The best way to Enhance Your Bench Press

“How a lot do you bench?”

It is perhaps probably the most steadily requested query amongst hardcore “health club bros” and skilled health club veterans trying to set up a pecking order, in addition to curious learners trying to strike up a dialog. It’s additionally one of the vital fashionable (if misguided) methods to inquire about somebody’s strength, health, and basic functionality within the health club.

Some would possibly think about the notion of bench press-specific standing ridiculous, however you possibly can’t erase the truth of the state of affairs. Additionally, some individuals simply need to have an enormous bench press for themselves. Chances are you’ll as nicely place your self to maneuver some spectacular numbers, and transfer the burden safely.

Right here’s learn how to fine-tune your bench press, optimize your method, and arrange a plan to start out pushing larger weights.

Bench Press Approach Overview

A robust bench press is constructed round one factor: Stability. Right here’s a step-by-step method to creating atmosphere for an enormous elevate. All of it begins with beginning place earlier than you even unrack the burden.

Step 1 — Discover Your Contact Factors

When you’re positioned on the flat bench, the bench press requires 4 factors of contact. Your two ft positioned firmly on the ground counts as one level. Your butt and upper back are two extra factors, as they’re pressed laborious towards the bench and stay in place all through the elevate.

Lastly, your head should even be firmly towards the bench and keep put throughout every repetition. Once you arrange, get your eyes straight beneath the bar earlier than taking the burden out of the rack. This four-point setup is the inspiration for high quality set. 

You will have seen that your decrease again is not in touch with the bench, and that’s really an necessary distinction. Some lifters imagine that having an arch within the lumbar area (decrease again) when bench urgent is harmful to your backbone, when honestly, the arch should be there.

The bench press is taken into account a horizontal pushing exercise (because of the place of the load relative to your physique), which suggests the power angle doesn’t line as much as create spinal loading the way in which a standing overhead press, squat, or deadlift would have an effect on your decrease again. The joint that bears probably the most load throughout a bench press is your shoulder joint, not your backbone, so arching your decrease again doesn’t expose it to any important pressure.

When you’re in place, it’s time to get your arms on the bar. 

Step 2 — Get a Grip

Most barbells you’ll discover at a typical health club can have knurling on both aspect for grip, but in addition some shiny “rings” on even factors on either side. In aggressive powerlifting, these rings characterize grip-width boundaries a lifter isn’t allowed to exceed.

In case you’re not a aggressive powerlifter, you should use the rings as reference factors as to the place your arms belong. Relying on what’s comfy to your arm size, align the identical finger on every hand with the ring on both aspect. Many lifters will go for both their center or ring fingers, however everybody’s most popular grip shall be barely completely different.

Simply concentrate on setting your arms too shut collectively together with your pinkies far inside the rings. This morphs the train from a typical flat barbell bench press to a close-grip bench press which emphasizes your triceps. (1)

As soon as your arms are in place, shut a powerful fist across the bar and also you’re able to elevate. 

Step 3 — We Have Elevate Off

The best way you are taking the bar out of the rack is extra necessary — and extra technical — than meets the attention. Secure and environment friendly method requires your shoulder blades to stay retracted (pulled collectively) on the bench. This helps to arch your decrease again whereas elevating your chest and ribcage.

The small “press” that may occur as a lifter takes the bar out of the rack can pull your shoulders out of place (with protraction, the alternative of retraction). Protracted shoulders will make your chest sink down and place extra stress on the shoulder joints in consequence. That is troublesome to right by the point the burden is in your arms, making it robust to re-adjust.

Making the trouble to boost your hips throughout elevate off might help with this, putting them again down as quickly because the bar’s unracked and in place over your chest. Lifters with out a spotter can use this methodology to start the motion in a powerful place with out sacrificing type.

Step 4 — Decrease and Press

The bar ought to descend beneath management to make contact in your chest. Goal for touching the bar to your mid- or decrease chest, and make that time of contact constant from rep to rep. The completed, locked out place needs to be a bit extra in keeping with your higher chest or shoulder-level, which means the bar will journey on a barely slanted path.

