1 Month of Leg Training Cost Me 40 Pounds on My Bench Press

By Emmett Shaul, MTI Coach

We’d just finished MTI’s 5-week King of the Upper Body Lifts Density strength training cycle—three bench press sessions per week. I opened that cycle with a 300 pound 1RM and closed it by matching my all time best at 315. That set a clear marker for where my upper body pressing strength was at that moment. 

The next four-week Geek Cycle shifted the focus. Training included heavy back squats using velocity based training (VBT), a 10-minute max sandbag get-up progression, one weekly 6 mile ruck run at 60 pounds, a swim session built off a 500 meter combat sidestroke assessment with treading, rock climbing focused on upper body pulling and grip, and mobility work. The only upper body training in that block was climbing and swim/tread—no upper body pushing. Our endurance during the Geek Cycle included ruck running and swimming.

After that lower body focused Geek Cycle, I re-tested my bench press during our Working Strength mini-study. The result was 275, and it felt heavy. Working up in singles, bar speed was slow and I was noticeably weaker compared to where I’d finished the King of the Upper Body Lifts Geek Cycle. That’s a 40 pound drop in four weeks (≈12.7%).

What the research says about 4–5 weeks without bench pressing

In trained lifters, short-term detraining around four weeks produces modest but real reductions in maximal strength. Izquierdo et al. (2007) reported ~6–9% declines in 1RM after four weeks of complete cessation following a heavy resistance block in strength-trained men. Mujika & Padilla (2000a; 2000b) classify <4 weeks as short-term detraining with limited declines in maximal force, with losses escalating past that window. Bench specific upper body data align: in women, Ahtiainen et al. (2022) observed that five weeks of detraining reduced bench-press 1RM by ~6.6–8.0%, depending on whether the prior phase emphasized eccentric or concentric training. Put together, a trained athlete should expect a measurable drop on the order of ~5–10% across a month without bench pressing, my ~12–13% fall (315 to 275) was larger than typical.

So why did I lose ~13% (315 to 275) instead of ~6–9%? Two likely contributors, both supported by research:

Concurrent endurance. Adding endurance to strength, concurrent training, blunts strength and hypertrophy compared to strength only. Wilson et al. (2012) show small but significant interference effects, especially with running-type modalities and with higher frequency/duration. During the Geek Cycle I was Rucking once per week plus a swim session—endurance stress alongside the heavy squat emphasis and no bench pressing. 

Total removal of the movement. Pulling bench pressing out entirely matters. Studies that implement planned detraining followed by retraining show bench press strength and size rebound quickly once bench pressing resumes, but the layoff lets the bench specific quality drift. Ogasawara et al. (2013) demonstrated that periodic (train, short detraining, retrain) bench press cycles produced similar long term 1RM and hypertrophy to continuous training—implying fast regain during retraining—yet you still give up capacity when you stop pressing for a block.

How fast did it come back?

Once I reintroduced bench pressing, it rebounded fast. Over three weeks of Working Strength, with bench once per week, I went from 275 to 295 (+20 pounds). Structure: Week 1 = 6×4; Week 2 = 6×5 at +10 lb over Week 1; Week 3 = re-test. Even with that limited exposure, the lift climbed back quickly. 

The pace of return matches what research calls muscle memory. In humans, Seaborne et al. (2018) reported retained epigenetic signatures after detraining that prime a faster response on retraining, and Bruusgaard et al. (2010) showed myonuclei gained during overload aren’t lost during detraining—both mechanisms help explain why strength can return in weeks, not months, once the specific lift is back in the plan. 

What I’m taking from this. The size of my drop was bigger than the four-week norm the research would predict for trained lifters. Reintroducing a single focused weekly bench session under Working Strength put 20 pounds back on the bar in three weeks. If I want to protect the bench during mixed-mode blocks, I need some bench pressing in the week. When I pull it out entirely—even with plenty of hard training elsewhere—I give up more than I’d like, and I feel it immediately on the bar. The endurance I kept (rucking and swimming) may have added to the decline, consistent with Wilson et al. (2012).

References

• Ahtiainen, J. P., Walker, S., Kraemer, W. J., Häkkinen, K., Blazevich, A. J., Nosaka, K., & Haff, G. G. (2022). Effects of upper-body eccentric versus concentric strength training and detraining on maximal force, muscle activation, hypertrophy and serum hormones in women. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 21(2), 200–213. jssm.orgjssm.org
• Bruusgaard, J. C., Johansen, I. B., Egner, I. M., Rana, Z. A., & Gundersen, K. (2010). Myonuclei acquired by overload exercise precede hypertrophy and are not lost on detraining. PNAS, 107(34), 15111–15116. PNAS
• Izquierdo, M., Ibañez, J., González-Badillo, J. J., Ratamess, N. A., Kraemer, W. J., Häkkinen, K., et al. (2007). Detraining and tapering effects on hormonal responses and strength performance. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 21(3), 768–775. Lippincott Journals
• Mujika, I., & Padilla, S. (2000a). Detraining: Loss of training-induced physiological and performance adaptations. Part I: Short-term. Sports Medicine, 30(2), 79–87; (2000b) Part II: Long-term, 30(3), 145–154. SpringerLinkFederació Catalana d’Handbol
• Ogasawara, R., Yasuda, T., Ishii, N., & Abe, T. (2013). Comparison of muscle hypertrophy following 6-month continuous and periodic strength training. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 113(4), 975–985. SpringerLink
• Seaborne, R. A., Strauss, J., Cocks, M., et al. (2018). Human skeletal muscle possesses an epigenetic memory of hypertrophy. Scientific Reports, 8, 1898. Nature
• Wilson, J. M., Marin, P. J., Rhea, M. R., Wilson, S. M. C., Loenneke, J. P., & Anderson, J. C. (2012). Concurrent training: A meta-analysis examining interference of aerobic and resistance exercises. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 26(8), 2293–2307. ResearchGate