If you have been stuck benching 250 lbs. and really want to get to 300 lbs. then reading this article will be the biggest step you take this year. Get ready to bench 250, 300, 400, or more!

Quick Tips & Questions 

 Tips To Keep In Mind Keep your elbows tucked in to your side and use your strong triceps to help the lift. The Bench Press Strength! manual contains the appropriate volume and intensity of triceps work to prepare your arms. Use your whole body in the lift. Push against the floor with your feet. Keep your upper back muscles tensed and keep the upper back on the bench for stability. Push the bar straight up to reduce the movement distance. Practice your technique! Heavy lifting is a combination of skill and muscular work, so you learn how to perform the movement most efficiently. Identify your weaknesses so that you can train appropriately.

 Questions To Ask Yourself What are your weaknesses in the bench press? Liftoff? Lockout? What are your strengths in your lifts? What are your specific goals for the bench press? What is your training schedule? - Detail each workout day. Have you had any injuries? What training program has given you the best results in the past?

Bench Press Tips From The Experts 

The first step to improving your bench (even before designing your program) is figuring out what the heck is stopping you from benching more weight.

 What Is Your Weak Area In The Exercise?
 

If You Fail At The Bottom: If you just can't get the weight off your chest (but would have no problem with the lockout), you need to become more explosive in the start of the movement. Dave Tate recommends you incorporate explosive pressing. This is described later in this article as "Dynamic Effort" training.

If You Can't Complete The Lockout: If so, then your triceps strength (or lack of it) may limit your success. Use a combination of heavy close-grip presses and triceps extensions to build the necessary triceps strength.

Pick the weak spot in your bench and make it a priority in training.

 Other Factors...
 According to Sarah Clarke, gold medalist at the 2002 Canadian National Powerlifting Championships in the 75 kg weight class, "You can't let your legs dance around or tap your feet when things get tough. This reduces your power generation in the bench press. Instead, you must set a strong foundation with your legs.

Press your upper back into the bench and use this to aid in pressing the bar. Stability is a key in a heavy bench press, so putting your feet on the bench isn't going to help you out one bit. Tension throughout the entire body is mandatory in the bench press."

Review each rep afterward and use this feedback to improve each future rep. According to Tate, you should "stay tight, keep the elbows tucked, drive your heels into the floor and shove your body away from the bar as you press".

Practice your technique. Treat strength development like any skill development. Perfect practice makes perfect presses.

You have to do it over and over again to find your best method of benching.

 Strengthen Your Upper Back.
 

Bench Press Strength Techniques 

 Maximal Effort Training 
This type of training refers to the sessions where you lift as much weight as you possibly can for a specific number of repetitions.

For example, a 5 RM maximal effort session would require you to work up the best weight that you can lift for 5 repetitions with good form.

 Dynamic Effort Training 
Dave Tate recommends devoting one day per week to "dynamic effort" training. Dynamic effort training is designed to increase explosiveness. The foundation of a dynamic effort workout is opposite to a traditional workout.

Because the focus of a dynamic exercise is to move the weight as fast as possible, you will use much less weight. In addition, rather than performing a small number of sets and many repetitions, you will perform a larger number of sets with a smaller number of repetitions (i.e. 8 sets of 3 repetitions for the bench press).

It is extremely important to push the bar with maximal force on each rep. Don't take it easy just because it is a lighter weight. Adding chains and bands (see below) helps increase the resistance at the top of the movement. You must press with maximal force to overcome the added resistance at the top of the movement. Tate describes dynamic effort training as, "compensatory acceleration" and that "it can help you break through sticking points".

The key to getting through a sticking point as Tate describes it is to, "train to accelerate through the sticking point". If you explode the bar up, you can break through your sticking point. When training with the dynamic effort, focus on bar speed. If the bar slows down from rep to rep, it means the weight is too heavy. Use a resistance that is ~50% of your estimated 1 RM bench for 8 sets of 3.

 The Use Of Bands & Chains in Bench Press Training 
Adding a chain or band increases the resistance at the top of the movement. For example, if you have 225 lbs. on the bar plus a 10 lb. chain on each side, you will bench press 225 lbs. off your chest but you will lockout 245 lbs. The chains must be attached to "unload" onto the floor when the bar is lowered.

The same principle applies to the bands. The bands are looped around both a secure object at ground level and the ends of the barbell. The bands then provide less resistance at the bottom of the movement.

