The bench press is considered by weight-lifters to be the No. 1 indicator of upper body strength. Lifters of all kinds are interested in boosting their bench numbers to a higher level. It can be a tough process, but with attention paid to technique and some heavy accessory work for the shoulders, lats and triceps, it's doable.
Step 1
Learn the proper technique. Similar to the squat and deadlift, the bench press is a technical lift. To reach your potential in this movement, you must understand the major technicalities that can hold you back. When setting up for bench press, both feet should be flat on the floor. Maintain a moderate arch in your back. To maintain this arch, pull your shoulder blades back and tuck them under you. The butt should never leave the bench, even with the biggest of arches. Your grip should be wider than shoulder grip. The bar should touch a line near the nipples and it should be pressed upward in a straight line. The elbows should remain tucked during the entire motion, rather than flared to either side.
Step 2
Train the triceps. The top half of the motion, often referred to as the lockout, is highly dependent on the strength of your triceps. If you ignore the triceps, you might be able to press 300 to the midpoint, but only 250 to lockout. Use movements such as weighted dips, triceps pushdowns, board presses, and close grip bench press to strengthen the triceps.
Step 3
Train the shoulders. Just as the triceps are responsible for the top half of the bench press, the shoulders are responsible for the bottom half. The anterior deltoids, one of the shoulder muscles, come into the movement primarily between the time the bar touches the chest and the midpoint of the press. Use overhead pressing movements such as the push press, military press and incline bench press to target the shoulders.
Step 4
Train the lats. The latissimus dorsi is the largest muscle of the upper back. It plays a large role in the bench press and should be trained just as vigorously as the triceps and shoulders. Perform heavy rowing variations, both horizontal and vertical, to hit the lats.
Tips and Warnings
- Be consistent with your program. Skipping entire workouts, or even single exercises, will hinder your progress. Be progressive with your program. To gain strength, you must progressively increase the resistance to overload your muscles.
- Overtraining is always a worry when trying to increase strength. Perform heavy bench presses no more than twice per week and limit accessory exercises for each muscle to two or three days per week.
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