At all times keep in mind that a real testomony of power in an enormous elevate like this doesn’t come from how rapidly you possibly can carry out the reps, it comes from how slowly and well-controlled you possibly can carry out them. Particularly on the eccentric (decreasing) part, take the pace down a few notches. You’ll be able to even add a pause with the bar on the chest to exert much more management over the burden — simply make sure to keep tight and never chill out beneath the burden.

Make every particular person rep rely and also you’ll slap on power and measurement. 

Bench Press Errors to Keep away from

Other than giving your self a elevate off (if wanted), your glutes ought to by no means depart the bench in the course of the train. Lifting your hips received’t make you any stronger on the elevate. It’s merely a cheat tactic and an indicator that the burden is simply too heavy to elevate correctly. That is the bench press equal of doing standing biceps curls and leaning your higher physique again to get the burden up.

Preserve the motion trustworthy to your skill. You’ll construct power over time if you apply good type.

Half-Repping

Stopping shy of full vary of movement — from full lockout to the bar touching your chest — does nothing to correctly service your chest muscle mass (the prime movers of the bench press) or entry the power the physique can put into the burden. (2)

In case you really feel like you possibly can solely carry out half reps, likelihood is the burden is simply too heavy, your shoulders are too unstable, or each. As an alternative, cut back the load and follow staying tight by full vary of movement.

If that also hurts your shoulders, it might be as a consequence of weak point within the motion itself or it might stem from a scarcity of higher again power to stabilize and shield the shoulder. Be certain your coaching plan contains loads of upper-back pulling exercises like face pulls or reverse flyes.

Utilizing Collars on the Bar 

This isn’t essentially a degree about growing your bench press, nevertheless it’s an necessary situation any time you’re benching heavy. It’d sound counterintuitive or controversial however, in case you’re lifting alone, securing the burden plates with collars is a doubtlessly high-risk maneuver.

Widespread sense would say you normally “ought to” safe the weights to stop them from transferring round. The reality is that, in case you do fail a rep and handle to get pinned to the bench, it might spell hazard in case you’re not robust sufficient to press the bar off your chest all the way in which again as much as the rack. You’ll be able to’t at all times depend on rolling it down over your hips and waist (which will be extraordinarily painful and uncomfortable by itself).

In case you’re an individual who lifts unsupervised at home, it’s finest to go away the weights unclipped in order that, within the occasion of failure, you possibly can tip the weights off one finish of the bar and free you from being stapled. It’s higher to crack a few tiles on the exercise room flooring than to crack a few ribs or your larynx.

Three Suggestions for Extra Positive factors

Getting the fundamentals down is an efficient first step, however taking issues to the following degree entails slightly deeper considering, the place this train is anxious. 

Leg Drive 

Tuck your ft nearer to your butt to create a knee angle inside 90-degrees. That is important to benefiting from a vital and missed precept — the bench press is extra than simply an “higher physique” train.

In reality, your legs have a critical function to play in selling total bracing and tightness. As you press, take into consideration driving your ft into the bottom laborious. The bar isn’t simply transferring away out of your chest, it’s transferring away from the ground, so this cue will turn out to be useful so as to add extra power to your elevate by growing total muscle recruitment. (3)

Tuck Your Elbows 

If you wish to shield your shoulder joints, deal with enhancing bench efficiency whereas utilizing a barely narrower grip (versus a comparatively broad grip) and tucking your elbows in the course of the motion.

The nearer your higher arm is to your torso, the much less weak place your shoulder joints shall be put into. Your shoulders will immediately really feel happier, extra steady, and extra highly effective by aiming your elbows extra ahead than sideways. 

Use a Thicker Bar or Thick Grip Attachments

Utilizing a bigger diameter bar with extra floor space unfold throughout the palms of your arms normally feels extra comfy when you get used to the distinctive grip. It can also cut back joint stress within the elbows and shoulders by growing forearm recruitment and muscle pressure for added stability. (4)