Methods to Enhance Your Bench Press

“How a lot do you bench?”

It is likely to be probably the most ceaselessly requested query amongst hardcore “health club bros” and skilled health club veterans seeking to set up a pecking order, in addition to curious rookies seeking to strike up a dialog. It’s additionally one of the crucial well-liked (if misguided) methods to inquire about somebody’s energy, health, and normal functionality within the health club.

Some would possibly contemplate the notion of bench press-specific standing ridiculous, however you’ll be able to’t erase the fact of the scenario. Additionally, some individuals simply wish to have a giant bench press for themselves. You could as nicely place your self to maneuver some spectacular numbers, and transfer the burden safely.

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

Bench Press Method Evaluate

A robust bench press is constructed round one factor: Stability. Right here’s a step-by-step method to creating atmosphere for a giant raise. 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 toes positioned firmly on the ground counts as one level. Your butt and higher again are two extra factors, as they’re pressed onerous in opposition to the bench and stay in place all through the raise.

Lastly, your head should even be firmly in opposition to the bench and keep put throughout every repetition. While you arrange, get your eyes instantly below the bar earlier than taking the burden out of the rack. This four-point setup is the muse for high quality set. 

You will have seen that your decrease again is not involved with the bench, and that’s truly an vital distinction. Some lifters consider that having an arch within the lumbar area (decrease again) when bench urgent is harmful on your backbone, when honestly, the arch should be there.

The bench press is taken into account a horizontal pushing train (because of the place of the load relative to your physique), which suggests the pressure 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 facet for grip, but additionally some shiny “rings” on even factors on all sides. In aggressive powerlifting, these rings signify grip-width boundaries a lifter isn’t allowed to exceed.

For those who’re not a aggressive powerlifter, you should utilize the rings as reference factors as to the place your arms belong. Relying on what’s comfy on your arm size, align the identical finger on every hand with the ring on both facet. Many lifters will go for both their center or ring fingers, however everybody’s most well-liked grip might be barely completely different.

Simply pay attention to setting your arms too shut collectively together with your pinkies far within the rings. This morphs the train from a normal 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 robust fist across the bar and also you’re able to raise. 

Step 3 — We Have Raise Off

The best way you’re taking the bar out of the rack is extra vital — and extra technical — than meets the attention. Protected 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 other 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 powerful to re-adjust.

Making the hassle to lift your hips throughout raise off may 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 robust place with out sacrificing kind.

Step 4 — Decrease and Press

The bar ought to descend below 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 consistent 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 energy in a giant raise like this doesn’t come from how shortly you’ll be able to carry out the reps, it comes from how slowly and well-controlled you’ll be able to carry out them. Particularly on the eccentric (decreasing) part, take the pace down a few notches. You may even add a pause with the bar on the chest to exert much more management over the burden — simply remember to keep tight and never chill out below the burden.

Make every particular person rep rely and also you’ll slap on energy and dimension. 

Bench Press Errors to Keep away from

Apart from giving your self a raise off (if wanted), your glutes ought to by no means go away the bench through the train. Lifting your hips received’t make you any stronger on the raise. It’s merely a cheat tactic and an indicator that the burden is just too heavy to raise 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 potential. You’ll construct energy over time while you apply good kind.

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 muscular tissues (the prime movers of the bench press) or entry the energy the physique can put into the burden. (2)

For those who really feel like you’ll be able to solely carry out half reps, chances are high the burden is just too heavy, your shoulders are too unstable, or each. As an alternative, scale back the load and apply staying tight via full vary of movement.

If that also hurts your shoulders, it might be resulting from weak point within the motion itself or it might stem from a scarcity of higher again energy to stabilize and shield the shoulder. Ensure your coaching plan consists of loads of upper-back pulling workout routines like face pulls or reverse flyes.

Utilizing Collars on the Bar 

This isn’t essentially a degree about rising your bench press, but it surely’s an vital situation any time you’re benching heavy. It’d sound counterintuitive or controversial however, for those who’re lifting alone, securing the burden plates with collars is a probably high-risk maneuver.

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

For those who’re an individual who lifts unsupervised at dwelling, it’s finest to go away the weights unclipped in order that, within the occasion of failure, you’ll be able to 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 ground than to crack a few ribs or your larynx.

Three Ideas for Extra Features

Getting the fundamentals down is an efficient first step, however taking issues to the subsequent degree includes a bit of deeper considering, the place this train is anxious. 

Leg Drive 

Tuck your toes nearer to your butt to create a knee angle inside 90-degrees. That is important to making the most of a vital and ignored 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 toes into the bottom onerous. The bar isn’t simply shifting away out of your chest, it’s shifting away from the ground, so this cue will turn out to be useful so as to add extra energy to your raise by rising total muscle recruitment. (3)

Tuck Your Elbows 

If you wish to shield your shoulder joints, concentrate on bettering bench efficiency whereas utilizing a barely narrower grip (versus a comparatively large grip) and tucking your elbows through the motion.

The nearer your higher arm is to your torso, the much less susceptible place your shoulder joints might be put into. Your shoulders will immediately really feel happier, extra secure, 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 scale back joint stress within the elbows and shoulders by rising forearm recruitment and muscle stress for added stability. (4)