Tips To Increase Your Bench Press Part 1

Posted by
April 3rd, 2009

You don't need to be a Powerlifter to want to bench big. You do need to realize a big bench depends on a lot of factors, not just how strong your chest is. Increasing the efficiency while performing the bench press; is critical to maximizing your benching potential. Just remember though some times you have to lower the weight and practice new techniques, rather then just switching over.

There is a lot of information to take in so I will be splitting this article up into parts. Part 1 is the basics; in part 2 we will discuss more about advanced information and techniques.

Don't Move your Feet

You need to remember if you shift your feet or even worse put them into the air, you are minimizing your stability. Planting your feet firmly on the ground creates that solid structure and foundation you need to press heavier weights. Once you have this under control, with a little practice you should be able to learn how to push off on your feet for a little additional.

Focus and Visualize

There is no sense in going to the gym and using your work out time to socialize when you are trying to make solid gains. Your sets should include mental preparation. Run your next set through your mind, do the reps with picture perfect form. Focus on how light the weight is going to feel. Some times even lying to your self about how much weight is on the bar will make it feel lighter, if your body is duped into thinking the weight is lighter then it is you may find the bar floating up.

Benching is a full body experience

Just as I stated previously about pushing off with your feet, there are other aspects of how your body should act in determining benching more weight. Tighten your Glutes and increase your core stability. Arch your back, this will minimize the motion the bar needs to travel by several inches. Use your Lats and make sure you train them well; if you squeeze them during the bench press you can force them to help push the weight.

You should also focus on your grip width. Depending on which pushing muscles are weaker then others you may need to use a wider or narrower grip. While practicing your grip use lower weights, pushing in a new motion can make the bar feel really heavy at first. Just let your body adjust to it for a few weeks.

Remember to train your body properly

Because there are a lot of muscles involved in benching heavy weights, you need to remember to train them. It would be impossible to train every thing on the same day, but you need to have a solid weight training routine that uses all of the core lifts to maximize body growth. If you find specific muscles are lacking behind others focus on letting them catch up.

Remember not to avoid Squats or Deadlifts either; these are critical full body exercises. If you want to do Squats but you have some minor knee problems, buy some Powerlifting wraps. I am not competing right now but I am pushing heavy weights in the Squats, I have zero pain in my knees when I use wraps on a regular basis.

Warm Up and Rest Properly

While training heavy you will need to warm your body up properly. Don't blow all your energy on doing too many reps. Make logical jumps and minimal reps. There is nothing wrong with a 6 rep warm up, just as there is nothing wrong with a 2 rep warm up. You will find warming up properly according to your body’s needs will increase your 1 max rep. No one just walks up to the bar and does their 1 rep max. It’s going to take some time to find your perfect warm up structure.

What ever you do just make sure you take plenty of rest between your heavy sets, you need at least 3-5 minutes. If you are cutting it shorter then 3, then you are not benching efficiently. Some people can handle longer then 5 minutes, but if you do go longer then 5 minutes make sure you aren't cooling down too much or you will lose strength.

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