Mathew Welch, MS, CSCS, ATC, USAW-1, exercise physiologist at HSS, shared strategies to help maximize your bench press in an interview with GQ. 

To maximize strength gains and progression under the barbell, Welch recommends a three-day training split that you can do on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

“The first day would be a maximal strength day, where we're doing 3–5 sets of 1–5 reps, because you can build strength through that 1–5 rep range,” he says. The second day would be for accessory work—to develop the surrounding muscles that play a supporting role in the bench press. These would be exercises like the incline press and chest fly, working up to two sets of 5–8 reps for each. And Friday would be back to the bench for what Welch calls a “dynamic effort” day. Here, you’re doing 8–10 sets of just 1–3 reps, using a load around 55–65 percent of your one-rep max and trying to move the weight as fast as possible. “The dynamic effort method can be very effective for power development,” says Welch. “If you're trying to break through a plateau, adding some power development can be very helpful."

Read the full article at gq.com.