprise me

I did this mon wed Friday for about 2 months went from 250-280ish bench for a max ..but I have only been lifting for about 7 months at the time

is that training manual still available anywhere to get since Doug passed away? also does it cover what to do for squat and deadlift too?

when you're doing the back off sets. Are you getting your percentages from the singles you work with or your overall max? Good job by the way, how much have you improved since this video

Interesting. I had someone ask me what I thought about the routine so I looked it up. I personally just pyramid up adding weight on each set until I can only do a single then go back down the back side increasing the reps and decreasing the weight. I vary it up and do a heavy bench day and a volume bench day each week, but am doing pretty well. I compete often and have not lost yet. I tell everyone though tthey have to find their own groove and use what is best for them.

Who won the bench contest between him and Anderson?

I need your help! Its been a few years since you answered a question for me. I hope you see this. Last week I benched 255 for 23 singles, 2 min apart and it was amazing! I could probably have done 30 but I was careful of my joints at 45 years old. Just now I thought I could at least get 20 singles with 265. 10 pounds more, and I got 11. Failed on 12th and second attempt. What factors can cause you to be weaker???? I eat. I rest. Horrible workout.

Impressive Sir but when you stall, what would you do? Thanks.

This is the workout B, right?

Just found this video. Could you tell me how/when/how much weight or reps do I add?Should I deload if I stall? Thanks in advance.

Where did you get that booklet ?

3 to 5 minutes rest on singles? I've been doing 1.5 minutes on doubles. But it's about time to swap out routines anyway

Great lifting! I'm looking for this course for years... You find Doug Hepburn's courses for the other lifts,but not for the Bench Press. Is there any possibility that you could upload it somehow?

I have run this routine several times. I believe you are starting to heavy to go very fat with it. This routine is designed to become better at the lift by improving mechanics. You are much stronger than the weights you are using would suggest because your tecnique is atrocious. No offense but your body oosition is not tight, your chrst is caved in and you get very little pec or lat involvment. There is bo chance that the program is going to work optimally if you're starting with a weight where the first five singles are not executed smoothly with perfect form. The reason this program works so well is predicated on starting with a weight where you are not challenged by the load at all, and are simply practicing multiple singles twice a week so that your technique is consistently reinforced. You are ingraining the precise ibar path, kinetic linkage (timing of the order in which the muscles fire, thereby eliminating sticking points, taking advantage of the most advantageous body positioning, including nailing the set up (shoulder blades pulled in right, and shoulder girdle depressed towards the feet, a static back arch, tight flexed buttocks, feet planted on the floor to maximize stability and leg drive, gripping the bar tightly, rucking the elbows as you row the bar to the sweet spot, then drive it back towards your head as your elbows gradually open and flare out as you approach lockout. The elbow tuck allows you to maximize the use of the lats out of the hole, driving the bar back towards the dead allows the chest to be used in concert with the lats and ooening the elbows maximizes triceps power. Although Doug doesn't explain all of these modern bench press cues,when you watching Vince you can still tell he employs them. Some variation of the aforementioned technique is necessary to perform the bench press properly so that heavy weights can be used in a safe manner. If you ever watch bench press Masters hitting records in competition, rarely are world record efforts done in a grinding slow form. Many world records appear almost effortless because there is so much are speed resulting from perfect kinetic linkage. Although you should be able to grind, this program is about practicing the bench press with substantial load but always having plenty of reserve fuel left in the tank after the rep. if you really want to get the most out of this routine, let's assume that you are capable of a perfect paused single with 405. You should probably start the routine with no more then 365 at the most. On Monday go365 for 5 easy singles followed by 6x3 with 295. On Thursday do 6x1with 365 ,followed by 6x4 with 295. The following Monday do 7x1 with 365,and3x5 with 295 and 3x4 with 295. On Thursday do 8x1 with 365, and 6x5 with 295. Next Monday drop to 5x1 with 370 followed by 6x3 with 300, continue with the progression as outlined above,,, and in two weeks you should be good to add 5 pounds. 375 and 305. You should be able to continue progressing easily every two weeks until you are up around 385 to 390 pounds. and 315 to 320. At this point getting 8 singles at 390 and 6x5 with 320 using 2 minutes of rest should require real effort. Therefore, you should either reduce the weight by 10 or 20% for the next week and just bang out 8 easy single and 6x5 with a super easy weight, or take the week off. You can resume where you left off because you started without being challenged for the first several weeks. By the time you are able to complete aid singles with 405 and 6x5 with 335, you are probably capable of a 435 to 440 bench. At that point, it might make the most sense to resume the routine starting at 390 and 320 and rebuild to 425 for 8x1 and 355 6x5.. By now you are likely benching 455-465. It is probably a good idea to replace the bench press with dips or decline presses and replace the overhead press with a 55-70 degree incline press and run the same program. You should continue to perform flat and seated presses once a week for 3-5 sets of 4-8 reps with an easy load simply to reinforce the movement pattern you worked so hard to build.