This is Kizen’s free 6 week bench press peaking program: two bench sessions a week, low volume, high intensity, built to add weight to a single lift rather than to build size. Week 7 is a test day that works up to a new max.
Day 1 is the heavy day and it carries almost all the work: straight sets of triples with the percentage climbing week to week, then a superset of incline dumbbell press and face pulls. Day 2 is lighter and broader, pairing sub-maximal bench with overhead press and rows. That’s the whole program, which is the appeal.
Six weeks of benching twice a week suits someone with a meet or a test day in sight who already has a bench worth peaking. It won’t add much muscle, and if that’s what you’re after a bodybuilding program or a PPL split will serve you better. Note: Kizen Training has closed, so its site and the free course that used to accompany this program are gone. The spreadsheet is hosted here and still works.
Table of Contents
Kizen 6 Week Bench Peaking Program Spreadsheet
Enter your bench press 1RM at the top and every working weight fills in. That 1RM input is a Lift Vault addition; the programming is Kizen’s.
Program Overview
- Length: 6 weeks of training plus a test week
- Frequency: 2 bench sessions per week
- Loading: percentage-based off a single bench 1RM
- Structure: one heavy day, one lighter day with pressing and pulling accessories
- Inputs: bench press 1RM
Week 1 sets the pattern. Day 1 is 8 sets of 3 at 77.5% followed by three rounds of incline dumbbell press and face pulls. Day 2 is 4 sets of 6 to 8 at 65%, overhead press for 3 sets of 5 at 70%, then rows. Across the block the heavy day trades sets for intensity, dropping toward 6 sets while the percentage climbs.
Week 7 is three singles at 90%, 95% and 100%. If the last one moves well, you have a new max.
Kizen Bench Peaking FAQs
Is the Kizen free bench course still available?
No. Kizen Training has shut down and its site no longer resolves, so the course that used to accompany this spreadsheet is gone. The programming itself is all in the sheet, and the overview above covers what the course added.
Can I squat and deadlift while running this?
Yes. It only occupies two days and it’s a bench specialization block, not a full program. Keep your lower body work on the other days and don’t schedule a heavy squat session the day before your heavy bench day.
What if I miss reps in week 5 or 6?
Your entered 1RM was optimistic. Drop it 5% and rerun the sheet rather than grinding the last two weeks, because the whole point of a peaking block is arriving at the test day fresh rather than beaten up.
What else did Kizen put out for free?
The 4 week powerbuilding preview is the other one still hosted here. It’s a 6 day powerbuilding block and, unlike this program, it isn’t built to peak.
Updates
- Kizen Training has closed, so all three links to kizentraining.com were removed along with the affiliate box promoting their paid 12 week bench program. The free spreadsheet is unaffected and remains hosted here. Added the program structure and week 7 test day, which were previously only inside the sheet, replaced the deprecated htmlembed embed with the standard preview pair, and cross-linked the other surviving Kizen program.
