Workout Programs To Increase My Bench Press

It is not uncommon to experience stalls or plateaus in your bench press after you have been training for some time. Over time, your body becomes accustomed to doing the same routine week after week. Changing up your bench press routine and training other muscle groups can help increase your bench press.

Bench Press Training

Rest and recovery is essential for increasing your bench press. Performing the bench press once a week is enough to increase your bench press and allow for full muscle recovery before retraining. Reduce your training amount to once a week for several weeks, if you currently train bench press more than once a week. If you normally train bench press once a week or less, adding in a second chest-training day consisting of lightweight and high reps can help stimulate muscle growth.

Heavy Bench Press

Begin your heavy bench press workout following a five-minute aerobic warm up. Complete five sets of bench press resting two to three minutes between each set. Base the sets on a percentage of your current or predicted 1RM. For example, 80 percent of a max bench press of 100 lbs. is 80 lbs. The first set is your warm-up set in which you complete 10 reps at 50 percent of your 1RM. In your second set, complete six reps at 70 percent of your 1RM. For the third set, complete four reps at 80 percent of your 1RM. In the fourth set, complete two reps at 90 percent of your 1RM. In your last set, complete one rep at 100 percent of your 1RM. Increase your bench press 1RM by 5 to 10 lbs. each week. Attempting to increase your 1RM more than this amount may result in failure and further plateaus.

Light Bench Press

Focus on your weak areas of your bench press on your light training day. Include partial repetitions in your training if you notice you are getting stuck at the bottom or midpoint of the rep during heavy bench press. If you get stuck at the bottom of the rep, perform the reps from the midpoint to your chest. If you get stuck at the midpoint, perform the reps from the midpoint to full arm extension. Use a weight about 50 percent of your 1RM and perform 15 to 20 partial reps for two or three sets. Include additional chest exercises that further develop the muscle such as the incline press, dumbbell chest press or dumbbell flyes. Perform each set using a repetition range of eight to 12 reps for three sets each.

Other Muscle Groups

The primary muscle used in the bench press is the pectoralis major. However, the shoulders and triceps also play a large role in the movement. Furthermore, during maximal lifts, your glutes, quadriceps and back are also stressed. Since you are only as strong as your weakest muscle, it is essential you train your other muscle groups at least once a week. On the days you are not performing the heavy bench press, pay particular attention to your shoulder muscles and the four small muscles that make up the rotator cuff. The rotator cuff muscles stabilize the shoulder during the bench press and can affect how much you are able to bench press. Perform rotator cuff exercises using an extremely light dumbbell or cable pulley machine, and perform internal and external rotations for three sets of 10 to 15 reps at the end of your shoulder or chest workouts.