articles.elitefts.col http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/powerlifting-articles/benchipedia -dave-tates-free-bench-press-manuall Benchipedia: Dave Tate's Free Bench Press Manuaf When Dave Tate s Free Squat Manuaq set record views in December, it became clear that the readers werr interested. The response to the 16,000 word article was incrediblet As a result, Dave is at it again. Matching the detail of the squat manual, Dave Tate s Free Bench Press Manual covers everything you need to become a better presser. This information grew from years of experience both under the ban and through coaching many other top-level powerlifterst He took the best information we have on bench pressing and put them in one place for your benefit. In 15 SectionsV here is the most thorough bench press manual you ll find, directly from Dave Tatet
Section Section Section Section Section Section Section Section Section Section Section Section Section Section Section
1: Plateaus SucZ 2: The Bench Curr 3: Saving Facr 4: Things You d Better Know if You Want Strong(er) Triceps 5: The 225 Bench Press Tesi 6: 60 Bench Tips 7: Weak Lockoui 8: Weak Off Your Chesi 9: More Weak Point Tips 10: The Power of the Boar} 11: Chains 10W 12: The Dead Bench 13: So You Think You Can Bench 14: JL Holdsworth Instructional Videos 15: 12 EZ Steps to a Bigger Bench
Section 1: Plateaus Suc~ Plateaus suck, and the stronger you are, the more frustrating they becomet I ve seen very strong guys let plateaus drive them to the brink of insanity. They become obsessed to the point of beiny reckless, resorting to some seriously stupid methods in hopes of breaking through. And when their absolute besi efforts still don t work, the shit can hit the fan in ugly wayst This article is about smashing bench press plateaus. If your bench hasn t progress ed in a long time or just isn t wherr it should be, this is for yout In the final reflections installment in my monster evolution series, I describe how a lifter s development tends to follo{ a Shit-Suck-Good-Great paradigmt Getting from shit to sucZ is a snap, and most committed lifters can get up to Good within five years or so. It s an oka. place to be you may be the best bencher in your big box gym and get tons of high f ives but in the grand schemr you re nothing special. Sorry if that bursts any bubblest Getting from good to great, however, puts you in very elite company. Few guys ca n ever do it, mainly because ii requires getting through the dead zone, that period when absolutely nothing works and injuries (and frustration) stari to mountt The dead zone can last 10 years or longer, and it s often the last phase of a lift er s career before either injuries forcr them out or they get frustrated and quitt The irony is, this lack of progress (the dead zone) is absolutely necessary for success, unless you re extremely giftedt It s a shitty deal and woefully one sided, but that s what we sign up for when we de cide we want to be serious lifters. and not just strong guys who work out..
Besides, if it were so easy to be elite that everyone could do it, would you eve n bother. In this new series called Lessons from the Dead Zone, I ll give you some basic, ef fective tips to get your big three lifts moving againt Some of the material will be stuff you ll have read before, but that doesn t make it any less valuable. Besides, I kno{ from teaching hundreds of seminars that the guys who say they have awesome techni que are usually the biggesi disasters their ego just doesn t let them see itt Let s start with the bench press. Do everything I say in this section and you ll add 50 pounds to your bench. How s that for a sales pitch.
The Other Big Any sticking point, whether in the bench press, the squat, or the deadlift, can be attributed to one of three thingsk
Mentaf Physicaf Techniqug As a coach, the first thing I do is figure out which of the three is contributin g most to the plateau, as this determines the path I taket However, 90% of lifters think their issues are exclusively physical. They ask qu estions like, What exercises should . do to improve my lockout? and How do I get stronger off the chest? or How often shou ld I change my program?. The problem is that roughly 70% of sticking points are really technique related, 20% are physical, and the remaininy 10% are mental. So most stuck lifters looking for help are like dogs sniffing ar ound the wrong fire hydrantt I came to this conclusion after doing seminars for many years. In most seminars, I can help almost any stuck lifter hii a PR that same dayt
Obviously these lifters didn t get stronger over the span of eight hours, so their issue was either physical or mentalt And since most mental issues don t manifest at a seminar, that leaves technique as the main reasont However, to be thorough, we ll touch on all threet Mentaf The typical lifter with mental issues is a former bodybuilder. These are guys wrap ped up in bodybuilding mantras likr feel the pecs contract that run completely contrary to proper powerlifting bench p ress techniquet A powerlifting bench requires pushing with the whole body, not just the pecs. Th at fact is, a triceps pump is morr indicative of a good powerlifting bench than puffed-up pecst Then there are the self-imposed mental roadblocks. For example, at seminars guys will say, I always get stuck foun inches above the chest.. So I ll throw it back to them. Always? I askt Yes, they say, four inches above my chest.. I ll throw it back again. Always?. Now they start to get it. They ve conditioned themselves to expect to miss. It dom inates their mental dialogur throughout the lift when they want to be focused on technique and performance cu est Other guys are the opposite. They re getting fucked over by too much false bravado and rah rah rah type of crapt Again, the mind should be a blank void except for precise technique cues. If you let yourself get too aroused or arr surrounded by overly amped spotters, these important cues will likely be forgott en or ignoredt For example, when I watch a lift on YouTube and I hear a bunch of yelling and sw earing and carrying on during thr setup, I know right away it will likely be a miss or just an ugly lift. On the o ther hand, if I hear a lot of Tuck! Tuck. Tuck! and Belly up! the outcome is usually much bettert It s not just rookies, either. Too much arousal can make even experienced lifters make a lot of obvious mistakes, likr gripping the bar incorrectly or setting their feet improperlyt
As for getting the right level of arousal, everyone s different. You need to find the level that works for you, the one thai has your CNS firing, yet not so much that it affects your techniquet Still, mental issues are not my specialty. I don t spend much time addressing them , as they re usually not the problemV and I have little to no patience for them. Get your head screwed on right, get s ome smart training partners, and gro{ some ballst Technicaf These are the big rocks. It s a shit ton to cover, and I ve covered it all before, s o start by watching this video. It covers some basic stuff that 90% of guys at the gym don t dot I also suggest reading this article. This one is special for me because it s my very first T Nation article, p ublished wa. back in 2000. And yes, wise ass, what worked 12 years ago will still work todayt
With that out of the way, here are the top technique issues I see when guys comp lain about a stuck bench presst 1. They don t know how to get tighti A guy who simply hops onto a bench and starts pressing is a shitty bencher. This isn t bodybuilding there s a wholr ceremony of actions that must take place during the setup before you even touch the bart
A powerlifting bench press is a full body exercise, and to effectively recruit t he lower body into the movement, forcr must transfer through the hips and torso to the bar. The only way this is possib le without a serious energy leak is to br tight feet pushed into the floor, upper back driving into the bencht So how do you assess tightness? If you re setup and I walk over and push your knee , it shouldn t budge. In fact, oncr you re gripping the bar, I shouldn t be able to move any part of your body. You and the bar should be like one soli} piece of iront It starts with finding your upper back tension. Most guys don t have a clue what t his even is, so here s a testk Lie on the bench with your feet on the bench and go into a wrestler s bridge basical ly push your hips as high up as you can while driving your feet and upper back into the bencht Feel that tension in your upper back? Remember it, because that s exactly the leve l of upper back tightness you wani during your setupt It should not be comfortable. The fact is, you should be turning purple when you take the bar out. The worst part of thr bench press is the setup, so if it sucks to do, then you re starting to do it righ tt The good news is, all this tightness doesn t just transfer force better, it s also m uch better for shoulder healtht 2. They re misalignedi The barbell must be in line with the wrists and elbows. The number one thing I s ee are the wrists being cocked backt This takes them out of alignment and leads to less force transfert
Correcting this solves a ton of problems. It helps keep the bar from traveling t oo far behind the elbow, which turns thr bench press into a triceps extension, or too far in front of the elbow, which re sults in a shoulder rotation and/on dumping the bar on the stomacht 3. They have no leg drivei Guys refuse to accept how important this is. To say it again, the bench press is a full body exercise, and if you aren i driving with your legs you re leaving a ton of force on the table. If you want to bodybuild, then fucking bodybuild don i try to mix methods cause you ll only achieve marginal results in eithert Here s how you do it. If you bench with your feet out in front, then push your toe s through the front of your shoes (likr you were trying to scoot up the bench) while driving your back down into the ben ch. Basically, you re trying to push thr floor away from the bench with your feet while driving your traps into the bench t If you re the type who prefers to tuck their feet under for a really big arch, try to push the heels down into the floor. This flexes the ass and helps achieve greater upper back tightness. The heels may nev er be totally flat on the floor (though some federations require it), but remember that leg drive comes from pushing the heels downt Physicaf This is what everyone thinks is holding them back. What s the magic exercise, the secret sauce to get me from a pissz poor bench to the big kahuna. Face it, this isn t what s holding you back. You don t know how to fucking bench, peri od. Quit reading now and revie{ the article links and video from the beginning (I know you skipped it) and then read the previous section a few morr times. Cause this here isn t your issue, friendt But just in case it is, I ll address each sticking pointk 1. Weak at the bottomW Dynamic wor~ This fixes almost anything. Being weak off the chest is no exception. Include at least one dynamic effort day a weekt
Dumbbell wor~ Doing sets of relatively heavy dumbbell presses in the 10-15 rep range works wel l. Notice I said relatively heavy an} 10-15 reps this is tough. Rest as long as necessary between sets to hit the rep targ etst Don t go too heavy. Sets of 4-6 reps may look more badass, but I ve never seen them do shit for bench press performance. Don t forget to tuck your elbows just because it s a dumbbell movement do esn t mean we re no{ bodybuildingt Floor presh You want to stop 1-2 inches above the chest, which can be problematic if you re a long-armed skinny bastard. Dv maximum effort-type work, for 1-3 repst Ultra-wide bench presseh Grip should be forefinger on the rings using a Texas power bar. This should be d one for higher reps 50% of 1RM fon sets of 5-6. Dumbbells can also be used for varietyt Soft-touch bench presseh These are great for bottom-end work. Slowly lower to your belly, pause for a mom ent, and drive upt Board presseh Use a single board and come to a soft touch, not a bounce. For guys who train al one and can t use boards, use thr shoulder saver pad or the repboard sett Pin presseh Forget I wrote this. I hate pin presses. The pins can never be set exactly where they should be and they ve been thr
root cause of many a pec tear. I would much prefer you do a suspended bench pres s from chains, as this allows yo to press the bar from exactly where you need itt 2. Weak in the middleW Dynamic Wor~ Imagine if I took a light, flimsy, balsa wood board and held it at your sticking point and told you to press the bar slowl. into it. The board would likely bend and flex but would stay intactt Then I tell you to do the same thing but this time lift explosively. The barbell would crash through the boardt Now, we repeat the scenarios except we ll use a thick, dense piece of pine held at your sticking pointt You press slow and the board doesn t budge. Then you press explosively and this ti me the board doesn t crack, but ii does bounce up a few inches. That becomes your new sticking pointt That s how dynamic work affects your mid-range sticking point. It helps you blow t hrough it so you can reach ranges where you may be stronger and finish the liftt Board Presseh Use three boards for a weak middle ranget
Incline Close-Grip Bench Presh
The incline takes the lats out of the movement, putting more focus on the tricep s and shoulders. Grip the bar a thum| away from the smooth on a Texas power bar and push heavy for sets of three to fi ve repst Incline DB Presseh Keep the reps higher (10-15) and the palms facing inwardt Slight Decline Presseh Don t use too much of a decline or the ROM will become too short. Keep the reps on the higher side I ve seen wa. too many injuries from thist 3. Weak at the topW Welcome to triceps heavent 4-Board and 3-Board Presh Go for low reps here. It s an elbow-friendly movement so get after it. Suspended Bench Press from the High Position This should be set to about the same height as the 3-board presst JM Presh This is a highly underrated exercise. There are plenty of videos on YouTube show ing how to JM Press. Learn itt
Triceps Extensionh There are too many to list. Rolling DB triceps extensions, triceps extensions fr om the floor, etc. Just don t do the samr one every workout. Rotate a different one in right before you usually get stuckt How do you determine where you get stuck? By keeping a detailed training log. So , if your log shows that at week fivr of using a particular exercise you tend to plateau, start changing things up at week fourt Addressing The Weak Poinc Once you identify where you are weak and how to address it, the smartest approac h is to split things up into threr phasest In the first two phases, you address your weak points first while putting your s trong points on the backburner. So, iu you suck at the lockout, for two phases your focus would be on board presses, JM presses, and extensionst On the third phase, however, you flip the script you avoid your weak points and ju st hit your strong pointst This helps maintain balance while preventing overuse injuries, with the third ph ase also setting up a nicr supercompensation bouncet Now, let s set it upt
Create Your Own Progral
If you ve followed my writing, you know I absolutely hate writing general strength -based programs because while the. may work for a few, they ll be largely ineffective for manyt Strength programming needs to be an individualized process, and this becomes eve n more important when you rr stuck in the dead zonet So what I ll do here is offer a general template for you to set something up on yo ur ownt While it s no substitute for having a good coach assess your technique and do your programming, it should still br highly informative and may open your eyes to options that could kick start your lagging bench. This information wilq work whether you use a shirt or nott Day 1
Dynamic Effort Day (Speed Dayj
First Movemenc Speed Bench (Press the bar as fast as you can. Do a lot of warm-up sets. Start with just the empty bar and don t move up until yo u feel ready for the next weight. Iu you re going to use 185 pounds your warm-ups might look like thisk
45 pounds for four sets of 10 reps 95 pounds for two sets of five reps 115 pounds for two sets of five reps 135 pounds for tw0 sets of five reps 145 pounds for three reps 155 pounds for three reps 165 pounds for three reps 175 pounds for three reps I prefer any set above 30% to be lower in volume (three to five reps) with more sets. For example, I like to prograw two sets of five reps instead of one set of 10 repst There are several reasons for this. First, it s easier to focus and stay tight wit h good technique for three to five reps than it is for 10t In a typical set of 10 reps you ll see technique break down with every rep over th ree or five simply because fatigur sets in. So if seven reps of our 10 are performed with less than optimal techniq ue, you re essentially spending twicr as much time reinforcing poor technique as you are improving itt A second reason is more warm-up sets means more time spent working on your setup . Most technical issues are m result of poor setup, and the more this can be practiced, the bettert
For the work sets I d suggest a four-week wavek Week One: Ten sets of five reps @ 50% 1RM, 90 seconds resi
Week Two: Eight sets of five reps @ 52% 1RM, 60 seconds resi Week Three: Nine sets of three reps @ 54% 1RM, 60 seconds resi Week Four: Eight sets of three reps @ 56% 1RM, 45 seconds resi Week Five: Repeat week onr Over the four-week wave there s a 12 percent increase in intensity with a 41 perce nt decrease in workloadt There are many other waves that can be used (and that I do use), but this will w ork best for most readerst For an advanced lifter, a flatter cycle is better. This is when there s very littl e change in intensity and workload, bui more manipulation of the resistance and/or bars (i.e., bands, chains, fat bars, cambered bars, Swiss bars, etc.)t I know most people would think this is a six percent increase. Remember, we re loo king at the increase from 50 tv 56 which is 12 percent. (56/50 = .12. Second Movemenc The second movement of the day is what I call supplemental work. These are movem ents that you know will increasr or build your building movementst A building movement is a movement that you know carries over to the bench press. Usually these are used as ma. effort movements (the second day), but can also be used as supplemental movement s if options are limitedt
Let s say that you know that every time your floor press goes up, your bench press goes up. The second movement ix your program would be exercises that you know (or think) will carry over to the floor presst Considering that the floor press takes the legs out of the press while maintaini ng lat involvement, the movements thai build the floor press will be those that focus on the mid to lower part of the b ench press. This is what most would calq compound chest, pec, or delt movementst Some examples would be JM presses, low board presses, dumbbell floor presses, an d triceps extensions. It s usuall. a safe bet to make this a heavy triceps movementt Supplemental movements should be done in the heavy 3-5 rep range for 1-3 sets an d for 4-5 week cycles. It s usuall. best to stay with this movement until you can no longer add weight or reps, and then swap it outt Third Movemenc These are what I call accessory movements. Taking the builder concept one step f urther, these are movements thai will help make your supplemental movements strongert To back track, if you know the floor press builds your bench and plan on using d umbbell floor presses and JM presses to build your floor press, these are the movements to build your JM press and du mbbell floor presst I realize it starts to get a little overwhelming. How are you supposed to know w hat builds what? What the hell builds m dumbbell floor press? And what if I was wrong and dumbbell floor presses don t eve n build the floor press to begix with. First, realize that no single program will pull you out of the dead zone. If one did, odds are you would ve found it b.
