Find out how to Enhance Your Bench Press

“How a lot do you bench?”

It is perhaps essentially the most ceaselessly requested query amongst hardcore “fitness center bros” and skilled fitness center veterans trying to set up a pecking order, in addition to curious novices trying to strike up a dialog. It’s additionally one of the crucial in style (if misguided) methods to inquire about somebody’s strength, health, and normal functionality within the fitness center.

Some would possibly contemplate the notion of bench press-specific standing ridiculous, however you possibly can’t erase the truth of the scenario. Additionally, some individuals simply need to have a giant bench press for themselves. It’s possible you’ll as properly place your self to maneuver some spectacular numbers, and transfer the burden safely.

Right here’s the way to fine-tune your bench press, optimize your method, and arrange a plan to start out pushing greater weights.

Bench Press Approach Overview

A powerful bench press is constructed round one factor: Stability. Right here’s a step-by-step method to creating a great setting for a giant carry. All of it begins with a great 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 exhausting towards the bench and stay in place all through the carry.

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

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

The bench press is taken into account a horizontal pushing exercise (as a result of place of the load relative to your physique), which implies the drive angle doesn’t line as much as create spinal loading the best way a standing overhead press, squat, or deadlift would have an effect on your decrease again. The joint that bears essentially 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 vital pressure.

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

Step 2 — Get a Grip

Most barbells you’ll discover at a typical fitness center could have knurling on both facet for grip, but additionally some shiny “rings” on even factors on both sides. In aggressive powerlifting, these rings signify grip-width boundaries a lifter isn’t allowed to exceed.

When you’re not a aggressive powerlifter, you should utilize the rings as reference factors as to the place your palms belong. Relying on what’s snug in 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 can be barely totally different.

Simply pay attention to setting your palms too shut collectively along 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 palms are in place, shut a robust fist across the bar and also you’re able to carry. 

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” which 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 because of this. That is tough to right by the point the burden is in your palms, making it robust to re-adjust.

Making the trouble to lift your hips throughout carry off can assist with this, inserting them again down as quickly because the bar’s unracked and in place over your chest. Lifters with no spotter can use this technique to start the motion in a robust place with out sacrificing type.

Step 4 — Decrease and Press

The bar ought to descend underneath 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 step with your higher chest or shoulder-level, that means the bar will journey on a barely slanted path.

At all times keep in mind that a real testomony of power in a giant carry 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) section, 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 be sure you keep tight and never chill out underneath the burden.

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

Bench Press Errors to Keep away from

Except for giving your self a carry 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 carry. It’s merely a cheat tactic and an indicator that the burden is simply too heavy to carry correctly. That is the bench press equal of doing standing biceps curls and leaning your higher physique again to get the burden up.

Hold the motion sincere to your capacity. You’ll construct power over time while 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 muscular tissues (the prime movers of the bench press) or entry the power the physique can put into the burden. (2)

When 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 a substitute, cut back the load and apply staying tight by means of full vary of movement.

If that also hurts your shoulders, it may very well be on account of weak point within the motion itself or it might stem from an absence of higher again power to stabilize and defend the shoulder. Make certain your coaching plan consists of loads of upper-back pulling exercises like face pulls or reverse flyes.

Utilizing Collars on the Bar 

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

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

When you’re an individual who lifts unsupervised at home, it’s greatest to depart 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 Features

Getting the fundamentals down is an effective first step, however taking issues to the following stage includes just a little deeper considering, the place this train is worried. 

Leg Drive 

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

In reality, your legs have a severe position to play in selling general bracing and tightness. As you press, take into consideration driving your ft into the bottom exhausting. 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 carry by growing general muscle recruitment. (3)

Tuck Your Elbows 

If you wish to defend your shoulder joints, give attention to enhancing bench efficiency whereas utilizing a barely narrower grip (versus a comparatively broad 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 can 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 palms normally feels extra snug 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 stress for added stability. (4)