Tiger Shark Bench Program

What is the Tiger Shark bench program?

Tiger Shark is a six-week bench press specialization program - a focused block you run when your bench is the lift lagging behind and you are willing to give it priority for a stretch. It has become a popular free spreadsheet for exactly that job: lots of quality pressing, sensible accessory work, and a peak at the end.

It is a specialization block, not a full training system: the bench press is the star, and the rest of your lifting rides along at maintenance while you run it.

How it works

The program benches at high frequency, with the week’s sessions playing different roles - heavier top-end work, higher-rep volume work, and lighter technique or variation pressing - in an undulating pattern rather than the same session repeated. Supporting accessory work for the shoulders, triceps and upper back keeps the pressing muscles growing and healthy.

Loading is a hybrid of percentages and RPE: the sheet prescribes weights from your bench max, while effort targets keep the harder sets honest and let good and bad days autoregulate. That combination gives you structure without forcing you to grind prescribed numbers on a flat day.

The built-in peak

The early weeks bias volume and hypertrophy - more sets, more reps, more total pressing - which is what actually builds the engine. As the block progresses, volume tapers while intensity climbs, sharpening that new muscle and work capacity into heavy singles and doubles.

By the final week you are rested and acclimated to heavy weights, ready to test a new max or carry the peak into a meet. That volume-to-intensity arc is the whole logic of the block: you cannot skip the volume weeks and expect the peak to deliver.

Who it’s for

Tiger Shark suits intermediate and advanced lifters with a stubborn bench - especially those whose squat and deadlift are ahead of their pressing and who can afford six weeks of bench priority. Healthy shoulders and elbows are a prerequisite for the pressing frequency.

It is not a beginner program (novices should be milking simple linear progression on all lifts), and it is the wrong choice mid meet-prep when all three lifts need to progress together.

Strengths & trade-offs

Strengths: a concentrated stimulus that moves a stuck bench, a smart blend of percentage structure and RPE flexibility, accessory work built in, and a defined six-week window with a payoff at the end.

Trade-offs: specialization has a cost - your squat and deadlift sit at maintenance - and the pressing frequency demands good recovery and joint health. Run it as an occasional block, not year-round programming.

How to run it

Seed the sheet with an honest, current bench max - an inflated number poisons every percentage downstream. Rate your RPE sets truthfully, do the accessory work, and keep your lower-body training ticking over at maintenance volume so it costs you nothing.

Open the spreadsheet below to see all six weeks laid out, or copy it in Google Sheets and enter your max. Test at the end of week six, rested and hungry.

The spreadsheet

Browse the full program below, or open it in Google Sheets to make your own copy and plug in your numbers.

Spreadsheet via LiftVault. If the preview doesn’t load, use “Open in Google Sheets”.

Equipment

This is a barbell program - you don’t need much, but a few pieces make it run smoothly.

Wrist Wraps

Keep the wrist stacked under the bar on heavy bench and overhead pressing, so the joint doesn’t bend back under load.

Check Out

Lifting Belt

Gives your core something to brace against, adding stability and lower-back support on heavy squats and deadlifts.

Check Out

Knee Sleeves

Add warmth and a little support to the knees, plus a small rebound out of the bottom of the squat.

Check Out

Lifting Straps

Secure your grip so heavy pulling and deadlift volume isn’t cut short by your hands giving out first.

Check Out

Learn the lifts

New to any of the movements in this program? Our lift guides break down technique, cues and the common mistakes to avoid.