nowt The only way out is to pay attention and get smarter. You may not know the answe rs right now, but as you becomr aware of what to watch for you ll be amazed at how the answers start to reveal the mselves to yout Second, you always have the option of saying, Fuck it, too complicated and simply go back to what you ve beex doing the past five years. How s that been working out for you. Back to the accessory movements. Typically these will be more isolation-type mov ements that will be trained in the 8z 12 rep range for multiple sets. Examples would be exercises like face pulls, pus hdowns, extensions, etct Fourth Movemenc This is all the crap you have to do to maintain a certain degree of muscle balan ce and joint stability. Examples includr external shoulder rotation, lat work, and rear delt workt As a rule, find movements that work the muscle over a very large range of motion and don t worry about the amount ou weight used. Use this movement to isolate the muscle that either gets pounded wi th your core training or just gets ignored. Higher-rep sets of 15-30 reps work best heret Last Movementh In my programming, I call this free time and usually cap it at 10-15 or 20 minut es, depending on how far away from m meet the person is. The closer the meet, the less free time allowedt This is a time to do whatever goofy or fun stuff you want to do as long as the r eps are over eightt Day 2 Max Effort Da.
First Movemenc Select a movement that you know directly carries over to your bench press and wa ve it for 1-3 weeks. The morr advanced you are, the more frequently you need to swap this movement outt If you choose to run it for three weeks, a good rule of thumb is to use the firs t week to feel the movement out. Work uj to a heavy set of three reps, but not a ball-buster set just heavy enough to get an idea of what you might be able tv do for one rep if you had to. I call this your Perceived Max (PM)t On week two, use your PM from week one as your guideline and go to 90 percent of that for a set of one to three repst This time, do bust your balls, but don t do more than three reps, even if you can. Also, don t do an extra set if you kille} this onet On the third week, go up to a ball-buster max set of onet If you re more advanced and need to change up movements every week because you can t break your record twv weeks in a row, I suggest working up slowly (same warm-up style used for the dyn amic work) and listen to your bod. as you warm-upt If you feel or a triple then change mental work
great, go for the one-rep record. If you feel a tad off then shoot f record. If it all feels like dog shii movements before your work set or totally drop it and do more supple insteadt
Second Movemenc Same as the dynamic day but with a different movementt Third Movemenc Same as the dynamic day but with a different movementt Fourth Movement (and morej
Same as the dynamic day but with different movement(s)t Last Movementh Same as the dynamic day but with different movement(s)t That s Ith I could write a lot more about bench press plateaus, but at a certain point gene ral recommendations must give way tv individualized programming. So start here for now. Figure out where you re weak an d what exercises you need to gei you over the hump. Establish an intelligent plan and get to workt
Section 2: The Bench Curg Dave Tate s Six-Week Bench Press Curg by Nate Green Originally published on May 18th, 200g I m on the phone with T NATION® strength specialist Dave Tate, and he s half-laughing, half-yelling into my ear. His voice is a few decibels higher than it needs to be. He s not in a crowded place; t his is just how Tate talks, aggressivel. and with authority. I preemptively hold the phone away from my head, lest the ea rdrum blow. This is the United States of America, he bellows. Like it or not, the bench press will always be the most po pular exercise. Too bad everyonr sucks at it. But why does everyone suck at it? I ask. Give me any T NATION® reader and I can increase the amouni he can bench almost instantly. But you didn t answer Then I realize what he just said. Wait. How the hell do yo do that? And if you give me six weeks, I can have him really add some pounds to the bar. He wouldn t even believe itt I ve seen guys jump up 50 pounds or more. I put the phone back against my ear, hear ing be damned. With over 2Å
years as a competitive powerlifter, a career-best 610-pound bench press, and tho usands of strength athletes across the globe successfully using his methods, I know when Tate talks benching, I m sup posed to take notes. There s absolutely no way I m going to miss his bench press cure. Let s hear it, I say, trying to act nonchalant. Tate s silent fon a minute as if he s contemplating whether or not to tell a young punk his secrets. Alright, he says finally. Let me telq you what I know . . .. NOTE: After the video, make sure you click the link below the video to continue reading the article. You ll learn mor_ about Dave s technique, as well as the details of his new 6-week bench press progr amo Dave Tate s Six-Week Bench Press Curg
Section 3: Saving Facg After a September 2009 weightlifting accident at USC, loads of interest sparked online and in the press with regard tv the bench press. While I ll admit I m not much of a news follower, this one, in part icular, caught my attention. My firsi reaction was to ask the same battery of questions I m sure many others have asked: Who was spottingv Why was th_ player even doing the bench press? Was this a single or a 1-rep maxv Then I read the following statements in The Daily Trojank It was scary, (Trojans Coach Pete) Carroll said. That happens sometimes when you re d oing [theT bench press but this one just hit him wrong._ I ve seen players have the bar slip and fall on their chest, but never in my 25 yea rs of coaching have ^ heard of someone dropping a bar on their throat, (Trojans S/C Coach Chris) Carlis le saido At this point, I began asking myself WTF!? r thingt
and began to wonder if this is a regula
Then I woke up and realized that I come from a sport where knee wraps appear und er bench shirts, then disappearV then reappear only to have never been there in the first place. The point here i s that unless you were there, you havr no idea what happened or who s to blame. It s always easy to call the shots from the back end or be the Monda. morning quarterback, but the reality is that there s one hurt player and a lot of people making excuses and placiny blame within the context of something they really know nothing aboutt
What I haven t seen is what can and should be done to avoid this in the future. Ju st this morning, I did a Googlr search on how to spot the bench press, and was shocked at what I saw in the firs t four pagest There is zero debate that the bench press in the most popular weight training mo vement in the United States. It s as American as apple pie. There is, however, a lot of debate with regard to its app lication to sports performance (search our Q&A for Dynamic Correspondence), but this is for another time. Everyone know s the bench press. Just asZ around. Actually, there s no need to because I m willing to bet at some point in you r life, you ve been asked how much you bench press. Everyone has. So, you would think with all this movement s popula rity, a simple Google search would provide you with valid and effective information on how to spot itt While I am by no means the authority on the bench press, spotting or coaching, I have paid my dues and speni enough time in the gym to know what needs to be done to keep a lifter safe. This is not to say pulled muscles, tears and other injuries won t occur. What I m saying is that specific things need to be i n place in case these things dv happent
Having been involved in powerlifting for the past 26 years, I have seen just abo ut every single way you can miss m bench press. The multi-ply aspect of the bench press has now evolved to EXTREME status, with lifters pressing 800V 900, and over 1000 pounds. Lifters are now using such strong bench shirts that i f the bar is slightly out of the grooveV it can easily lead to several muscle tears and broken arms. Because of this, spo tting is critical. If a bar with 80Y pounds on it was to crash down on the lifter, well, this would not be good. Luck ily, in the past few years, I ve only seex reports of bruised ribs if the bar was to fall out of the lifter s hands while try ing to touch in a shirt. So what about all thr pectoral tears, triceps tears, broken forearms, etc? They still occur, and they will occur, but the spotters knew whai they were doing and kept a bad situation from becoming worset I m going to present these tips based on advice from pro and elite level powerlift ers and their spotters and coaches because I ve always felt you should learn from the top down, and who better to lea rn spotting from than those who arr spotting these extraordinary lifters. 1. Personal Responsibilit. As the lifter, you need to know what your limits are and take responsibility for ensuring your own safety, as well as thr safety of your spotter(s). This means trying what you think you can do. Just bec ause you feel good doesn t mean yo can go for a 50-pound record. This also means your spotters aren t there to do shr ug workouts on your last three repst Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is communication. Your spotter needs to k now what your cue is if you nee} help. I ve read and seen several times what a safe word means in the bedroom. Maybe it s a color or an animaq name, but it means STOP. However, I ve never read this in one single bench press a rticle on spottingt In the world of powerlifting, we have the unspoken law of the words e lifter needs help, he will say it, if thr
take it. If th
spotters see trouble they will say it, and if the judges see a problem they will say it. This is our safe word, and it s what prevents small issues from becoming giant issues. Funny how simple basic co mmunication can make such a biy difference in almost any situation in lifet One other point is to make sure your hands are not sweating (use chalk), as this can lead to the bar slipping around ix your handst 2. The Setup I don t want to turn this into a bench press technique article, as you can see all this information here. I wouldV however, like to make a few comments that can ensure the safety of the liftert First, make sure your body is tight and braced. If someone was to come up alongs ide you and try to push you to onr side or the other, they should not be able to move yout
Second, your grip should be tight and even. Even if you use a false grip, you ne ed to make sure your thumb is jammed into the bar as hard as you can, and that you have as much tension as you can on the bar. While this is known as the suicide grip, and for good reason, it can be used safely if you know what you re doing. In most cases this is not true. In the future, I will try to write about the pros and cons of this grip, but for this article let s just agree thai it s too advanced for 99.9 percent of the readers and should not be usedt When I write tight grip, I m saying it should be tight from start to finish, and NOT what I see time and time agaix (mostly with athletes outside of powerlifting and bodybuilding). They will grab the bar, and then after unracking, yo will see something I call a top bob (where they do little pumps I guess to get the b ar ready), or the wave (the. decide to open their hands in a wave-like motion). Both of these are far more co mmon than you think, and if it was mr personally, I would never let them bench over 50 percent until these habits were stopped. As lifters, you need to gra| the bar tight for the entire sett
3. Informed Spotterh Before each set, it s important that all the spotters know how many reps the lifte r expects to achieve. It would helj (even if it s not quite realistic) if each spotter knows the capabilities of the l ifter. We ve all spotted that guy that says he s going to do five reps, but can t get one on his own and then continues the set Ji mmy The Bull style. Iu someone tries to pull this with you, immediately grab-n-rack that barbell and an nul your spotting dutiest With each spotter knowing the expectations of the set, they can help better coac h the lifter, count reps and givr encouragement. The best spotters are always the most informed and involved. It i s a win-win situation for both partiest In most gyms, the lift-off spotter is the main guy. At a meet, he has to step ba ck so the judge can see. He is the onr who has the control, and in many cases, he may be the only one there to spot. If you are this guy, there is somr information you need to know before you even get to the bar. You need to know wh at the lifter s max is, how man. reps they re going to do, and, if possible, where their sticking point is. You als o need to know what type of liftoff the. want and require. Some will want to count. Others will use a nod or tell you on what breath they will go on. Lifters usr various signals, and you need to know what your lifter s signal is. If they don t ha ve one, then provide them with onet Tell them you will lift it out to them on three, then count one, two, three, and then lift out. After lifting the bar out, keej your hands on the bar don t use the forearm Zercher liftoff until you feel the lifter has taken all the weight and is ready to lower itt At this point, stay close and AWARE of what is going on. If you are the only guy , and you re not AWARE, then who is. Injuries can happen in an instant, so you have to be ready. If it is a max weigh t and you re the only one, stay close. Iu it s a set of reps, you can stay back some, but watch the bar speed to see when it starts to slow down. When it slows down, be more AWAREt I will say this, and I m being brutally honest, nobody wants your shorts in their face, and nobody wants to be able tv smell what you had for lunch. Also, wipe your damned sweat off BEFORE you step u p to lift off, and make sure an. excess chalk is off your hands. What you don t want to do is get up to help liftof f and drop sweat and chalk all over thr lifter s face. If you do need a spot, don t ask someone right after they squatted a 10-rep PR. Give the guy some time tv catch his breatht
