Would any of you like to bench more weight? Great, that’s all of you. I’m going to go over some tips to help increase that bench press asap. I’m talking yesterday.
Technique
I know you probably don’t care about technique and you may not be even reading this right now since you skipped over it to get to the exercises or you’re just now coming back to it after reading that stuff. That’s right, I caught your ass. It’s all good though, I probably would have done the same thing. Since you’re here now though let’s go over technique which can add serious poundage to your bench.
I advocate benching with the style used by powerlifters as it allows them to press the most weight and it helps keep their shoulders safe. After all, if you’re going to model your bench press technique after someone it might as well be someone who bench presses for a living. Oh, and he definitely benches more weight than you too. First of all, realize that the bench press is a full body lift. Even though it’s completed with the upper body, your lower body plays a huge roll in how much you can lift and proper use can give you serious drive under that bar. Feet are firmly planted into the ground and are used to drive your body back and down into the bench, putting pressure on your upper back. Your upper back is the platform from which you press so it must be locked in and stable. Pinch your shoulder blades and lie on top. Keep them there. A good analogy often used to describe lack of a stable upper back position is “like trying to shoot a cannon out of a canoe”. You can see how that’s not not exactly the ideal situation for putting up respectable numbers.
A nice arch in your back allows your chest to get nice and high, minimizing the distance the bar has to travel and limiting the excessive shoulder rotation at the bottom that accompanies benching with the chest low. When lowering the bar elbows should be kept close to the body with upper arms tucked in close to the torso at a 30-45 degree angle. I tend to lean more towards 30 degrees. Again this puts the shoulders in a safer position and is actually a more powerful position from which to press. The wrists and elbows should stay in line, directly under the bar to ensure the power is going in the right direction (vertical). The bar is lowered to the lower chest, just under the nipple line where your top abdominals begin. This takes some getting used to but it is safe and is usually the highest point of your arch. From here the bar is pressed in a straight line to lockout. When pressing, squeeze the shit out of the bar and drive your feet into the ground. Leg drive can give you serious power off the chest and is often overlooked when pressing. Squeezing the bar, also overlooked, better activates all the muscles down the chain from your hand to your shoulder, keeping them stable and giving the ability to transfer more force. That’s about as simple as I can make it. Really. There’s serious technique involved.
This guy’s gonna smoke 135.
Here’s a great video of Dave Tate, someone who knows a thing or two about benching, teaching you the basics with just a sprinkle of profanity:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QnwAoesJvQ
Building Strength
A guy walks into a gym with his buddies on International Chest Day and they throw a plate on each side of the bar. They each squeeze out 10 reps before throwing a 25 on each side for another 5 or so if they’re lucky. For some reason they decide to move up to either a 35 or throw another plate on, and then welcome to the Staples Centre. We get kids getting stapled to the bench under weight that was too heavy for them about 50 pounds ago and, unfortunately, we get to watch the rerun every week. Are you guilty of something similar? It’s cool, the first part is admitting it to yourself. That’s an example of testing your strength, building it requires a different approach. Basically you must work at a high enough percentage of your maximum to illicit strength gains, and you must focus on getting quality reps in. This is practice. Strength is a motor skill and it must be practiced.
Using protocols like 5×5, 6×3, and heavy singles if you’re advanced enough, are the go-to here as the low reps per set (1-5) allow you to use weight heavy enough to stimulate the strength gains you’re looking for and the higher number of sets ensure you achieve the needed volume and get that practice.
Supplemental and Accessory Exercises
Ok. I want you to listen to what I’m saying and accept it. Your weakness in the bench press is not due to your chest. READ IT AGAIN. ALOUD. Seriously. No insane amount of chest flyes and cable crossovers is ever going to make your bench press numbers acceptable. TRICEPS are what push the big man weight. Those things on the back of your arms which you never train because it takes away from biceps time. Those sweet, sweet muscles are the ones that keep the bar from stapling you to the bench and making you look like a punk in front of all the hotties in the lululemon pants. Not to mention they make up two thirds of your arm (more than your biceps) so if you want people to actually buy those tickets you’re selling to the infamous gun show you better start training them. Heavy presses such as close grip benching on both incline and flat, floor presses, and board pressing all have worked for ages and will continue to work. Get pressing, and HEAVY. For higher volume work all types of extensions work well: Lying barbell and dumbbell triceps extensions, overhead triceps extensions, and even cable pushdowns have their place.
The Hang: Do you have the hang? Stand in front of a mirror and reach your arms straight out to your sides with the palms facing up. Do your massive triceps hang down from your outstretched arms? If not you better get to work son.
As a raw bencher you must have strong shoulders to press serious weight. Lucky for you overhead pressing, if you are actually able to do it with proper form, strengthens your shoulders while hitting those triceps we love so much. Win-win. Military presses, push presses, and seated overhead pressing all work well here. The odd combination of raises also help. However, keep in mind that with all the pressing you’re partaking in your front deltoids will be getting a lot of work, and adding more work in the form of front delt raises or even overhead pressing will further exacerbate the imbalance between the muscles on the front and back of your shoulders. Don’t skip out on the rear delt stuff as it helps keep the balance. In terms of rear delt, and back work in general, most people should do a greater volume of horizontal pulling in relation to their horizontal pressing to maintain a postural balance. What to do for back? Enter smooth segue.
A big and strong back is needed to bench big. “But Sean, your back is on the back of your body and the bar is in front of you. Backs don’t push, they pull.” Well my friend, like I mentioned before the back is the stable platform from which you press. A big, strong back is a big, strong base so start putting in tons of upper back work in your program. I’m a fan of using a lot of exercises in the same plane as benching, so lots of horizontal rowing variations are warranted here: Heavy dumbbell and barbell rows, facepulls, seated cable rows, inverted rows, the list goes on.. Oh, a benefit of a strong back is that it looks friggin’ sweet!
Friggin’. Sweet.
So, to up that bench today, start by fix your technique. Benching with improper technique will only take you so far before you plateau or get injured and proper technique can add serious weight to your bench so don’t scoff at it. Focus on building strength not just testing it. If you benched 135 yesterday nobody cares if you get 140 today, they care if you get to 225 before your children do. Train the muscles which actually have a carryover to your bench. Strong triceps, shoulders, and back will give you the power you want. Try using that new direction with your programming for the next few months and let me know how it goes. Happy Benching!
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