Bench Press Exercise Descriptions 

Remember to always have a spotter for heavy bench pressing and for the lift-off. Your spotter will help you get the bar off the rack and out to the start position. You will also need them to make sure that you complete every repetition in your set.

 Bench Press 
Keep your feet flat on the floor, legs bent, and upper back flat against the bench. Grip the bar using a medium-width grip. Have your spotter help you take the bar from the rack. Keeping your elbows close to your sides, lower the bar straight down to the bottom of your chest. Pause briefly and then press the bar back up above the chest in a straight line.

 Dynamic Bench Press 
Attach the chains or bands to the ends of the bar as required. Make sure to anchor the bands under the rack or with very heavy dumbbells. Keep your feet flat on the floor, legs bent, and upper back flat against the bench. For the first 3 sets, grip the bar using a medium-width grip. Use a slightly wider grip for the next 3 sets, and a slightly narrower grip for the final 3 sets. Keeping your elbows close to your sides, lower the bar straight down to the bottom of your chest. Accelerate the bar up as quickly as possible. Perform all 3 reps as fast as you can.

 DB Floor Press 
Lie on the floor and hold the dumbbells above your chest with your palms turned toward your feet. Lower the dumbbells until your upper arms contact the floor. Pause briefly and then press the dumbbells straight up above the chest.

A floor press strengthens the mid-point of your bench and demands a strong grip. It also removes the leg drive from the exercise and makes you work harder while forcing you to keep your body tight.

Do 2-3 sets of 6-8 reps. Start with no more than 75 percent of what you use in a normal flat bench dumbbell press.

 

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Tags: Bench, Improve, Press

Have You Ever Wondered Why People Are So Obsessed With The Bench Press?

I used to ask myself, what's the big deal with the bench press anyway?

It didn't matter if it was at school with my friends... at work with my co-workers... or at the gym with my lifting buddies... everyone would always ask me, "How Much Do You Bench?"

But over time, as I became more informed about exercise and muscle growth... I soon learned that the benching did a lot more for your body than just about any other exercise.

3 Reasons Why You'll Want to Focus on Increasing This Lift

1. As you probably already know... having a big bench press is like a badge of honor. Plain and simple... it gets you respect and attention in almost every area of your life. It's a measuring stick that you use with your buddies. The one with the biggest bench is usually the most respected. The strongest is usually the most respected (and most feared!)

2. Having a big bench usually means you're strong and in shape. In fact my football coaches in college were dead serious about knowing how much I could bench press and tested it several times a year. You see they knew something that most people don't.....

3. Increasing your bench press will also increase the amount of muscle mass you have on your entire body! It's true... and it's because of 2 reasons. First, when you keep lifting more and more weight, your body must add muscle mass so that it can handle that additional stress (weight) you're placing on it. And second, heavy intense lifts like the bench press releases anabolic hormones into your bloodstream... things like testosterone and human growth hormone. These are the male muscle builders that help you pack on muscle.

The bench press is not just about boosting your ego, having a head turning upper body, or about the ability to push people around on the field.

When done correctly (which most people don't) the bench press uses every single muscle in your body. You stimulate the chest, shoulders, triceps, biceps, your back and even your LEGS.

It's a fact that compound exercises that involve the most muscle groups give you the most results in the least amount of time. It's because you're using ALL of your muscles at the same time.

And honestly... no upper body exercise involves more muscles and becomes more of a full body exercise then the bench press. So if you don't have a lot of time you can spend in the gym... focusing on the bench press is a sure-fire way that you're getting an intense, good workout in for your whole body!

Why Many People Fail To Focus On Improving Their Bench...

Maybe you know someone that struggles with this exercise. And the way they deal with it is by ignoring it. Or they say it's an over-rated lift.

The problem with this mentality is that by skipping this mass building exercise... they're depriving their body of anabolic hormones that could be helping then pack on muscle mass. And they're not placing enough demands on their body so that they can gain muscle.

Foolish, if you ask me.

When you train the bench press the right way... you trigger a release of testosterone and growth hormone that helps all your muscles grow bigger and stronger.

And as a result... you'll pack on more muscle mass... which will help you feel more confident in your appearance.

We all know that jacked, muscular guys usually get attention, turn heads, and get others to notice.