It s also your job to double check the grip to make sure it s tight and even, and to make sure your lifter is focused ox the task at handt
Finally, listen and use your best judgment. If the lifter says take it, the bar. If they look like they re going tv miss, then take the bar. It s far better to be safe than sorryt
then grab
If side spotters are used (and I feel they always should be if you re going for a max or training to or past failure), thex you need to make sure they have their heads out of their asses and are paying at tention. Don t even lift the bar oui until you have made eye contact with each side spotter and you see their hands a re in position and ready. If the shii hits the fan, they are the ones who will save the day. They are also the ones wh o will get distracted the fastest. It s alsv your job to yell take it if the time comest The back spotter must have both hands on the bar to give a lift off. You are not earning any strong points by lifting m barbell with one hand. Not only does this give the lifter a sub par hand off, it will be crookedt This leads me to another point. The spotter must also have his hands wide enough to give a smooth lift off and br sure his hands are even. Also, once you ve lifted the bar out to the lifter, the b ack spotter must take his hands off thr bar. There is a difference between being an active spotter and an annoying spott er. Having your hands on the ban THE WHOLE TIME is just as bad as not having a spotter at all. The lifter can t see (you are giving him Chinnuts), an} he can t focus on the task at hand. Furthermore, 100 percent of the time, the spot ter is helping the lifter lift the barbellt So if you do this, not only do you want the lifter to get hurt, you want them to get weak. Hence, you are the worsi training partner or spotter evert Ninety-nine percent of the time, the back spot is the only one you will receive, so be sure that you pick this persox carefully. Too often, we will grab anyone to give us a spot any Tom, Richard or Ha rry will do, right? If you pick a 100z pound spotter for a 500-pound attempt, don t expect to be shocked when the barbell starts to cave your chestt
Having a good spot is mostly the lifter s responsibility. These are the people to whom you re entrusting your safety. Dv you really trust these people with your health. 4. The Side Spotterh The role of the side spotters is simple. They re to watch the lift and the bar and make sure they re ready in casr something happens. Keep your hands very close to the end of the bar. If the plat es leave little room at the end of thr bar, then two side spotters per side will be required, and their arms and hands should be very close (but not touching. to the plates. With one spotter on each side, you need to remember that if the w eight is this big, there is very little thr liftoff guy can do except direct the path the bar will go after you take it. Fin ally, unless something major happens, dv not touch the bar unless you re told. The worst thing that can happen is one side spotter grabbing the bar while thr other does nothing. Once again, awareness is keyt 5. Equipmenc Finally comes the issue of equipment. In most cases, the lifter does not have co ntrol over what equipment is in thein gym or what they have access to use, so I m going to try and be brief with this an d provide recommendations in casr the features I present are not available to you. Please understand the features and specs I m going to provide are frow our equipment line, because we build our stuff for the most extreme use, which r equires that safety be a very high priorityt
You have two options when bench pressing. You can use a rack-type setup or a ben ch made for the bench presst If you re using a rack option, then there are a couple of important aspects to loo k at. The J-hooks (where the bar is racked) should not be too deep, as it can become hazardous to get the bar out. I f they re too shallow it can also posr problems, so you need something that will allow the lifter and spotter to easily lift the bar OUT and not UP. If the ban has to be lifted up, the lifter s tightness can be compromised. The hole spacing a lso comes into play here. Most racZ
holes are spaced every four inches, so the bar is either going to be too high or too low for the majority of the lifters. Iu you have to pick, then select the option where the bar will be too low, BUT be v ery careful to watch when the bar is racked because it can bounce off the rack post before being racked, and in some cases bounce past the J-hook an} back onto the lifter. Aside from the safety aspects, not having proper J-hook he ight can greatly affect the start of the lifi and compromise the lifter s strength. I suggest looking for racks with 1-1.5 inch hole spacings throughout the bench regiont Elitefts
Collegiate Power RacZ
Next are the safety pins. These should also adjust every one or two inches. With the size of the average human headV I ve never understood why most rack pins adjust every four inches. In almost all c ases, this will put the setting too lo{ to actually do anything, or so high that the bench is no longer a full range of motion. If you find your rack is constructed this way, I suggest putting mats or something under your bench so yo u can set the pins right above chesi level. This way, when you get in bench position with your chest up, the bar will be free of the pins, but, if needed, wilq be in position to keep the lifter safet The J-cups are also a feature of the stand bench press units that also need to b e considered. With the radical bench shirts and the amount of weight being lifted, I m also a huge fan of the head cage . This provides extra protection ix case the worst case situation happenst Deluxe Competition Bench 6. Proactive Prevention For coaches and administrators, spotting in the weight room is a huge liability. I would highly recommend that poste} signs explaining how to spot are placed in plain sight in the weight room, that coaches be taught properly (sport an} weight coaches), and that kids are also taughtt If you re coaching athletes in a school or team setting, whether it be in junior h igh, high school, college or higher, youn first priority as a strength or sport coach is to make sure you don t get anyone h urt in your weight room. It s like thr Hippocratic Oath that physicians take: First, do no harm._ Keeping your athletes on the field is your number onr priority, and this takes precedence over getting them stronger. I would rather a school have no strength an} conditioning program at all than have some hardcore jerkoff who puts his athletes at risk by not learning propen technique, not inspecting his equipment or learning what equipment is right for hi s program and not learning propen
spotting techniquest When you re training athletes in groups, establish a set spotting rotation. If you r e training a group of five on thr bench, rotate kids like a wheel. Once they lift, they take the next lifter s setof f. Then they go to a side, then the backV then a side, and then they re up again. The spotters on the sides load plates and collar the bar. This will take somr work, because you ll always have kids who want to stare off into space, especially when they re spotting a squat. As m coach, it s imperative that you make penalties SEVERE for a lack of focus while sp otting a teammatet
We all forget things because our minds are elsewhere sometimes, but attention mu st be paid to spotting and safetyt We don t really ever want to spot for anyone else, we don t have the time to go look for the right people to spot for us and we simply assume that the people we ask to spot us can handle what they re ask ing us to dot The answer? Don t assume anything. While the USC situation is awful and our hearts go out to everyone involved, lei it serve as a reminder to us all that these things can happen to anybody. We sho uld all look very carefully an} objectively at our own behaviors and see where we can improvet Section 4: Things You d Better Know if You Want Strong(er) Triceph Kicking back some thoughts on triceps training. When I think of strength training, I think of training the muscle one of three w aysk 1. Strength: to make as strong as possiblet 2. Hypertrophy: to make as big as possiblet 3. Conditioning: to be able to handle and recover from the abuse of strength and hy pertrophyt Strengto Let s look at this from the perspective of trying to build a bigger bench. Will tr aining the bench press do this. Perhapst
Those who have been training for a period of time already know the answer to tha t question is no. If that were thr case, everyone who walked in a weight room would have a bigger bench, because th ey ALL bench. Yet, they don tt Why. There are many reasons for this, but for the sake of this section we will assume it s your lockout strength. Your lockoui is largely determined by the strength of your triceps, so all you need to do is add in some more tricep work, right. Wrongt We ve all tried that as well, and who did it work for. What I m going to suggest is to look at this from a different perspective. If I m he lping someone overcome a stickiny point in the bench press, one of the first things I want to know is what movemen ts seem to correlate with their bencht In other words, what other movements go up when their bench goes up? Does their 2-board press go up at the samr rate as their bench press? What about the floor press or close grip incline pres s? If you look hard enough, you ll fin} somethingt The answer then becomes, what do you need to do to make THAT movement get strong er? Assuming your 2-boar} press goes up at the same rate as your bench press, then what movements are you doing to bring up your 2-boar} press. In most of the programs I see, the core movements are programed pretty well. If they use a conjugated approach, thr dynamic and max effort work is also programmed very well. Where I see the ball b eing dropped is with thr supplemental and accessory work. For most, these are seen as an afterthought, or that they just need to dv something for tris, lats and delts and then go home. To really push the boundaries , it has to be better than thatt I ve said this a millions times before, You can either train a lift or build a lift . If you want to bench press just to bench press, so be it. Train it to no end, but if you want to build the bench press, y ou need to put some thought an} experience into it. You need to know what builds your bench (usually another cor e movement) and then what you cax use to strengthen this movement (usually a supplemental movement)t
Driving the Bench Presh While everyone is different, here are three examples of each grouping. Keep in m ind the bench press is the corr movementk 1. Close-grip Incline Presh This was always a favorite of mine and one that always had a great effect on my bench press. I like to work up tv heavy sets of 3-5 reps and see if I can break a record each time I did this move ment (about once a month). Over thr years, I ve discovered this works better for me using a fat bar or some type of fa t grip. The reason for this is to pui more emphasis on the triceps and take some off the pecs. To illustrate what I me an, do a set of push-ups on the floon with an open hand. Then, do a set with a closed fist. With a closed fist, you wi ll feel more tension in the upper pec an} with an open hand, you will feel it more so in the triceps. The fat bar opens th e hands up some allowing for more ou the work to be done by the triceps. Of course, if you feel it is your chest, tha t is holding back your bench. In that caseV don t use a fat bar. However, in my experience (raw or geared) this is seldom the caset If this is a movement that drives your bench press, we need to look at what supp lemental movements can push this lifi up. Without getting into great details, these could include palms out dumbbells presses, elbows out extensionsV cross body extensions, or any other tricep movements where the elbows come out a nd away from the body. Thesr movements should cycle for 3-4 weeks in the higher rep ranges (6-8) for multiple sets (3-4) just shy of failuret 2. Board Presseh I personally think the best all-around board is the 2-board press. It still allo ws for good technique, takes much of thr shoulder rotation out of the movement and gives enough ROM to allow for you to b uild a bigger bench. A lower boar} is great for bench shirt work, but too low for much of anything else other than technique work. The higher boards arr awesome for lockout strength and building a stronger setup and upper back stabil ityt For a quick review of the board press, here is the article we posted titled, Boa rd Press 101t Here are some other types of lumber liftingk The supplemental exercises that would effect this the most would include (but no t limited to), rolling dumbbelf
extensions, spoon presses, close-grip Swiss bar presses or extensions, or any ot her tricep movement where thr elbows are tucked. These movements should cycle for three to four weeks in the h igher rep ranges (6-8) for multiplr sets (3-4) just shy of failuret 3. Any Chain Presh Using the bench or variation of the bench also makes this top list. Not only doe s this help build the lockout strength, ii offers something else most people never consider. It deloads the eccentric porti on of the movement, making it easien to increase volume, repeat more frequently and train heavier at the top end. It is very easy to set these movements uj so you are over 100 percent at the top and 60 percent at the bottomt For a quick review of chains, here is our Chain 101 articlet Here are some other movements using chainsk The supplemental exercises here depend on what the main movement is. For now, ju st refer back to number one on two to see if it s more of an elbows-in or elbows-out selectiont
