Jonnie Candito’s Advanced Bench Program is a free 6-week bench specialization built for lifters who’ve stalled on the competition bench. You bench up to 5 days a week for the first 3 weeks, then drop to just 2 sessions a week for weeks 4 through 6. Each bench day pairs the flat bench with one primary press accessory and a couple of high-rep isolation lifts, and the loads run off your current 1RM early in the cycle, then off your goal max once you reach the peaking weeks.
Candito built this after a full year of stalled bench progress and nagging shoulder pain. He scrapped the “just bench more to bench more” approach and leaned on heavy barbell accessories, an RPE-based effort target on those accessories, and a much shorter taper than he runs on squat or deadlift. It’s the bench companion to his advanced squat program and advanced deadlift program, the same one-lift-at-a-time idea applied to the press.
This one is for advanced lifters, meaning your bench isn’t moving month to month anymore. If you’re still adding weight every few weeks, you’ll get more out of the Candito 6 Week Strength Program or the beginner-focused Candito Linear Program. There’s also a hybrid version that runs this bench work alongside the 6 Week Strength Program’s squat and deadlift.
Table of Contents
Candito Advanced Bench Program Video
Here’s Jonnie Candito’s own rundown of the Advanced Bench Program.
Candito Advanced Bench Press Program Spreadsheet
Enter your current bench 1RM and your goal max on the Inputs tab and the sheet fills in every bench load for you. The spreadsheet is laid out with one tab per week, so you can see all 6 weeks without stepping through a dropdown. The two primary accessories and the isolation work are left as log cells on purpose, since Candito wants you picking those loads by effort (around RPE 9 on the main accessories).
Program by Jonnie Candito. The full write-up is in his Advanced Bench Program explanation PDF (archived copy). The original spreadsheet was built by Cody Page with kg and week-6 fixes from Lift Vault reader L.Y. Sim, and it’s been rebuilt here to Lift Vault’s format with one tab per week. Support Jonnie Candito on YouTube.
Candito Advanced Bench Press Program Overview
- 6 weeks in length
- Bench frequency runs 5 days a week (weeks 1 to 3), then 2 days a week (weeks 4 to 6)
- Bench loads are driven by % of 1RM: your current max in weeks 1 to 3, your goal max in weeks 4 to 6
- Two primary press accessories per rotation (one horizontal, one vertical) at about RPE 9, plus high-rep isolation work
- Built for advanced lifters whose bench isn’t progressing month to month
This program is built for an advanced lifter who wants to set aside a block of time to overload the bench press with high frequency, volume, and specificity. The approach varies a lot from normal training and even changes within the cycle, since the first 3 weeks look nothing like the rest. That’s intentional. Past a certain point, even smart training runs into a wall, especially for a natural lifter, so the same input stops giving you new output.
Phases
Weeks 1 to 3 – Maximum Fatigue Phase
Five days a week. The goal is fatigue and high weekly volume with the emphasis on accessories. Your bench skill still develops, but you keep bar speed fast since effort on the competition lift stays low. Week 3 gives a load range so you can autoregulate day to day, and Candito recommends hitting the top of that range at least once during the week. Building up to about 90% by week 3 creates a mini-peak while you’re fatigued, which gives you a read on how realistic your goal max is when most of the cycle sits so far below max.
Week 4 – High Volume With Specificity and Full Recovery
Two days a week. The goal is as much bench volume per session as you can manage while intensity keeps climbing. Expect a good deal of soreness but near-full recovery between the two sessions. This is where the 15 to 20 rep accessory peak set lands: aim for a true 20-rep max, with 15 as the no-break minimum, then rack it and grind out the rest with as little rest as possible.
Week 5 – High Intensity Peak Set
The goal is to hit some rep PRs while keeping it to a conservative 3-rep peak set, followed by a true 5-rep max the next session with backoff sets to keep volume up. Candito values volume here with a very short, minor taper on the bench compared to what he runs on the squat and deadlift.
Week 6 – Max Out
Day 1 is a heavy pin-press test loaded above your goal max, which primes you for a true overload. Day 2 you work up and max out on the flat bench, aiming for a new 1RM at your goal max.
What Is an Advanced Lifter?
There’s no universal answer, so here’s Candito’s personal one, and it comes down to a single thing: rate of progress. It doesn’t matter whether you bench 225 or 500 for a single. If you can’t make consistent, testable progress each month (testable meaning above the minimum plate increments at your gym), then you’re advanced by his definition. Percentages already handle different strength levels. What gets tricky at the advanced stage is choosing the cycle length and the projected strength increase, which is why this program uses both a training max and a goal max.
- Novice = progress weekly
- Intermediate = progress monthly
- Advanced = everything else
Candito Advanced Bench Program FAQs
What is the Candito Advanced Bench Program?
It’s a free 6-week bench specialization from Jonnie Candito, built for advanced lifters stuck on the competition bench. You bench up to 5 days a week for the first 3 weeks to pile on fatigue and volume, then cut to 2 sessions a week for weeks 4 through 6 to add specificity, peak, and max out. Bench loads come off your current 1RM early and your goal max in the back half, while the two primary accessories are run by effort at around RPE 9.
Who should run the Candito Advanced Bench Program?
Advanced lifters, which Candito defines strictly by rate of progress: if you can’t make testable progress on your bench month to month, you qualify, regardless of the number on the bar. Novices progress weekly and intermediates progress monthly, and both are better served by a simpler program. If that’s you, start with the Candito 6 Week Strength Program or the Candito Linear Program.
How many days a week is the program?
It changes across the cycle. Weeks 1 to 3 are 5 days a week (Candito suggests training 5 days in a row, then taking 2 days off). Weeks 4 to 6 drop to 2 days a week, so the blank days there in the spreadsheet are intentional, not a mistake.
Can I run this with the Candito 6 Week Strength Program?
Yes. Candito answers this one himself: as long as you understand the bench program is meant to be a one-lift focus during the high-frequency stage, you can try it. If you want the squat and deadlift programmed alongside it for you, use the Candito 6 Week Advanced Bench Hybrid, which folds this bench work into the 6 Week Strength Program’s squat and deadlift.
How often can I repeat the program?
Not twice in a row. Candito recommends at least a 4-week break between cycles, and swapping at least one primary accessory when you restart to avoid overuse. The spreadsheet includes his 1x-a-week offseason maintenance workout for that break, which keeps your bench strength up with the minimum effective volume before you run the program again.
Updates
- 2026 refresh: rebuilt the spreadsheet with one tab per week (weeks 1 to 6), a Read Me and Inputs tab, an RPE-to-%1RM chart, an offseason maintenance tab, and Lift Vault’s color convention. Added the program video, an overview, and FAQs.
- 2/20/20: a Lift Vault reader fixed the kg function and the week 6 day 1 pin-press weight in the original sheet. Thank you, L.Y.