The #1 Mistake People Make When Failing To Bench Press More Weight

I want to let you in on a little secret:

Because there are SO many muscles involved in the bench press... you don't want to neglect and forget them.

In order to up your bench press max and start packing on muscle mass... you'll need to pay close attention to the other muscle groups that are involved in the lift.

For example, just bench pressing more often will NOT help you gain strength or muscle. In fact, the opposite occurs... you actually lose strength and muscle if you start to benching too often. It's because you're OVERUSING the chest muscles... but UNDERUSING your other muscle groups.

What's the Solution? Power Building. Click HERE for the rest of the article.

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Tags: Bench, Mistake, Press

Another article about the bench press you ask? Whether you agree or not the barbell bench press is one of the most highly regarded weight room exercises period. Have you heard this conversation in the gym lately?

"So how much weight can you use for preacher curls?"

"I'm moving some heavy weight, how much can you use for kickbacks?"

"I've been struggling on those and I have a kickback meet coming up in a few months!"

I'll take a wild guess and say this conversation has never and will never take place. The truth is the vast majority of individuals measure their strength and even their manhood based on how much they can bench. You could be at the gym, or even at a bar having a beer but when the topic of working out comes up people are almost certain to ask the infamous question, "How much you bench?" If you don't care how strong you are then I don't know why you're lifting weights anyway. The bench press is a benchmark of your strength plain and simple.

Back to the conversation we didn't hear at the gym. What our friends above should have been asking each other isn't how much weight they use when doing kickbacks but rather how much weight they use when they're performing a lower pulley external rotation exercise. Did I lose you there? I know, I know we declared the bench press is the true measure of our strength not all these isolation and stabilizer exercises right?

This is true, but have you ever heard the expression, you're only as strong as your weakest link? When you bench press there are four tiny muscles that play a major role in whether your bench press takes off or if you're going to suffer from a bench press blowout. Build these muscles up and you can dramatically decrease the chance of blowing out your shoulder. If you're benching heavy weight and not paying attention to these muscles you run the risk of muscular imbalances, shoulder pain, and getting stuck in a serious plateau.

When bench pressing it essential to have stability and strength in the shoulder. The four relatively small muscles predominantly responsible for stabilizing the shoulder - teres minor, infraspinatous, supraspinatous and sucscapularous - are known collectively as the 'rotator cuff'. When these muscles contract they pull on the rotator cuff tendon, causing the shoulder to rotate. While bench pressing you may experience some rotator or shoulder pain, during part of the movement. This is likely due to weak muscles in this area. Weak muscles are often but not always the cause of rotator cuff impingement syndrome and associated rotator cuff tears. If you have the rotator cuff strength of a little girl, your body has no choice but to limit the amount of weight you can stabilize and move to prevent injury. It's not uncommon to see an individual break through a bench press sticking point simply by incorporating direct rotator cuff training.

OK maybe now I have your attention. So how do you make sure your rotator cuff isn't the weak link in your bench press? Or even more importantly how will you prevent a bench press blowout where you damage the rotator cuff? Like we discussed you need to strengthen the muscles, so let's take a look at this workout routine. Remember if you already have an injury you should not use this routine as a rehab program but rather visit a sports medicine physician. If you want to prevent a future injury and break past a bench press sticking point then follow this routine twice a week. If you're not in pain now, that's an even better reason to follow my advice. Trust me if you have a nagging injury you're not going to be growing or getting any stronger. Train smart, so that you can hit the weight hard when you do bench.

The first thing you need to do is stretch the muscles you are about to train. Make sure you have warmed up for a good five minutes on the bike or treadmill before you start stretching. This will help you acquire greater flexibility. You already know stretching is important so just do it. You don't need any equipment for this stretch. You can do it one arm at a time or with both arms at the same time. Extend your arms out from the torso at a right angle. Now bend your elbows at a 90-degree angle. Place your forearms on the frame of the doorway and lean forward. You will feel the stretch in your pecs and the back of your shoulders. Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds. Next I want you to hang from a pull up bar for 20-30 seconds. This isn't a grip strength test so no you don't have to hang on for the full 30 seconds.