Hypertroph. What if your goals don t have to deal with strength, but you are just looking to b uild bigger arms? This does change m few things such as exercise selection, order, volume, and execution of the movem ents. This can always be revisite} later if you like, but I m sure if you are reading elietefts , you already have a gr asp on this. So let s just cut to the casr and post some workouts for yout I asked John Meadows of Mountain Dog Training Systems to provide me with some wo rkouts to post in this sectiont Workout #}
Fat Bar Pushdowns After warming up, do a nice and heavy pyramid here. Rep scheme is 15, 12, 10, 8 an} 6 for a total of five work setst Seated Dip Machine Just use the range of motion that is okay on your shoulder an d try to keep continuous tension. Burn the shit out of them! Complete four total work sets of 8-10 repst Decline Lying Extension This is just a slight decline. I use a sit-up bench and lower it all the way down. Lowen the bar to your forehead, and then drive it up and sort of back a bit, but not d irectly over you. Do four total worZ sets of fifteent Workout # T Rest break for triceps is 45 seconds between all setso
V-bar Pushdowns Do 2-3 sets to 10, and 8 for a total ou four work setst Pronated Tricep Kickbacks Four d at the top. Dip Machine Do four total sets et the weight come up, thex blast it down. Incline Skullcrushers Now that et the bar go behind youn head for a real good stretch. Do Workout #
warm up elbows. Pyramid up. Rep scheme is 15, 12, total work sets of six. Try to go heavy! Flex har of eight. On the negative, take five seconds to l your elbows are juiced up, do these and try and l three total work sets of fifteent
V-Bar Pushdowns Do a few sets to get warmed up. With the blood already in your a rms from bis, it won t takr as long as usual. Start with a weight that you pretty much hit failure with arou nd 20 reps. You are going to dv four more sets. On each set, add some weight and go to failure. Complete five to
tal working setst Dip machine Do five total work sets of 8-10 reps with a shortened range of motio n. Don t come all the wa. down and flex, but don t let it come up too high, either. Work the middle range of motion and focus on doing alq the driving with the inner head of your tricept Incline Skullcrushers Now that you have some juice in your elbows, these should feel awesome. You can usr an EZ bar or straight bar on these. I want you to take the bar behind your head and get an awesome stretcht Do not lock it out. Only come up ¾ of the way. Shoot for five total work sets of 1 0-12 repst Workout #] Rest will be 45 seconds between all sets\
V-Bar Pushdowns
Three sets of twleve to warm-uj
Bent-Over Triceps Rope Extension Do four total work sets of twelve reps on these. Let the rope come back ox each rep and really stretch your tricepst Pronated Kickbacks Go heavy and flex for a second. Four sets of eight for four t otal work setst Dip Machine Three sets of ten. On every rep, I want a three-second negative. Do this for four total work setst Skullcrushers/Lying Extensions done on an Incline Bench Two sets of twenty for t wo total work setst Conditionin. There are a few ways to look at conditioning: endurance, strength endurance, rec overy, rehabilitation and injur. preventiont Keeping with the simple theme of this article, these types of movements should b e a part of ALL training. How yo incorporate them will depend on the goals of the program. Personally, I always l iked to use finisher type movements such as thesek This is one that I just started using and it BLOWS my arms apartt Section 5: The 225 Bench Press Tesc How to increase your 225-pound bench for reps tesc Q&A answers were taken from "Eat My Meet,The SequeU " by Dav] W Tat] QUESTIOi
I am trying to get my bench reps up on 225 and was wondering if you had any tips . I have to test il about three weeks. Here is a video of a time that I tested http://youtu.be/ozl7T _MWBfY . I have accese to bands and fat bars and have been using them. I just wanted to see if there is anything new I coul] try. Thanks. ColV
ANSWEj I get asked several times a year how to increase one s 225-pound bench press rep t est. This has got to be thr dumbest test of all time, but I ve found a few things to be very effective in perf orming and training for this test. Thr first, and most simple one, is to get stronger. You would think this would be we ll-known, but just about every time I looZ at the programming leading into this test, there s never any max effort work (ME). So, make sure you re doing M. work. Some of the most effective ME movements are 1-board presses, floor presses , and close-grip inclines. If this rep test is your goal, change this movement every week. The reason is simple. If y ou re asking this question in thr first place, then you probably don t have much time before you re tested. This force s you to hit these movements morr frequently because you don t have the time to figure out which one works bestt
Pull out on the bar, or pull in? Check and see where you fail and how you fail. If it seems to be the pecs (fails ai the bottom) or triceps (the top), then change the focus. If you re a pec guy, just press until you feel burning. Ai this point, begin pulling the bar apart. This will give you a few extra reps. If it s your triceps, then pull int Many times this is a time game. You may find you always fail around the same tim e (say 45 seconds). You cax change this with training, but as you know, this one will take time. Usually whe n I m asked this question, time is very limited. The trick then becomes how to get more reps in the same time frame . You can either shorten thr stroke (classic Westside tuck belly up and so on), or work with over speed work. Use the reverse banq press to help move the bar faster. By doing this, you ll learn to press fastert Do speed work with bands. The same concept as above, but work more on a faster e ccentric phaset If you can gain weight and maintain speed, gain weightt Make sure your wrists stay straight and locked. If the bar falls too much behind your wrists, your triceps will faiq way too fast. This is a huge mistake that I see with ALL guys who do this. When this happens, the triceps wilq fail faster because of where the center of gravity of the weight fallst Keep your hands SHUT. Don t do any of this opening your fingers crap that we all see on TV hundreds ou times. Keep your hands tight and locked onto the bart Don t bounce the weights! I shouldn t have to write this, but I ve seen far too many p eople do this test and I vr
seen the same mistake over and over again. Aside from the injury potential from bouncing weights, the bar gets tossed all over the place. The best path is the same path for each rep. More flu id motion equals greater outputt Wear a black shirt and chalk the bar all over the center knurling. Do a few reps and check to see if you havr one or three chalk lines. If you re interested in doing more bench reps or increas ing you max bench, then therr better be only one line. If there s more than one line, your technique is off and you re expending too much energyt I ve seen very few who can train and perform the test in a high arched position. T he tension is too long and thr reps are too high to maintain this position without cramping in the lower back a nd/or hamstringst
Count the reps down, not up. Instead of counting one, two, three, four, and five , start at what you would like tv do and count back: 43, 42, 41, and so on. Better yet, count in groups of ten: te n, nine, eight, seven, six, fiveV four, three, two, one, and then ten, nine, eights, seven, and so on. It s even bet ter if you can get someone tv count for you. This is a mind game just as much as it is a physical gamet Stick-UM on the bottom of your shoes will help big time. Or make sure that there s no way your feet will slij when you use leg drivet Use your leg drive like gears. Start with enough drive to stay stable. Then, inc rease the tension and drive with about five reps before you would normally die out. This should happen a few reps before you begin pulling in on out on the bart If your technique is great, do all your endurance bench work with a Fat Bar (or Fat Gripz). This will make thr regular bar feel like a twig when you go back to it. There are also physical rea sons for this, but the mental ones far out weigh themt Never hold the bar at the top for more than one to two seconds, except after a s eries of ten or more repst
Learn to only press with the required amount of force per rep. You wouldn t sprint for a mile, would you? Thr same holds true with the rep test. Don t expend more energy then needed. You ll need it latert Try to keep yourself down, not crunched up with your chin in your chest. This te st requires oxygen to get thr maximal number of reps. This practice has helped and may help with a one-rep max , but we re talking aboui twenty-plus reps here, not onet Unlike with a one-rep max or all other bench strength work, don t use a super tigh t grip on the bar. Grasp thr bar with enough force to control it and keep it there until the last few reps. T hen, squeeze the crap out of thr bart When you discover where you fail, add in some extra work for that specific area at a twenty percent higher timr range than your bench fail time. For example, if your bench fail time is 42 seco nds and your triceps are whai fail on you, add in one set per session of 3-board presses at 50 seconds. If you can t do all the reps for this time, do what you can and statically hold the weight at midpoint for the rest of the timet Focus your eyes on one main point on the ceiling and don t deviate from it. Why? N ext time you re in the gyw with beginner or intermediate lifters, watch what they do when the reps get hard . They always look to one arw or the other. Then one arm begins to give out. This may be before they looked at it or after. It doesn t mattert What matters is that they acknowledged it and let it defeat them. Remember this is a MENTAL game and ever. rep countst Make every rep count. It s your own fault and a waste of your effort to do a rep t hat isn t legal and doesn i count. Do them ALL correctlyt If you are weak chested in the bench press, check your wrist to elbow position. They should be in line. If thr wrist is toward the feet more than the elbow, then this is taxing the shoulders too much in the bottom position. Iu the wrist is closer to the head than the elbow, then the weight is focused more on the triceps. If you use m bench shirt this all changes depending on the shirt and length of the upper armt
Most importantly, learn how to bench press. The worst technical benches I ever s aw were performed by high school and college athletes in the combine or training for the combine. The inte rnet is littered with videos ou these sets. If all you did was learn how to bench properly, this alone would inc
rease your rep test. After all thesr years, I m still shocked and amazed that there are strength coaches and combine pr ep coaches that have nv idea how to teach a proper bench press, but yet know every detail there is to kn ow about how to nail the best 4Y time. This is not to take anything away from the good ones they do exist but unfortu nately, they are not in thr majorityt
Section 6: 60 Bench Tiph 1.) They don t grab the bar tight. Dave Tatr 2.) Lack of overall body tightness. Dave Tatr 3.) Dynamic effort method. Dave Tatr 4.) Keep the bar in-line with the wrist and elbows. Dave Tatr 5.) They do not set the weight. Dave Tatr 6.) 1. Big AIR. 2. Pull the bar apart. 3. Leg drive. Jor 7.) The article Dave did for T Nation was and is the best ever. Maybe you don t kno w how to f*ing bench. Josh
8.)
Bench Training for Gear and Raw by Matt Wenning.
Andersox
9.) Being told that not everyone benches best with a massive arch and their upper traps on the bench. Find your owx grove. Bex 10.) Don t push the bar off you. Push yourself away from the bar. Jasox 11.) Tight back. Kurtis 12.) Just getting your upper back and core strength in-line with your chest stren gth to allow for maximal strength through leg drive and the rest (raw bench). Justix 13.) If you lift it really fast, it s not heavy. Briax 14.) Don t push the bar off you. Push yourself away from the bar. Yuro 15.) Get your weight on your traps. Colix 16.) Grant McRenolds told me, Just push it, bitch. Stop f*ing around. Put everythin g into perspective. Des 17.) Bench too low on your chest. Ro| 18.) I agree with Josh! The best video ever! The best tips: 1. Tight back. 2. Elb ow under the bar. 3. And my favoriteV PUSH YOURSELF INTO THE BENCH. Danijeq 19.) Squeeze the fuck out of the bar. 20.) Just press it. Jox
Dax
21.) The directions for a tight setup by Dave, I think. Most people have no idea how to perform the lift correctly. . Davi} 22.) Full scapular retraction for more power! And. 23.) Dave s six-week bench press cure video. I watched it, put those tips to work, and went up 25 pounds in threr weeks. Ryax 24.) Speed bench stuff. FranZ 25.) Retract the scapulae. Don t cock the f*ing wrists. Davi} 26.) Don t miss! Andre{ 27.) If you re not a SHW, don t try to bench like one. Instead of raising your head a nd touching low, keep your hea} down. Raise your chest into your shirt and tear it apart. Stretch the chest pane l until it bursts. Briax 28.) Be tight. Nicolas 29.) Only bench once a week. No other training. Boards, shirt, home. Karstex 30.) Keep elbows under the bar. NicZ 31.) Push yourself away from the bar, not the bar away from you. Dre{ 32.) Be tight from grip to heels. Tomm. 33.) Don t push the bar back, push the bar UP. Straight up is a shorter distance th an arcing back. I think it was Davr who said, Pushing the bar back is the best way to smash your teeth out. Kirstex 34.) Nut up and push it. Jiw 35.) Lower the weight with the lats. Jor 36.) Technique first, weight second. Budd. 37.) Actually let the spotter help you get the bar off the rack, or else you ll los e tightness in your back. Mikr 38.) Courtesy of 24-hour Shitness: Don t bring the bar all the way down to your che st. In fact, don t bench press at allt Do some crunches on a stability ball instead. Mariv 39.) Train partials with a narrow grip in order to have same range of motion as r egular bench, but avoid wear and tean on shoulders. Marp
40.)
Chains.
