Bench press: how your record grows

The bench press often gets stuck not because of the pecs, but because of grip, technique and too much training volume. If you press without a shirt, the whole movement has to be strong: the start off the chest, control on the way down, and the lockout at the top.

Here is a practical plan for adding to your bench press record. The idea is not to do everything at once, but to pick your weak spot and work on it honestly.

Bench press starts with clean technique

Let’s start with a clean slate. Forget some of what you read online about the bench press, because a lot of the advice is aimed at equipped powerlifters. Pressing raw and pressing in a shirt are quite different things.

Without a shirt, i.e. pressing raw, the bottom phase has to be strong. You also can’t leave out the shoulders, triceps, back and legs. The whole body has to help, but the barbell has to move under control. Once your technique falls apart, even great determination won’t save you.

A simple truth: your record doesn’t grow just by pressing more. It grows when you know where the lift is weak and train exactly that spot.

Bench press needs a strong grip

If you look at good bench pressers, you’ll see they don’t train only the chest. They work the back, triceps and legs. But there is one thing many people overlook: grip.

The barbell has to sit securely in your hands. If, in the middle of a rep, you’re wondering whether the barbell will slip or drop onto your chest, your attention is in the wrong place. A strong grip gives you confidence and helps you focus on pressing alone.

Translator’s note: this isn’t such nonsense, by the way. Just look at how beginners hold the barbell – it’s anything but secure!!!

The harder you squeeze the barbell, the better you engage the whole pressing chain. Try a simple test. Take a barbell about 10–15 kg lighter than your record and press it without gripping the barbell hard. The weight will probably move poorly. Now do the same with a firm grip. The difference is noticeable.

You can strengthen your grip in several ways: specialized gripping devices, hanging, and holding and carrying heavy dumbbells. Don’t turn it into a separate circus, but don’t leave it to chance either.

How do you build a strong bottom phase?

The bottom phase is very important for a raw bench presser. If the barbell won’t move off the chest, there’s no point talking about lockout yet. Good options for this are close-grip bench presses, paused bench presses, heavy dumbbell presses, incline barbell presses, floor presses, weighted pull-ups and EZ-bar presses.

The shoulders need work too. Seated presses with a barbell and dumbbells help build the strength you need to drive the barbell away from your chest. Don’t forget the brachialis muscle or the rear delts. All the muscles that work in the press have to be strong enough.

A good start from the bottom phase doesn’t just mean the weight starts moving. It also decides whether the barbell eventually reaches the locked-out position. Many people can lock out 230 kg from halfway up, yet those same pressers may not manage a full-range rep with 170 kg. The cause is often a weak bottom phase.

Lock out every rep properly

One simple method is to hold the barbell at the top. Before starting the next rep, hold the weight at arm’s length for 2–5 seconds. This teaches control and makes your lockout stronger.

If your record is, for example, 185 kg, take 100 kg and don’t just rush through 10 quick reps. Lock out the barbell and hold the top position for 2–5 seconds before every new rep. Even at 50% of your 1RM, you should press as cleanly as you would with a maximal weight.

Use speed presses at the right time

Speed presses help when the weights move up slowly and heavily. Put chains on the barbell or use resistance bands and do 10–12 sets of three reps, using 40% resistance. Rest between sets should be only 30 seconds.

If you don’t have chains or bands, simply do the same with a barbell. Speed days can be done separately or added to a regular pressing day. The key is that the barbell moves explosively, not sloppily.

Bench press and practical assistance methods

Partial reps from the chest up to half range help build starting strength. Use moderate weights and medium-length sets. Feel the movement and don’t let your ego choose the weight.

Another good technique is a slow lowering phase. Lower the barbell to your chest calmly and under control, then press up fast. Yes, this may mean lighter weights. Honestly, for many people this is the hardest part, because the ego wants more plates on the barbell.

But controlled reps pay off in the long run. If your technique holds together during a heavy set, you’ll move toward a new record far more reliably than with fast, sloppy reps.

To break through a plateau, you can also use 75%, 50%, 25% and full-range reps. It’s reminiscent of the famous 21s method for biceps. You lower the barbell through 75% of the bench press range of motion and press back up, then 50%, then 25%, and finally do a full-range rep. Do 10 reps this way, or go to failure.

If your record is 165 kg, then 90 – 100 kg is a good weight for trying this method. If you press 140–145 kg, a good weight is 75–85 kg. If your record is 100 105 kg, you can try it with 60–65 kg.

Lockout strength comes mainly from the triceps. If you can’t lock out 175 kg, that final portion needs to be trained separately. Set the bench inside a power rack and place the safety bars so that the barbell only travels through the top part of the lift. This kind of limited-range pressing gives the triceps very clear work.

Your bench press won’t improve by overtraining

When you’re chasing a record, you feel the urge to do more. One more set. One more forced rep. A little longer in the gym. That can work for a while, but eventually recovery hits a wall.

The signs of overtraining are fairly mundane: you’re completely wiped out by the end of a workout, your motivation disappears, your sleep gets worse, and weights that used to feel normal suddenly feel unusually heavy. In that case, the solution is not to push even harder.

Focus on quality, not quantity. Turn your weak point into a strength, keep your technique in order and give your body time to recover. The bench press takes work, but it also takes patience.

to be continued…

Article source: http://www.criticalbench.com/samples/50Keys.pdf

From the translator: I’m trying to bring bench press enthusiasts a few ideas that could help improve your results or get you past a plateau. The original article has 50 such points, and I won’t translate all of them, since a lot of it is elementary stuff, like getting your nutrition in order and so on. Quite a few of you will certainly find plenty of familiar material among the points already translated here, but I hope many a lifter will pick up something new as well. I myself discovered that there are some really interesting and exciting methods for improving the different phases of the press!!!

Bench press: FAQ

Why won’t the barbell move off my chest?

Often the cause is a weak bottom phase, an unstable grip or insufficient shoulder strength. Pause presses, heavy dumbbells and a controlled descent will help fix this.

Should I do speed presses every week?

If the barbell moves slowly but you have the strength, you can use speed presses as a separate day or within your regular pressing day. If you’re fatigued, fix your recovery first.

What should I do if I can’t lock out?

Strengthen your triceps and practice pressing the top phase in a power rack with safety bars. Also hold the lockout for 2–5 seconds on your regular reps.

Translated by: Janar Rückenberg

Come and work out! ArtGym