Cuban Press Rotation

Grab an EZ Curl bar and perform a wide grip upright row until the bar is a few inches below your collar bone. Now keep your elbows stationary while you externally rotate the bar as if you were trying to tap your forehead. Next you will press the bar overhead. Lower the weight along the same plane and repeat for ten reps. You will not be able to use the same weight you use for standard overhead presses due to the external rotation. This exercise won't build your ego right now, but you'll be thanking me when your bench press increases.

Cable External Rotation

Raise the pulley until it is even with your elbow. You'll be standing sideways next to the weight stack so if your right hand is holding the handle, your left foot should be closest to the weight stack. Grasp the cable attachment with your far arm while keeping your elbow close to your side and forearm across your stomach. Your palm should be facing in. Pull cable attachment away from body by externally rotating your shoulder. Return and repeat. Turn around and continue with opposite arm.

Cable Internal Rotation

Again raise the pulley until it is even with elbow. You'll be standing sideways next to the weight stack but this time if your right hand is holding the handle your right foot should be closest to the weight stack. Grasp the cable attachment with the closest arm. Keep your elbow close to your side with your palm facing in. Pull the cable attachment across your body by internally rotating your shoulder. Return and repeat. Turn around and continue with opposite arm.

90-Degree Dumbbell External Rotation

To finish off the infraspinatus, hold a dumbbell in each hand, and perform a lateral raise to 90-degrees while keeping the elbows bent at 90-degrees. Once your upper arms are parallel to the floor, externally rotate your arm so that your forearms are perpendicular to the floor. It will look like starting point of a dumbbell military press. Now lower and repeat. Remember to use light weight. The infraspinatus is a tiny muscle so it can't handle a heavy load. The shoulder horn is a great piece of equipment that keeps your arms in place while you perform this motion.

Do three sets of ten repetitions for each exercise. Perform the routine once a week in conjunction with your current workout. This is important so listen up. The last thing you want to do is pre-exhaust your rotator cuff before training the bench press. Never do this workout prior to a heavy bench press or shoulders session or you run an even greater risk of aggravating the area. You can give these exercises a try at the end of your workout, but be sure you always give your rotator cuff muscles 48-hours rest after a workout before training chest or shoulders.

Points To Remember:

The muscles of the rotator cuff are very small. Even if you're pushing five bills on the bench press you'll still be using five-pound dumbbells for many rotator cuff exercises. So leave your ego at the door!

Avoid lat pulldowns and military presses behind the head as they place the shoulder in a poor biomechanical position which enourages impingement.

Training your rotator cuff muscles can help you avoid pain, prevent future injuries, and fix muscular imbalances.

It's not uncommon for a trainee to add 20+ pounds to their bench press simply by strengthening the rotator cuff muscles.

Never perform a rotator cuff routine prior to bench pressing or overhead pressing movements.

If you feel serious pain in your shoulder it may be too late. Go see a sports medicine physician.

We all know people who were really into bodybuilding/powerlifting and looked forward to bench pressing only to eventually drop out after a few years of hardcore training. Why? In many cases nagging injuries especially those of the shoulder, simply took the fun out of it. This doesn't have to happen to you so you're ahead of the game. The best thing you can do to keep your shoulders healthy, and make sure your bench press continues to improve is strengthen your rotator cuff muscles so that they will never be your weakest link! After all your bench press will be going nowhere fast if you're injured. Pick up the girlie weights for a few sets once a week so you'll experience a bench press blastoff instead of a bench press blowout.

About The Author:

Mike Westerdal is the President of Critical Bench, Inc. He earned his BS from Central CT State University and holds certification as a personal trainer with the American Council on Exercise. Westerdal also has experience coaching and playing professional football. His articles are published throughout the Web and in numerous weight lifting magazines. His personal best RAW bench press is 450 lbs. Mike can be contacted at his Web site http://www.criticalbench.com/ or by emailing mike@criticalbench.com. For more information on increasing your bench press read about the Critical Bench Program here.

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Tags: Avoiding, Bench, Blowout, Press, Rotator, Training

Have You Ever Wondered Why People Are So Obsessed With The Bench Press?

I used to ask myself, what's the big deal with the bench press anyway?

It didn't matter if it was at school with my friends... at work with my co-workers... or at the gym with my lifting buddies... everyone would always ask me, "How Much Do You Bench?"

But over time, as I became more informed about exercise and muscle growth... I soon learned that the benching did a lot more for your body than just about any other exercise.