Jonathox
41.) Larry P to Louie, You need triceps. Jefu 42.) Tight setup. No tap dancing feet during the lift. Davr 43.) Train with people who know how to bench. Luc. 44.) Wendler s benching is all about the elbows from the bench press exercise index. It helped me a lot with stayiny tight on the way down, flaring, tucking and taking the bar out of the rack. Adria x 45.) Never lose control. Talk to people who know how to use a shirt. Jack your bo obies. Lindsa. 46.) Belly to the bar is the best shirted advice I ve given. Chris 47.) AJ Roberts Tips video and Dave s T-Nation article. Michaeq 48.) Shut up and lift. Davr 49.) Squeeze the pencil between your shoulder blades Chad Aichs video. MarZ 50.) Tuck! Tuck! Tuck! Flair! Thygr 51.) Eat pizza pops before training. Ro| 52.) Look good on the way down. Jiw 53.) Take more shit. Kenn. 54.) Pull the bar apart. Adaw 55.) How to properly setup more specifically, squeezing our shoulder blades togethe r and driving your traps into thr bench like you are trying to break it off. Jeromr 56.) Push YOU AWAY from the bar, not just drive the bar up. Adaw 57.) Crush the bar with your hands. Jonathox 58.) George Halbert used to tell me to squeeze my hands tighter, which helped gre atly at the time he told me that. . Matt Wenniny 59.) Other than basic form advice, being told to do board presses. I have very lo ng arms and board presses are thr only thing that ever really helped me. They helped me to become faster and used to heavy weights. Aarox 60.) Just keep pushing, no quitting early. Push until you lock it out, or your fo rm breaks down. D.Mt
Section 7: Weak Lockouc This is really one of the best problems to have and the easiest to fix. When you r e dealing with sticking points in thr bench press you have to remember that there are several ways to correct the prob lem, but most won t work for yout So don t beat a dead horse! In other words, if what you ve been doing isn t working, t hen try something else. You havr plenty of ammo. I ve had this same problem with my bench and sometimes it takes ye ars to stumble upon the righi movement to fix the problem. Other times I hit the right movement the first time outt 1. Get your head righti This is true with all sticking points regardless of the point at which you stall out. If you believe you always miss at thr top, then you ll always miss at the top! Your mind has a lot to do with your stick ing points. I try to teach all the athletes I work with to visualize their sticking point at a higher position and focus ver y hard on driving the bar through it. Ix other words, when you bench you must focus on pushing the bar very fast through your sticking point. Focus will makr a big differencet 2. Learn to use your tricepsi This is done by keeping your body tight and focusing on pulling the bar apart. T his will involve your triceps morr throughout the movement and keep the bar moving in a straight line. A good trick to teach you to do this is to use ax elitefts pro mini resistance band. You double the band up and wrap it around your wrists while you bench. This forces you to pull the bar apart and grasp the barbell tight. If not, your hands will be shot together. Pull the bar apari and watch that sticking point disappear. 3. Start the bar where you want to finishi This is a very simple concept but it s very seldom practiced. Most lifters will un rack the bar and lower it to the chesi without setting the bar first. This is usually done by habit and will cause you to lower the bar in a diagonal pattern thai
will result in you pushing it back up in the same pattern. When you push the bar back toward the rack, there s morr rotation and less emphasis on the tricepst You need to unrack the bar, then set it in the same exact position in which you wa nt to finish. This should be directl. above where you lower the bar. If you bench to your lower pecs, then the bar mus t start above the lower pecs. This wiq create a straight line both on the eccentric and concentric. Remember, the short est distance between two points is m straight linet 4. Move the bar fasti You need to make sure you re pressing as fast as possible to bust through your sti cking point. A slow press won t buil} enough momentum to bust past your sticking point. If you re trying to open a stuck door would you try to open it slowl. or would you bust into it as hard as possible? Speed is key. 5. Strengthen the top halfi There are several movements that can help you strengthen the muscles that lockou t the bench. These are best donr using the max effort method. The best movement for a weak lockout is a 3- or 4-b oard press. A board press is performed by using 3- or 4- 2 x 6 boards placed on your chest. Lower the bar to the boards, pause and press back upt In extreme cases, you may want to use a set of mini bands on the bar as wellt A second movement that works very well is the floor press with the use of chains . The floor press is performed thr same as the bench press except you re lying on the floor. Work up to about 60- to 70-percent of your best bench, thex begin adding one set of chains on the bar with each additional set. You fail whe n you can no longer add any morr chainst
Section 8: Weak Off Your Chesc I get asked a lot about being weak off the chest in the bench press. I decided t o make it easy by designing a fourz week phase to address the problemt This assumes thatr Your technique is rock solidt You are not hurt or injuredt You have your head out of your ass and think you can overcome this sticking poin tt You have the equipment I will be listing in this program. Please do not ask me w hat to do if yo don t have X or Y. This is all designed to work together. If you don t have X or Y, then don t do thr phaset I feel when designing a program you need to look at all three means of increasin g muscle tension: the maximal effori method, the dynamic effort method and the repetition method. All three are utili zed in this phaset Week } Day } Dynamic Bench Press Begin with the bar and make sure all warm-up sets are executed with perfect cont rol an} techniquet Once you hit 50 percent of your best bench, stay at this weight and perform nine sets of threr reps. You will use three different grips. With a Texas Power Bar, these grips wi ll be one finger ox the smooth (close), a thumb away from the smooth (medium) and forefinger on the rings (wide)t On this week you will take 60 seconds between sets and push the bar as fast (whi le keepiny control) as you cant Flat Dumbbell Presses Do 2-3 warm-up setst After you are warmed up you will work your way up in weight making sure to hit a set of 12, a sei of 10, and then two heavy sets of eight with the same weightt Rest as long as needed between setst Push-downs and Close-grip 1-board Press Do 2-3 sets of 10-12t Do three sets going to failure on the push-downs (between 15-20 reps), immediate ly followed b. close-grip 1-board presses for five reps. Your strength on the 1-board press wil l suck. It s no biy
deal, just push as hard as you can and get the repst Rest as long as neededt Chest-supported Rows Do two warm-up setst
Do three sets 10 repst Rest as long as neededt Rear Delt Dumbbell Raises Do three sets of 20 repst Rest as long as neededt Day T Chain Press Warm up the same as you would the bench press dynamict When you get to 60 percent, preform three repst With each succeeding set, add one chain per side (so the chain is totally deload ed while the bar is on your chest). Keep working up in chains until three reps is VERY hard to do, b ut you still do itt Don t work up so high that you can t do the required repst Rest as long as needed between setst Dumbbell Extensions on the Floon Do 2-3 warm-up setst Find a weight that you could do 12 reps with and perform four sets of 10 reps wi th 60 seconds between setst Barbell Pushups Position a barbell at the bottom of a power rack so it will not movet Use an ultra-wide grip (forefinger past the rings)t Perform four sets to failure. If you can do over 20 reps per set, add chains acr oss your back. Yo want to fail between 8-12 repst Rest two minutes between setst Dumbbell Rows Pause the bell on the floor between repst Do two warm-up sets and then three sets of 10 repst Rest as long as neededt
Face Pulls Do four sets 15-20 repst Rest as long as neededt Week T Day } Dynamic Bench Press
Begin with the bar and make sure all warm-up sets are executed with perfect cont rol an} techniquet Once you hit 50 percent of your best bench, stay at this weight and perform nine sets of threr reps. You will use three different grips. With a Texas Power Bar, these grips wi ll be one finger ox the smooth (close), a thumb away from the smooth (medium), and forefinger on the rings (wide)t On this week you will take 45 seconds between sets and push the bar as fast (whi le keepiny control) as you cant Flat Dumbbell Presses Do 2-3 warm up setst After you are warmed up you will work your way set of 12, a sei of 10, a set of eight, and then two heavy sets Rest as long as needed between setst Push-downs and Close-grip 1-board Press Do two warm up sets of 10-12t Do two sets going to failure on the push-downs followed b. close-grip 1-board presses for five reps. Your l suck. This is nv big deal. Just push as hard as you can and get Rest as long as neededt Chest-supported Rows Do two warm-up setst Do three sets of eight reps. Make this heavier Rest as long as neededt Rear Delt Dumbbell Raises Do three sets of 20 repst Rest as long as neededt
up in weight making sure to hit a of six with the same weightt
(between 15-20 reps), immediately strength on the 1-board press wil the repst
than last weekt
Day T Chain Press Warm up the same as you would for the dynamic bench presst When you get to 60 percent, perform three repst With each succeeding set, add one chain per side (so the chain is totally deload ed while the bar is on your chest). Keep working up in chains until three reps is VERY hard to do bu t you still do itt Don t work up so high that you can t do the required repst BEAT YOUR RECORD FROM LAST WEEK. Rest as long as needed between setst Floor-based Dumbbell Extensions Do 2-3 warm-up setst
Find a weight that you could do 12 reps with and perform four sets of eight reps with 45 seconds between setst Barbell Pushups Position a barbell at the bottom of a power rack so it will not movet Use an ultra-wide grip (forefinger past the rings)t Perform four sets to failure. If you can do over 20 reps per set, add chains acr oss your back. Yo want to fail between 8-12 repst Rest 90 seconds between setst Dumbbell Rows Pause the dumbbell on the floor between repst Do two warm-up sets and then three sets of eight repst Rest as long as neededt Face Pulls Do four sets of 15-20 repst Rest as long as neededt Week Day } Dynamic Bench Press Begin with the bar and make sure all warm-up sets are executed with perfect cont rol an} techniquet Once you hit 50 percent of your best bench, stay at this weight and perform nine sets of threr reps. You will use three different grips. With a Texas Power Bar, these grips wi ll be one finger ox the smooth (close), a thumb away from the smooth (medium) and forefinger on the rings (wide)t On this week you will take 30 seconds between sets and push the bar as fast (whi le keepiny control) as you cant Flat Dumbbell Presses Do 2-3 warm-up setst After you are warmed up you will work your way up in weight, making sure to hit a set of 12, a sei of 10, a set of eight, and then two heavy sets of five with the same weightt Rest as long as needed between setst Push-downs and Close-grip 1-board Press Do two warm-up sets of 10-12t Do two sets going to failure on the push-downs (between 15-20 reps), immediately
followed b. close-grip 1-board presses for three reps. Your strength on the 1-board press wi ll suck. This is nv big deal. Just push as hard as you can and get the repst
Rest as long as neededt Chest-supported Rows Do two warm-up setst Do three sets of six reps. Make these heavier than last weekt Rest as long as neededt Rear Delt Dumbbell Raises Do three sets of 20 repst Rest as long as neededt Day T Chain Press Warm up the same as you would the dynamic bench presst When you get to 60 percent, perform three repst With each succeeding set, add one chain per side (so the chain is totally deload ed while the bar is on your chest). Keep working up in chains until one rep is VERY hard to do but y ou still do itt Don t work up so high that you can t do the required rept Rest as long as needed between setst Floor-based Dumbbell Extensions 2-3 warm up sets Find a weight that you could do 12 reps with and perform four sets of eight reps with 30 seconds between setst Barbell Pushups Position a barbell at the bottom of a power rack so it will not movet Use an ultra wide grip (forefinger past the rings)t Perform four sets to failure. If you can do over 20 reps per set add chains acro ss your back. Yo want to fail between eight and 12 repst 60 seconds between sets
Dumbbell Rows Pause the bell on the floor between reps Two warm up sets and then three sets of six repst Rest as long as neede} Face Pulls Four sets 15-20 reps Rest as long as neede}
Week ] Day } Dynamic Bench Press Begin with the bar and make sure all warm-up sets are executed with perfect cont rol an} techniquet Once you hit 50 percent of your best bench, stay at this weight and perform nine sets of threr reps. You will use three different grips. With a Texas Power Bar, these grips wi ll be one finger ox the smooth (close), a thumb away from the smooth (medium), and forefinger on the rings (wide)t On this week you will take 90 seconds between sets and push the bar as fast (whi le keepiny control) as you cant Flat Dumbbell Presses Do 2-3 warm-up setst After you are warmed up, you will work your way up in weight, making sure to hit a set of 12 an} then two heavy sets of 10 with the same weightt Rest as long as needed between setst Push-downs and Close-grip 1-board Press Do two warm-up sets of 10-12t Do two sets going to failure on the push-downs (between 15-20 reps), immediately followed b. close-grip 1-board presses for six reps. Your strength on the 1-board press will suck. This is not m big deal. Just push as hard as you can and get the repst Rest as long as neededt Chest-supported Rows Do two warm-up setst Do two sets of 10 repst Rest as long as neededt Rear Delt Dumbbell Raises Do three sets of 20 repst Rest as long as neededt Day T Chain Press Warm up the same as you would the dynamic bench presst When you get to 60 percent, perform three repst With each succeeding set, add one chain per side (so the chain is totally deload ed while the bar is on your chest). Keep working up in chains until one rep is VERY hard to do, but you still do itt Don t work up so high that you can t do the required repst
BEAT YOUR RECORD FROM LAST WEEK. Rest as long as needed between setst Floor-based Dumbbell Extensions Do 2-3 warm-up setst Find a weight that you could do 12 reps with and perform four sets of 12 reps wi th 90 seconds between setst Barbell Pushups Position a barbell at the bottom of a power rack so it will not movet Use an ultra-wide grip (forefinger past the rings)t Perform four sets to failure. If you can do over 20 reps per set, add chains acr oss your back. Yo want to fail between 8-12 repst Rest two minutes between setst Dumbbell Rows Pause the bell on the floor between repst Do two warm-up sets and then three sets of five repst Rest as long as neededt Face Pulls Do four sets of 15-20 repst Rest as long as neededt Week k Day } Dynamic Bench Press Begin with the bar and make sure all warm-up sets are executed with perfect cont rol an} techniquet Once you hit 50 percent of your best bench, stay at this weight and perform 4-5 sets of three repst You will use your strongest grip. After these sets, begin to work your way up to test your strength on a 1- or 3-rep maxt This will tell you if you are on the right track or nott
Section 9: Six Weak Point Tiph
1. Bar feels heavy or unstablg Weak Points: Lats, posterior deltoids, external rotators, and rotator cufft Coaching Point: Contract shoulder blades (requires a static contraction to maint ain) and drive upper back into bench upon concentric contractiont 2. Weak off chesc Weak Point: Bar is too heavyt Coaching Point #1: Lower the bar with your back. Activate stretch reflext Coaching Point #2: Develop accelerative strength and prolong rate of force produ ctiont 3. Stuck halfway up Weak Point: Triceps Coaching Point #1: Spread the bar with your grip to activate medial head of tric epst Coaching Point #2: Keep elbows positioned perpendicular under the bar. Any rotat ion outwards transfers the load tv the shoulder capsulet
4. Pressing into the j-hookh Weak Point: Triceps Coaching Point #1: The shortest path between two points is a straight line, so m aintain a straight bar patht Coaching Point #2: Do not push into bar. Press yourself away from the bar and cr eate separationt Coaching Point #3: Keeping the elbows positioned perpendicular under the bar mai ntains the greatest mechanicaq advantage. Any rotation outwards transfers the load to the shoulder capsulet 5. Butt rises off of benco Weak Points: Incorrect technique, the bar is too heavy, and/or the bench is too lowt Coaching Point #1: Maintain correct posture: knees up, straighten legs, or drive with heelst Coaching Point #2: Do not arch low back. Arch upper back by contracting shoulder bladest 6. Head rises with eccentric lowerin. Weak Point: Incorrect techniqur Coaching Point #1: Maintain correct posture. Keep head down with chin tuckedt Coaching Point #2: Concaving chest causes an increased distance for the bar to t ravelt
Section 10: The Power of the Boarq During the past decade, the board press has become one of the most popular bench training movements, says elitefts founder and CEO Dave Tate. Whether the use of boards involves the dynamic effort method, max effori method, using it as a basic supplementary exercise, or as an exercise to increas e tricep strength and developmentV board presses remain at the top for bench training movements.. Board Benefith Lifters use boards for a variety of different reasons. Dave believes the most im portant and widely used purpose fon boards is to directly effect the followingk Increase/Correct Mini-Max: Wherever your mini-max happens to be, overload that sp ecific arem of the bench press where you re weak, says Dave. You ll develop more strength through thai range of motion.. Tricep Development: This is more for athletes or bodybuilders. A great exercise you can try is Triceps Hell. (example toward end of section)o Handle Heavy Weight: With boards, you ll have heavier weights in your hands, but y ou ll br working with only a partial range of motion. This is easier on your CNS, which m akes for a fasten recovery. When you actually compete or go for a max, says Dave, the weight will fee l lighten because you ve handled it before.. Confidence: Because you ve handled a certain weight before, you ll now have the conf idence . or at least a good starting point, psychologically to bench it through a full ra nge of motiont Rehab/Prehab: Boards can help you with the movement you want. If you have should en problems, you can take the shoulder rotation out of the bench press by using boa rds. Pressing ox boards will bring the elbows up higher from the floor, says Dave, while still givi ng them the rangr of motion for development and reducing strain on the shoulders.. Breaking in Bench Shirts: Board presses are a good way to break in a bench shirt . Davr suggests using a 4-board during week one, a 3-board for week two, a 2-board duri
ng week threeV etct Working Specific Segments of Press: Using boards, you can train whatever segment of thr bench press you wantt Size and Stroke Matterh There are a variety of different boards. They start at 1-board and go up to a 5board. There are also various sofi boards and, of course, the elitefts Manpont Each board has a bit of a different application. Here are some general applicati ons from Davek Stroke the 1-boar_ The movement should be just like your bench stroke. However, if you wear a bench shirt, you ll want to flare as soox as you press. I always tell the guys here, you want to stroke a 1- board. Bring i t down, touch, press and flare. Davr Tatr Flare off the 2-boar_ This board should put you right about where you would start flaring if you weren t wearing a bench shirtt
Groove the 3-boar_ This board will get you to right where you start to groove, but not going to the point where you d flaret Muscle up the 4- and 5-boar_ These are pretty much just a muscle board,
says Dave.
