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Alchemical Secrets: Bench Press of Thule
IntermediateFree

Alchemical Secrets: Bench Press of Thule

Excruciatingly ironpilled short term bodybuilding program to help you catch up on the presses

Rhazes
Rhazes· Oct 2024
6athletes running this program
iOS & Android

Overview

Length
10 weeks
Days / week
4 days
Level
Intermediate
Goal
Muscle
Equipment
Full Gym
Session length
60 min
Greetings, knight. You have acquired the mythical Scroll of Pressing. It contains a mystery as ancient as the gods. In the light of the Midnight Sun appear words written in ice blue ink: Vril is stored in the yoke This is a program for people in love with natural bodybuilding who want to increase their horizontal and vertical presses, but don't want to run a powerlifting or a "powerbuilding" program. It's for lifters who don't want to stop bodybuilding but still want to hit bigger numbers, which helps in building big chest and shoulders a lot! It's directly inspired by nSuns upper 1 day. It shouldn't be run for more than 8-12 weeks. Running this once should help you progress on the chest and shoulders if they are lacking. If you are a natural bodybuilder, I know you should run a program for years or possibly forever! But this program is meant to heavily bias chest and shoulders so use this as a tool to catch up. If you commit to this program, remember to test your one rep max once in a while and edit the one rep max, so the app can calculate you accurate weights to use. Chest and shoulders are heavily biased and therefore a lot of work on other exercises targeting for example lats and triceps has been toned down (from 3 or 4 sets to 2), but you will definitely not lose your gains. It's a small sacrifice for huge gains elsewhere! You will most likely still make gains, just a little bit slower. Upper chest is not directly isolated because of the sheer volume from bench press, but you can swap the pec dec for an incline press if your shoulders will allow it. If you experience any shoulder problems, quit this program. Shoulder injuries can be for a lifetime. Btw, relatively low reps on ab exercises are great. It's a fun and effective way to exercise your abs on the day you deadlift.

Who it's for

Intermediate athletes ready for a structured program
Athletes focused on building muscle size
Athletes who can train 4 days per week
Athletes with access to a full gym (barbells, dumbbells, cables, and machines)

Muscle engagement

Front
Back
Front Delts
13.4%
Triceps
12.9%
Chest
11.6%
Middle Delts
11.6%
Upper Back
10.5%
Biceps
7.7%
Quadriceps
5.8%
Abs
5%
Lats
4.2%
Calves
4%
Hamstrings
3.5%
Glutes
3.5%
Rear Delts
2.3%
Lower Back
2.1%
Forearms
1.3%
Adductors
0.7%
Week 1 Workouts
#ExerciseSetsRepsIntensity
1Bench Press (Barbell)18 reps65%
26 reps75%
34 reps85%
15 reps80%
17 reps70%
19 reps65%
2Overhead Press (Barbell)16 reps50%
15 reps60%
13 reps70%
15 reps70%
17 reps70%
14 reps70%
16 reps70%
18 reps70%
3Lateral Raise (Dumbbell)212 reps
4Pull-Up (Neutral Grip, Weighted)210 reps
5V-Handle Tricep Pushdown (Cable)210 reps
6Seated Wide-Grip Row (Cable)210 reps
7Incline Curl (Dumbbell)210 reps
8Hammer Curl210 reps
#ExerciseSetsReps
1Face Pull412 reps
2Power Shrug410 reps
3Squat (Barbell)310 reps
4Romanian Deadlift (Barbell)310 reps
5Single Leg Calf Raise412 reps
#ExerciseSetsRepsIntensity
1Bench Press (Barbell)18 reps65%
26 reps75%
34 reps85%
15 reps80%
17 reps70%
19 reps65%
2Overhead Press (Barbell)16 reps50%
15 reps60%
13 reps70%
15 reps70%
17 reps70%
14 reps70%
16 reps70%
18 reps70%
3Lateral Raise (Dumbbell)212 reps
4Pull-Up (Weighted)210 reps
5Pec Deck (Machine)210 reps
6Kroc Row210 reps
7Bicep Curl (Barbell)310 reps
#ExerciseSetsReps
1Power Shrug310 reps
2Deadlift (Barbell)310 reps
3Leg Extension412 reps
4Single Leg Calf Raise312 reps
5Reverse Bicep Curl (EZ Bar)412 reps
6Roman Chair Sit Up36 reps

Weeks 2–10 are in the app

Download Boostcamp to follow the full program with auto-progression and built-in coaching notes.

Common questions

Yes, Alchemical Secrets: Bench Press of Thule is completely free to follow on Boostcamp. Download the app on iOS or Android, find the program, and start your first workout immediately. All 10 weeks are fully unlocked.

This program is built around a full gym. Make sure you have consistent access before starting, since the progression model assumes you can perform the same movements week over week.

Each session typically takes around 60 minutes to complete. That estimate covers your working sets but doesn't account for warm-up or rest between sets, so budget a little extra time when you're first learning the movements.

Alchemical Secrets: Bench Press of Thule is structured around 4 training days per week, with rest days built in to allow for recovery. The Boostcamp app lets you reschedule sessions if your week doesn't go to plan.

The program runs for 10 weeks. The structure is designed so that each week builds on the last, with weights, volume, or intensity progressively increasing as you go.

Alchemical Secrets: Bench Press of Thule is available inside the Boostcamp app, free on iOS and Android. Once you download the app, you can search for the program by name. The app tracks all your sets and weights automatically, so you always know exactly what to do next session.

Get started

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