3 Reasons Why You'll Want to Focus on Increasing This Lift

1. As you probably already know... having a big bench press is like a badge of honor. Plain and simple... it gets you respect and attention in almost every area of your life. It's a measuring stick that you use with your buddies. The one with the biggest bench is usually the most respected. The strongest is usually the most respected (and most feared!)

2. Having a big bench usually means you're strong and in shape. In fact my football coaches in college were dead serious about knowing how much I could bench press and tested it several times a year. You see they knew something that most people don't.....

3. Increasing your bench press will also increase the amount of muscle mass you have on your entire body! It's true... and it's because of 2 reasons. First, when you keep lifting more and more weight, your body must add muscle mass so that it can handle that additional stress (weight) you're placing on it. And second, heavy intense lifts like the bench press releases anabolic hormones into your bloodstream... things like testosterone and human growth hormone. These are the male muscle builders that help you pack on muscle.

The bench press is not just about boosting your ego, having a head turning upper body, or about the ability to push people around on the field.

When done correctly (which most people don't) the bench press uses every single muscle in your body. You stimulate the chest, shoulders, triceps, biceps, your back and even your LEGS.

It's a fact that compound exercises that involve the most muscle groups give you the most results in the least amount of time. It's because you're using ALL of your muscles at the same time.

And honestly... no upper body exercise involves more muscles and becomes more of a full body exercise then the bench press. So if you don't have a lot of time you can spend in the gym... focusing on the bench press is a sure-fire way that you're getting an intense, good workout in for your whole body!

Why Many People Fail To Focus On Improving Their Bench...

Maybe you know someone that struggles with this exercise. And the way they deal with it is by ignoring it. Or they say it's an over-rated lift.

The problem with this mentality is that by skipping this mass building exercise... they're depriving their body of anabolic hormones that could be helping then pack on muscle mass. And they're not placing enough demands on their body so that they can gain muscle.

Foolish, if you ask me.

When you train the bench press the right way... you trigger a release of testosterone and growth hormone that helps all your muscles grow bigger and stronger.

And as a result... you'll pack on more muscle mass... which will help you feel more confident in your appearance.

We all know that jacked, muscular guys usually get attention, turn heads, and get others to notice.

The #1 Mistake People Make When Failing To Bench Press More Weight

I want to let you in on a little secret:

Because there are SO many muscles involved in the bench press... you don't want to neglect and forget them.

In order to up your bench press max and start packing on muscle mass... you'll need to pay close attention to the other muscle groups that are involved in the lift.

For example, just bench pressing more often will NOT help you gain strength or muscle. In fact, the opposite occurs... you actually lose strength and muscle if you start to benching too often. It's because you're OVERUSING the chest muscles... but UNDERUSING your other muscle groups.

What's the Solution? Power Building. Click HERE for the rest of the article.

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Tags: Bench, Mistake, Press

You could say that bench press is a typical and simple weight training exercise that a newbie can have it mastered within the day. But such exercise promises more benefits and advantages than you ever know. All it requires are the techniques to get the most out of your every bench press exercises.

Techniques are also needed in order to make sure that safety throughout the whole exercise is constantly observed. It is not as simple as it may seem. It can be a dangerous and risky routine especially of you do this alone or without a spotter with you. Just imagine several pounds of pure metal coming straight to your chest or neck had you been less careless.

Positives
Bench press techniques are essential factors in getting the best results out of the said workout. It helps you get other parts of the body to be well coordinated in order to work together effectively for a single workout. It is also through this weight training exercise that you'll learn various types of grips that you can use on other exercises.

If techniques are applied properly and appropriately, results can be pretty obvious after a few days or weeks. Bench press helps you sculpt and increase your muscle mass in your chest as well as improve your upper body strength.

Negatives
If you are programmed to do several upper body exercises for the day, bench press is often recommended to be your first. If you have it last, there won't be enough strength left in both of your arms to do at least several presses.

Conclusions
Like any other weight training exercises, bench press should be executed properly in order to get the needed results. Thus, proper techniques should be incorporated throughout the whole routine from which you can typically learn from a professional weight lifter. It is one of those exercises that often need a spotter to secure the safety of the lifter and at the same time make sure that the movements and their direction are right.

Check out more of my posts. Read Mike Westerdal - Critical Bench Program Review and Jason Ferruggia - Muscle Gaining Secrets eBook Review.

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Tags: Bench, Press, Technique