It s a lockout board..
Manpom The guys I train with called it this for obvious reasons, and they thought I was a puss for using it, says Dave. Thr Manpon is a foam roller cut in half, with a handle on it. It s light in weight and easy to use. You can slip it right unden your shirt and you don t have to balance a board on your chest or tie one on with a belt. The point of the Manpon is tv keep your elbows from going too low and also to take stress off of the shoulders t Soft Boar_ This is very similar to the Manpon, except it has a board on it and is padded so it ll compress. We tried to simulatr something similar to the Manpon, says Dave, but more importantly something that gu ys can use while trying to breaZ in their bench shirts. The soft board doesn t limit how low you can go like the bo ard does. Thus, it can break in a shiri faster because you can bring the bar down lower and still have support from the soft board.. Exclusive Board Footagg Which Board Should You UseW You can t just say to somebody, Oh, you have a weak lockout. Here, you need a 3-boar } .q Elbow position is the key. You should be looking at the distance between your el bow and the floor, not the board an} where the bar will travelt Keep in mind that even though everyone says a 4-board is a two-inch lockout, it s a ll irrelevant, says Davet Everyone s arm lengths are different, so a 2-board for one person may be a 3-board for another.. Generally, a 1-board incorporates chest and lats, a 2-, 3-, and 4- board involve more triceps. Therefore, the higher uj the board, the more the shoulders become involved for stability. If a bencher ha s a problem with setting the bench
press, high boards can come into play to help them. Be sure to pause at the top. The lower the elbows go, the morr shoulder rotation is used. Dave uses a 1-board or 2-board so his elbows are even with the bench. Dave states, It s worthless for me to do a full press because I m not going to be in competition. Th e risks outweigh the benefits.. Can t Touch Thih Most people don t think about how they touch the board, taking it for granted. Lot s of people break records when usiny boards, but what they don t realize is that they re not really breaking them they re j ust changing the way the. perform the press. As a rule, Dave cautions to always be consistent with your to uch and pay attention to itt Types of touchesr Soft touch Bring the bar down with control. When you touch, you should barely he ar it, and then press offt This is more for teaching the bench press and working on technique and controlt
Hard touch Slam down the bar and drop it onto the board. This does have positive applications even though most people argue that you don t want to do this, says Dave. It s good for bench shirt training or for peoplr who lower the bar too slowly. It builds confidence because they don t feel like th ey re going to break their chesi in half.. Bounce Similar to a hard touch, but with no pause. It s just a touch and go. If you r e working with someonr who wants to break an all-time record, this helps them get more reps in before t hey fatigue, says Dave, bui they still need to be in control of the bar.. Sink Bring the bar down, let it sink in, and then press back up. This teaches be nchers to relax at the bottow so they can touch better in a shirtt Pause Stay tight, slow and controlled. Pause at the bottom, then press back up. his teaches tightness ai the bottom, the exact opposite of sinking, and is more applicable for a raw benc her than a shirted one, says Davet
T
Types of gripsr The width of your grip determines the benefits you ll reap from using boardst Grips range from close to ultra-wide and the muscle groups hit will range from y our triceps to your deltst Close Hands are 17 inches apart. This is used to work your triceps and for locko ut strength during the toj quarter movement of the bench presst Medium Hands are 22 inches apart. This is the same as the close grip, but it s for lockout strength during thr top half movement of the bench presst Wide Hands are 28 inches apart. This is used for more pec work and strength pres sing out of the bottom pari of the bench depending on which board you re usingt Ultra Wide Hands are 33 inches apart. This is used to work your delts and help w ith stabilityt Board Etiquettg This is for the guy holding the bar, not the liftero
Pay Attention
No checking out chicks, texting, or daydreaming about buffetst
Listen to Your Lifter Don t put the board down any sooner than what the lifter wan ts. Make sure they are alread. setup and in position, but that they haven t taken the bar out yett Hold the Board Correctly Don t hold the board at an angle or sideways. Make sure i t s flat and stable. Also, don i shove it into the lifter s chint No Battery Don t hold the board like a bat over your shoulder before lifts. You wa nt to get the board to the lifter s chest in a timely manner, and you won t be able to if it s so far away. Also, don t sm ack the board down on the liften when you go to place it on their chestt Find Other Spotters As a board holder, you re not a spotter. Make sure there s a spo tter on each side and onr behind so you don t have to drop the board to grab the bart Why Do YOU Use BoardsW Helps me learn the shirt, my sticking points, and how to overload. sin Plattevill_ To build strength in the lockout. Greg Allen, LSA
Ray Law, Wiscon
Building horseshoe triceps. Learning to engage the triceps.
Bostjan Bavcon, Sloveni` Matthew Smith, Midland, Michigal
Overload lockout. So I can get good shirt work in without having to touch after a lready learning the shirt via fulq range. Jeff Adkins, Minnesot` Lockout. Warm-up for bench shirt. Andrew Abbott, Waterbury, ConnecticuV Teaching guys how to maintain arch under supermaximal load. Lots of intermediates fail the bench because the. can t maintain their arch in descent. They won t really be able to build their chest and lat strength until they cax maintain proper body position to load those muscles. Otherwise, the shoulders ar e just going to get beat to shit. I usr the board press, and once they bring that up to 3-5 seconds of TUT, with a load beyond their current max bench (maybe 110-120%), we ll go back to full pressing exercises. Thom Lamb, Fredericton, N=
I like them to hit weak spots I have and to become more efficient in high end shi rts. Most people like to use thew since they can t touch in their shirts, and hit big weights while using them with their gear. Stephen Nilsen, EasV BrunswicZ I train alone so I place a mini band from one spot on the bar to the other at the right height. It holds the boards right ix place. I use them as a supplementary exercise for raw benching. I work to go rea lly close to rep my raw max at 4- or K board level. When I can do that at a 2- or 3-board, I know I m getting close to a PR as long as my raw full range is being maintained. Joe Lescano Handabaka, Union, NO For me, it s two different movements. I ve got short stubby arms, and using 1- to 2-b oards is a very short ranget
Touching is completely different. My chest flattens out, it s a longer range of mo tion, and I have trouble locking out uj to 50 less pounds than I can on a 1-board! Greg Buffingtol I use it to develop strength in the top half of my lockout. I also use it as a me ans of breaking a new shirt in, but thr main reason is to increase tricep and lockout strength. Charles Bailej Partials and to help work in a new bench shirt. Jeff King, Hamilton, OP Our crew uses boards weekly throughout the year for a variety of reasons. It all boils down to some very boriny physiology. It allows us to learn how to contract the muscle with 100 percent fo rce during any point of the range ou motion. You only fire a muscle at 100 percent of capacity at the start of the mo tion and reduce the contraction thr closer you are to the completion of the motion (so you don t throw the bar out of your hands at the top of the motion)t Boards allow the athlete to fire at 100 percent at various points in the ROM of the press. This allows the athlete tv overcome various sticking points and individual weaknesses. This is a similar si tuation as to why band training is sv effective. Most training methodology addresses strengthening muscles and connect ive tissue. Board and ban} training have the added benefit of addressing central nervous system conditionin g. David Edgelk To build the bench, shirted and raw.
Daniel Garci`
Triceps and a strong lockout! Sometimes high boards are good for handling heavy w eights. After my meet tomorrowV I ll start doing high boards with a grand, and as time goes on, I ll drop a board un til I m able to bang it full range. Te_ Tee Mccray, Norwich, Cy I have very long arms and bench raw. I kept reading that board presses were best for the shirted bencher, but wante} to try them anyway. My bench shot up once we started doing a lot of board presse s. Getting used to having a heavien than normal weight in my hands helped me physically and mentally when I went bac k to normal benching. Aarol Snider, Huntington, IP Ascending and descending pushups. Five on each board starting at a 4-board follow ed by a five with a pause on thr floor. Bret Carte^ Big lockout and a feel for heavier weights.
Shannon Rotond\
Besides the above, always gave my pec/delt tie-in a break, while letting you trai n heavy.
Sean Patrick Donegani Pueblo, CS Been using them lately for close-grip work.
David Affolter, Baton Rouge, Lf
I use it to get used to a weight I want to hit in a meet. It keeps my shoulders h ealthy while using heavy weights in m shirt. Glenn BaggetV
How Do Top Lifters Use BoardsW The most common use of boards, as explained by Dave earlier, is to work a weak p oint or sticking point. Mati Wenning, Marc Bartley and Jeremy Frey ( 650-pound benchers) discuss how they use boardst Work a Weak Poinc Most of the board work Frey does is for his lockout. He usually uses a 2-board o r 3-board to work on this. He alsv uses the boards with his regular shirt workouts, but never usually goes above a 1-boardt Using boards to work different ranges of motion in the bench press is a great too l. Many lifters have sticking points where the bench press is weaker. If the problem is your lockout, make sure it is n t a technique issue. If it s not m technique issue, then pick the board that matches up with where your lockout str uggles.. Engage Different Muscleh Marc says the brain and nervous system are always looking for the easiest and fa stest route. From the very first day m bar is lifted, the routes become set and they never deviate. The muscles involve d in the initial route become thr strongestt The board makes you take an alternative route and makes other muscles contribute. For example, I use the samr route from home to the store every day and it usually takes fifteen minutes. One day my wife and I left the store at thr same time and I thought I would pass her and beat her home, but I never saw her. She had been home for tex minutes because she took another side road which was more direct to the house. I didn t realize it then, but I went thr roundabout way.. This is similar to board work because it changes where you go with the bar, like with Marc s wife and her new routet These new routes lead to new and different uses of your muscles, and then they w ork alongside the dominant musclr groups that no longer have to do all of the workt
Break in a Shirc Because new shirts are rather tough to break in, you may not be able to bench th e amount of weight it takes to touch the shirt. Boards can be used with a weight that s comfortable until the shirt str etches and breaks int I progressively work my way down from a 3-board all the way down to touching, says Jeremy. By having the boards there, you have something to shoot for, as opposed to always trying to touch, wh ich makes the journey of touchiny seem sometimes unattainable, especially if you just went down a size in a shirt and it s super tight.. Rehab Wor~ When someone injures their shoulders, elbows or hands, boards can be used to lim it the range of motion an} eliminate paint Rehab work is used to limit the range of motion, says Marc. For example, if a guy h as an injury that hurts as the ban nears his chest, you can put a board on there before the pain starts. This limit s pain, so they can still train. It ll allo{ the weak area to get stronger and back to normal.. Jeremy adds, injuries do occur and I ve had many athletes, as well as clients, with bicep tendon and rotator issuest Depending upon the injury, this can be very effective in rehabbing the injury wh ile maintaining your upper bod. strength.. Raise Confidencg Marc believes boards make people feel more capable and confident while handling big weights. Eventually when thr boards are removed, this confidence carries over to handling real weight without limited range of motiont Increase Speeq This is an easy way to teach someone how to push faster through the bench. It gi ves the lifter a target to hit and also m point to change momentum of the bar and improve leverages. This is like changing gears (eccentric to concentric is easier and faster)t It s like learning how to drive a stick shift and hitting the gears right without g rinding the transmission to pieces, says Marct
Teach Pausg Boards teach you to pause. In most competitive benching, there s a pause and then there s a touch and go. In a meetV you can t touch and go. You have to wait until the judge gives you a press command t You can use the board to teach someone how to lower the bar correctly into the ri ght position, says Matt. This means sinking the bar into the board while holding some of the muscles tight and loaded, then pressing after thr pause.. Increase Leg Drivg Boards can be used to increase leg drive. After you sink the bar into the board, you can get the timing right with youn leg drive and add a lot to your bench while still keeping it legalt Matt says this can add at least 50 100 pounds to your bench presst Marc adds, we tell guys to sink the bar in and let the abs sink some, then drive the legs. Momentum creates a pop.
off the chest. If it s done right, it will move the bar into the best leverage pos ition to complete the lift.. Stabilize and Create Foundation With boards, you can stabilize and create a foundation for the upper body. By us ing the boards, in conjunction with your leg drive, you learn how to time the lower body and upper body. Sinking the bar into the board with the body untiq the load is completely absorbed, Matt describes this as your body being stretche d like an elastic band, and thex pushing it all back into the bar like a slingshott Board Press Workouts & Cycleh Speed Training (dynamic effort): I recommend a soft board, 1-board or 2-board fo r this. Every time you go up m board, add one rept Max Effort: Most beginners have success with this and work in three-week waves u p to a 1- or 3-rep maxt Repetition Method: The board is used as a supplement after the main movement. Th e board chosen should helj you work on a specific movement that is your weakestt Hypertrophy & Finisher Workouth Beekerh Application: This is used more for strength endurance and muscle hypertrophy. Se lect two different boards to worZ from. Select 3-5 reps for each segment. Perform desired reps on the first board and then proceed to do the same ox the next board. Continue to repeat with no restt Triceps Helf Application: This is used more for strength endurance and muscle hypertrophy. Se lect a weight you can do 15 2Y reps. After warm-ups, proceed to the tricep hell set. For this, you ll perform five reps on a 1-board and thex immediately do five reps on a 2-board, repeating this scheme until you get to 3, 4-, and 5-board. If you make ii through the whole thing, try working back downt Board Press Cluster Seth Application: There are many examples of this, but one I ve found to be very effect ive is to select a weight you can dv
for ten reps on a 3-board or 4-board. Perform three reps, rest for a ten-count a nd perform three more reps. Keej repeating this until you can only perform one rept 3-Minute Triceph Application: I suggest a spotter with all pressing movements, but highly recomme nd it with this one. For this, you lq use a higher board (3- or 4-board) with a light weight (25 30 percent of your best 1-rep full bench max). The goal is tv make the set last three minutes without racking the weight. You CAN hold it at t he top and rest on the board for a lony as you need, but try not to rest on the board for more than 20 seconds. The perc ent is just a guideline or startiny point. I ve seen people use up to 50 percent for thist Diminishing Seth Application: Select any mix from the matrix below and select a total number of r eps between 50 and 100. Pick m weight you can do for ten moderately easy reps, then perform sets of ten reps (o r whatever you end up doing) with 2Y
seconds rest until the final number of repetitions is reachedt Working down boardh Application: This is used to break in bench shirts and also used with many lifte rs when doing shirt work. Warm up to m point where you feel the need to put your shirt on. This is usually around 60 pe rcent of your 1-rep max. Perform 3-K reps on a 3-board or 4-board. For each set from here, you ll work up in weight and lower the board until you get tv around 90 percent off your chest. A sample progression may look like thisk Bar for 2-3 sets x 5 reps 95 for 2 sets x 3 reps 135 for 3 sets x 3 reps 185 x 3 reps 225 x 3 reps 275 x 3 reps 315 x 3 reps 405 (with shirt) off a 4-board x 5 455 (with shirt) off a 3-board x 3 495 (with shirt) off a 3-board x 1 545 (with shirt) off a 2-board x 1 585 (with shirt) off a 1-board x 1 615 (with shirt) to chest x 1 rej
reps reps rej rej rej
Shirt Work Cyclg Application: Wear the shirt for your 4-board sets the SAME as you would for your chest set. DO NOT jack the shirt uj so you can barely touch a 2-board, just so you can press more weight. This is gr eat for your ego, but there s no wa. you ll be able to touch your chest with your shirt jacked up the same way. A secon d point is let the shirt and weighi determine when to lower the board. If you can t get the weight down to a 3-board, don t drop to a 2-board on the nexi set. Stay with the 3-board until the weight touches, and then move the weight up and lower the board after thatt Week 1: 3-board working up to max Week 2: 2-board working up to max Week 4: 1-board working up to max Week 5: No shirt week: this would pressiny
set of 3-5 reps set of 3-5 reps set of three reps be a great place to drop in a concentric-only
movement such as pin presses or presses off chainst Week 6: 2-board working up to max set of three reps Week 7: 1-board working up to max singlr Week 8: Work down to chest for triple or singlr Max Effort Board Press Cyclg
Application: This cycle is for beginner and intermediate lifters. Stick with the same movement for three weekst Warm-ups: Work up using small jumps (5 percent jumps. Week 1: Work up to max set of five reps
Week 2: Work up to max set of five reps (beat week 1. Week 3: Work up to max set of five reps (beat week 2. 1-Board Dynamic Effort Cycle with Bandh Application: This cycle is intended for those trainees who would like to bring u p their strength at the bottom point of thr bench press with the use of bands. This is a great cycle for those who are deali ng with shoulder problems and woul} like to take some of the shoulder rotation out of the bottom of the liftt Training Cycler Week and Week and Week and
1: 40 percent for 8 sets x 3 reps (use three different grips: close, medium wide. 2: 40 percent for 8 sets x 3 reps (use three different grips: close, medium wide. 3: 40 percent for 8 sets x 3 reps (use three different grips: close, medium wide.
Suggested Band Tensions (based on max bench press)r 100-200 pounds 201-300 pounds 301-400 pounds 401-500 pounds 501-600 pounds 601-700 pounds 800 Plus pounds
bands not recommende} 30-40 pounds of band tension at the top of the lifi 40-50 pounds of band tension at the top of the lifi 70-80 pounds of band tension at the top of the lifi 70-80 pounds of band tension at the top of the lifi 100-120 pounds of band tension at the top of the lifi 140-160 pounds of band tension at the top of the lifi
One Board Dynamic Effort Cycle with Chainh Application: This cycle is intended for those trainees who would like to bring u p their strength at the bottom point of thr bench press with the use of chains. This is a great cycle for those who are deal ing with shoulder problems and woul} like to take some of the shoulder rotation out of the bottom of the liftt Training Cycler Week 1: 45% for 8 sets x 3 reps (use three different grips: close, medium and wi de. Week 2: 45% for 8 sets x 3 reps (use three different grips: close, medium and wi de. Week 3: 45% for 8 sets x 3 reps (use three different grips: close, medium and wi de.
Suggested Chain (based on max bench press d)r
chain weight is for both sides combine
100-200 pounds: 20 pounds 201-300 pounds: 40 pounds 301-400 pounds: 60 pounds 401-500 pounds: 80 pounds 501-600 pounds: 100 pounds 601-700 pounds: 120 pounds 800 Plus pounds: 140 pounds Supplemental Training Cycleh These cycles would be for those who are using submaximal training cycles or bloc ks to train their bench press. If this is the case, the board press work would fall as a second movement or on another day. The key here is to select m movement from the matrix below that will help bring up your weakness or mini max . The simplest technique that wilq cover most issues is to pick the board closest to where your sticking point is, ASSUMING your technique is goodt Heavy Band Cyclg Application: Select a band or combination of bands that will represent 50 percen t of your max bench weight at the toj (this 50 percent is true if it s a shirt max or raw max). Load the bands on the ba r first, then work up with weight frow theret Training Cyclek Week 1: 3-board working up to a max set of 5 reps. Rest 3-5 minutes and try to r epeat fon max number of repst
Week Week Week Week
2: 3: 4: 5:
3-board with 80 percent for 3 sets x 3 reps. NO band tension addedt 3-board working up to a max set of 3 reps. Rest 3-5 minutes and repeatt No heavy supplemental worZ Change movemeni
Section 11: Chains 10} No, I am not talking about the bling around your neck, what connects your wallet to your jeans, or even the crazy S&U stuff you may secretly be guilty oft What I m talking about is lifting chains and these can help develop your speed, stre ngth and stability. Chains can br added to your bench, squat and deadlift for a kickass workout. You can set them up for speed, so that they deload ai the bottom and you must power through each rep. They can be set up for stability , so that they don t touch the groun} and you must balance and stay tight for every solid rep. No matter how they re use d, you re bound to becomr strong(er)t In the squat and the bench press, the movement becomes easier at the top. That s w hy you can half squat and halu bench more than you can full squat or full bench. Chains can be added to balance or accommodate the strength curve. The strength curve is a result of the amount of exertion delivered during a movementt You can work on the stability of the muscle or the movement that you re trying to work. A lot of people have a hard timr getting locked in for the bench press at the top and this is also true for the s quat. Some have problems at the bottow of the squat, where they can t maintain their balance and they fall overt Besides stability, you can also work on how much force is put into the movement. This is something anyone from m beginner to an advanced lifter can benefit from. Some don t understand the concept of explosion. So, when they ad} the chains to the movement, it deloads at the bottom. If they try to stand up in the squat as slow as they normall. would or without force, they won t be able to make it to the top. They ll eventually be shoved back down. Hopefull. they ll think, oh shit, I should have used more force and then next time they ll stand up more explosivelyt Chains will teach you to apply more force throughout the whole entire movement b ecause you won t have a chance tv decelerate. It will also teach you to lower the bar faster. This isn t a big probl em with raw lifters, but it s a big problew for those with bench shirtst
With chains, heavier loads can be handled. You ll know what it feels like to have a greater amount of weight then yo could ever imagine squatting on your back. Say you have 900 pounds, and 500 poun ds of that is chains. You ll gei used to having 900 pounds on your back, but you don t have to deal with it through out the whole movement because ii will deload to 400 pounds at the bottomt The last two things I use chains for is to take pressure off my injuries, and fo r motivation and confidence with lifterst How to Set Up Chainh Each side of the chain set up weighs 18.2 pounds, with 29 links and one hookt Bench Press and Squat: Stabilit. Attach the chains any way you want so that they aren t touching the ground in the beginning. There are many ways tv do this and you can even set up the chains so they NEVER touch the ground to mak e the movement more difficultt
Bench Press and Squat: Accommodating Resistancg Set up the chains so that they re even on both sides. The best way to guess where to put the chains is to have half ou the chains on floor for the bench press when the barbell is on the rack. You wan t all the chain deloaded onto the floon when at the bottom position. For the squat, it s a little different, as you ll want four or five links of chain on the floon when the bar is on the rackt Floor Press: Accommodating Resistancg Throw the chain over the sleeve of the bar, which will allow for a partial deloa dt Deadlift: Accommodating Resistancg If you re using a lot of bar weight, you should use a chain mate to extend the cha ins out from the bar. This way yo can load up the bar with as much weight as you want. However, if you re pulling su mo, throw the chains over thr center of the bart Accessory Movements: Accommodating Resistancg This is very easy. Just decide on a handle and attach the chaint Training Cycles with Chainh Basic Chain Squat Cyclg This is a very good cycle for the advanced lifter who has good squat skill and f orm. The chains will help to develop m greater level of squat stability as well as increasing the explosion out of the bottom of the squat. This would be a ver. good off-season strength cycle for the advanced liftert Training Cyclek Week 1 55% for 8 sets x 2 reps Week 2 58% for 8 sets x 2 reps Week 3 60% for 8 sets x 2 reps Recommended chain weight is based on max squat. Chain weight is for both sides c ombinedt Max Squac Chains (per sidej Weight of Chain (topj 200-400 pounds 1 (5/8. 40 pounds 400-500 pounds 1 (5/8), 1 (1/2. 60 pounds 500-600 pounds 2 (5/8. 80 pounds 700-800 pounds
2 (5/8), 1 (1/2. 100 pounds 800-900 pounds 3 (5/8. 120 pounds Chain Speed Strength or Heavy Chain Phasg
This cycle is intended for the intermediate and advanced lifter looking for a wa y to shock their bench training. This cycle is very effective for bringing up the top end of the bench press very quic kly. It is recommended to follow this cycle up with a straight weight or chain cyclet Training Cyclek Week 1 30% for 8 sets x 3 reps Week 2 30% for 8 sets x 3 reps Week 3 30% for 8 sets x 3 reps If the weight does not feel heavy, then add more chains to the training weight. This workout should be very hard tv complete and may require rest periods in the 90 120 second ranget Recommended chain weight is based on max bench press. Chain weight is for both s ides combinedt Max Benco Weight of Chain (topj 100-200 pounds 40 pounds 201-300 pounds 80 pounds 301-400 pounds 120 pounds 401-500 pounds 160 pounds 501-600 pounds 200 pounds 601-700 pounds 240 pounds 800+ pounds 280 pounds How elitefts
Uses Chainh
Our elitefts sponsored athletes all use chains for various reasonst Matt Kroczaleskir I drape them around my neck for added weight on chins and dips. I also throw the m over the ends og the bars when performing floor presses for added bench work. Occasionally I put them either over th_ ends of the bar, or in the center when doing deadlift worko Scott Yardr I use chains for my bench training. Chains allow me to keep my intensity and wei ghts high, but als\ gives me some rest at the bottom part of the lift, which is also the most strenu ouso
I use 100 pounds of chains on bench and go for singles. I like the chains better than bands, as thej allow for more freedom and make me balance the weight moreo I also like to use chains for my delt training. Side raises, with a chain in eac h hand, are great. Th_ chain swings and makes me work harder to lift the weight. Next time, try to perf orm three sets of 1W
with a 5/8 chain in each hand of these and you ll get a great workouto Brian Schwabr I use chains in my max effort training , dynamic effort training and occasionall y with accessory work. ^ prefer them over bands since they re real weight, rather than constant tension, wh ich often seems t\ place excessive stress on my joints. Chains incorporate accommodating resistance and allow for you t\ overload through the portion of motion where most lifters are the strongest. I u se them up until abouV eight weeks out from a meet for max effort training on all three lifts, and thro ughout the entire traininc cycle for dynamic effort if I m incorporating ito
Josh McMillanr I rotate chains into my training cycle on a regular basis. I use chains for squa ts with safety bar (I attacT chain weight to each side of the bar and add 40 pounds of chain per set), deadli ft speed pulls (th_ chains are draped over the end of the bar), floor press (the chains are draped o ver the end of the ba^ and I add 40 pounds of chain per set), and speed work on bench (the chains are h ooked to each side og bar with a set bar weight)o Matt Rhodesr I use chains when I bench and usually use a full range of motion when I use them . I set them up so thaV they re completely off the floor at lockout. When I m not using the shirt, I use the chains and/or bande as a way to train my lockout other than using board presseso Brian Carrollr I like to use them on my deload day for the squat. I still feel some decent weig ht on my back, but it gete lighter at the bottom and teaches me to explode and drive through as they load u p and get heavier. ^ use about 200 pounds at the top and 100 pounds at the bottom, when they re touchin g the ground. ^ use them about every three weeks for the squato Zach Even Eshr We use chains at Underground Strength for lots of body weight training as we tra in a lot of younc athletes from middle school through college. The chains are AWESOME for adding e xtra loading t\ movements such as8 Push-ups (with hands on floor, on dumbbell handles, rings or blast strapsR Pull-upe Dipe Our advanced guys will use them when performing the bench press or floor press, squatting an] deadlifting. For the most part though, our ability to easily use them during bod yweight movements ie
where it s at\ Jo Jordanr I use chains for squatting, benching, deadlifting, tricep work, and shoulder wor k. I use them fo^ accommodating resistance and cycle them in every three to four weeks for a three -week wave. It helpe me overcome sticking points at the top of my bench and my lockout on the deadlif t. It makes me worZ harder and stay tighter during my squat trainingo
For tricep extensions, I use them because they re lighter at the bottom and they t ake some pressure ofg my elbow joints, which allows me to train around elbow pain. For shoulders, I us e them on lateral raisee for stabilization work during the lifto How YOU Can Use Chainh Below is a playlist of chain exercisest Linking it to Researco 1. Your strength can increase more just by how you set up the chains. For exampl e, a case study was done using m double-looped hung supplemental heavy chain to add more resistance for the squat . At the end of the day, it proved tv have two times more resistance at the top, compared to just hanging the chain st raight down. Basically, it really does matter how you set the chain up. (Neelly, Kurt R; Terry, Joseph G; Morris, Marti n J. A Mechanical Comparison ou Linear and Double-looped Hung Supplemental Heavy Chain Resistance to the Back Sq uat; A Case Study. Thr Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Volume 24. Issue 1. 2010: 278-281 .. Hypertrophy increased size of muscle fibers occurs mainly in fast-twitch fibers (esp ecially Type IIb fibers iu stimulated to fuse with surrounding satellite cells) in response to stimulation afforded by weight training, and mosi especially weight training that is explosive in nature (Hakkinen et.al., 1985; T horstensson et. al., 1976; ConnellyV 1992)t 2. When Rhea, Kenn and Dermody implemented the speed squat and accommodated resi stance into the training ou 48 NCAA athletes, they found that variying resistance training produced more pow er and strength than using heavyV slow resistance. (Rhea, Matthew R; Kenn, Joseph G; Dermody, Bryan M. Alterations in Speed of Squat Movemeni and the Use of Accomodated Resistance Among College Athletes Training for Power. The Journal of Strength an} Conditioning Research. Volume 23. Issue 9. Dec. 2009: 2645-2650.
Section 12: The Dead Benco By Josh Bryani If your goal is to develop overwhelming starting strength in the bench press, ca n you simply pause the bar for onr
second on your chest and circumvent the whole stretch shortening cycle? The answ er to this question is both yes an} not A recent study by the Physical Education Department at the Josef Pilduski Univer sity in Warsaw, Poland, ix conjunction with the Biomechanics Department at Somelweis University in Budapest , Hungary, found that a onr second pause at the bottom of the bench press movement causes a 55 percent disru ption of the benefits derived frow stretch-shortening during the bench press. That means that 45 percent of the sto red elastic energy is still present aften a one second pause. Pausing will help develop starting strength, but it still do es not completely bypass the benefits ou the stretch reflex. How is this paradox remedied. I would like to introduce you to a GREAT exercise for developing starting streng th. The exercise I m referring to is something that I call the dead bench, and it s a great way to make your bench gains come alive! The dead bench has helped me improve my explosive power during that crucial initial period of c learing the bar off my chest. The lift is performed by pressing dead weight off your chest (as shown in the video below). There s no eccentric motion to storr elastic energy, which is why the dead bench is a superior exercise for building blasting power in the initial phaset The dead bench should be performed for single repetitions only, because, as the study indicates, even after a pausr
in the bench press motion, almost half of the stored elastic energy remains. For higher volume, lower intensit. training, rather than pumping out rep after rep, you can use multiple singles fo llowed by shorter rest intervalst Proper progression is where most strength programs fail. One can know the scienc e of training front to back, but if yo do not understand the art of progression, you ll be lost in a sea of missed gains. Some variables to increase intensit. in the dead bench are: shortening rest intervals, adding more singles with the s ame weight, and adding more weightt Focusing only on increasing bar weight is a good prescription for running yourse lf into the ground of failed progresst However, you can consider lengthening the rest intervals and decreasing the numb er of singles as the weighi increases. An example of this would be starting out with eight singles with a on e-minute rest in between lifts, and b. week six, performing four singles with three-minute rest. Obviously, the weight would increase each week during this hypothetical cycle (excluding deload weeks)t If your starting strength in the bench press is what s holding your numbers down, then give this exercise a try. . promise, you won t be disappointed. Now start blasting. Some Points to Remembeb Start the weight at chest level, but no more than two inches off the chestt To maximally develop starting strength and rate of force development push the ba r as har} and fast as possiblet In regard to hand placement, use your raw competition bench press grip for the g reatesi carry overt Foot placement is the same as a normal bench presst Use singles, not repst Here is bodybuilder/powerlifter in training of Metroflex Gym, John Combs, doing a very brief demonstration of the dea} benchk Here s all-around West Texas Badass Jeff Lofton, pushing some weight on the dead b enchk
Section 13: So You Think You Can Benco In this video series, Dave Tate showcases the process he takes to teach correct bench press technique. Prior to thr video, Dave had never met this lifter. He had no idea of his training history, t echnique, or strength level. From start tv finish, all nine parts of Dave s So You Think You Can Bench series are authentic, un edited coaching videost Part } Part T Part Part ] Part k
Part l Part s
Section 14: JL Holdsworth Instructional Videoh
Are you struggling to increase your bench press? Is your upper body getting beat up in the process? If your bench press doesn t have proper leg drive, you re leaving half of your body out of the lif t and holding yourself back frow heavier weight and new PRs. In his second installment of his Friday technique vi deos, JL Holdsworth shows how tv set up to maximize leg drive in your bench press. Holdsworth claims that setting up properly, as he shows in the videoV could increase your numbers by 10 to 15 percentt Holdsworth covers how tor 1. Get tight before unracking the bab 2. Place feet to allow drive without raising your hiph 3. Fully engage leg drive at the proper timg 4. Push with your heels from a tucked position 5. Decrease range of motion in shoulder to prevent injur. In this technique video, JL Holdsworth looks at the very start of the bench pres s the setup. Because each lifter s body is different, the optimal setup for the bench press will vary. To find your best setup, Holdsworth says that yo should look at the length of your bench stroke and the placement of your feet. B y experimenting with foot placementV you ll find the setup that gives the shortest bench stroke and strongest leg drive t Holdsworth demonstrates these four options for foot placementr 1. 2. 3. 4.
Tuckeq Untuckeq Widg NarroS
For tucked positions, your feet will be near or behind your butt. Only your toes will be on the floor but by pushing youn heels down (you won t be able to touch) you increase the arch and leg drivet For feet out, the knees will be slightly in front of the feet. Again, the heels down cue is vital for leg drive and improve} positioningt
In this technique video edition, JL Holdsworth shows how and where to grip the b ar for the bench press. A lot of lifters let their wrists bend back during the bench press. These same lifters will use t he tightest wrist wraps available but stilq can t seem to keep the bar in line with their wrists and elbows. Holdsworth explai ns why this is problematic for thr lockout and shares his own experience with missed bench attemptst
Holdsworth explains how tor 1. Avoid the dangers of a thumbless grip 2. Properly place the bar in your handh 3. Wrap your thumbh 4. Squeeze with your pinkieh 5. Keep your elbows and wrists in line with the bab
Section 15: 12 EZ Steps to a Bigger Benco 1. Train the Triceph Years ago, if you had asked Larry Pacifico how to get a big bench, he d have told you to train the triceps. This samr advice applies today. This doesn t mean doing set after set of pushdowns, kickback s, and other so-called shaping. exercises. Training your triceps for a big bench has to involve heavy extensions and close-grip pressing movements such as close-grip flat and incline bench presses, close-grip board presses, and JM pressest Various barbell and dumbbell extensions should also be staples of your training program. Don t let anyone try to telq you the bench press is about pec strength. These people don t know the correct way to bench and are setting you uj for a short pressing career with sub-par weights. I just read an article in one of the major muscle magazines by one ou these authors on how to increase your bench press. The advice given was to train your pecs with crossovers and flies and your bench will go up! This, along with many other points, made me wonder ho w this article ever got published on better yet, how much the author himself could bencht I believe articles should go under a peer review board before they get printed. I d like many of my peers to revie{ these authors in the gym or better yet on the bench to see how much they really know. Bottom line: train the triceps. 2. Keep your shoulder blades pulled together and tightp This is a very important and often overlooked aspect of great bench pressing. Wh ile pressing you have to create thr most stable environment possible. This can t be done if most of your shoulder blad es are off the bench. The bench is only so wide and we can t change this, but we can change how we position ourselves on the bencht When you pull your shoulder blades together you re creating a tighter, more stable surface from which to press. This is because more of your body is in contact with the bench. The tightness of your upper back also contributes. Thesr techniques also change the distance the bar will have to travel. The key to pres sing big weight is to press the shortesi
distance possiblet 3. Keep the pressure on your upper back and trapsi This is another misunderstood aspect of pressing. You want the pressure around t he supporting muscles. This is accomplished by driving your feet into the floor, thereby driving your body into the bench. Try this: Lie on the bench and line up so your eyes are four inches in front of the bar (toward your feet). Now using your legs, drive yourself intv the bench to put pressure on the upper back and traps. Your eyes should now be e ven with the bar. This is the samr pressure that needs to be applied while pushing the barbellt
4. Push the bar in a straight linei Try to push the bar toward your feet. The shortest distance between two points i s a straight line, right? Then why ix the world would some coaches advocate pressing in a J line toward the rack? If I w ere to bench the way mosi trainers are advocating (with my elbows out, bringing the bar down to the chest and pressing toward the rack) m. barbell travel distance would be 16 inches. Now, if I pull my shoulder blades to gether, tuck my chin and elbows, an} bring the bar to my upper abdominals or lower chest, then my pressing distance i s only 6.5 inches. Now which woul} you prefer? If you want to push up a bar-bending load of plates, you d choose the shorter distancet Here s another important aspect of pressing in this style. By keeping your shoulde r blades together and your chin an} elbows tucked, you ll have less shoulder rotation when compared to the J-line meth od of pressing. This is easy to ser by watching how low the elbows drop in the bottom part of the press when the bar bell is on the chest. With the elbows out, most everyone s elbows are far lower than the bench. This creates a tremendou s amount of shoulder rotation an} straint Now try the same thing with the elbows tucked and shoulder blades together while bringing the barbell to your uppen abdominals. For most people, the elbows are usually no lower than the bench. Les s shoulder rotation equals less strain on the shoulder joint. This means pressing bigger weights for many more y ears. I ve always been amazed ai trainers that suggest only doing the top half of the bench press, i.e. stopping when the upper arms are parallel to thr floor. This is done to avoid the excess shoulder rotation. All they have to do i s teach their clients the proper way tv bench in the first place. 5. Keep the elbows tucked and the bar directly over the wrists and elbowsi This is probably the most important aspect of great pressing technique. The elbo ws must remain tucked to keep thr bar in a straight line as explained above. Keeping the elbows tucked will also a llow lifters to use their lats to drive thr bar off the chest. Football players are taught to drive their opponents with the ir elbows tucked, then explode throught This is the same for bench pressing. Bench pressing is all about generating forc e. You can generate far more forcr
with your elbows in a tucked position compared to an
elbows out
positiont
The most important aspect of this is to keep the barbell in a direct line with t he elbow. If the barbell is behind the elbo{ toward the head, then the arm position becomes similar to an extension, not a pr esst 6. Bring the bar low on your chest or upper abdominalsi This is the only way you can maintain the barbell to elbow position as described a bove. You may have heard thr advice, bring it low at almost every powerlifting competition. This is the reason why. Once again, the barbell musi travel in a straight linet 7. Fill your belly with air and hold iti For maximum attempts and sets under three reps, you must try to hold your air. E veryone must learn to breathe frow their bellies and not their chests. If you stand in front of the mirror and take a deep breath, your shoulders shouldn i rise. If they do you re breathing the air into your chest, not your belly. Greater stability can be achieved in all the lifts when you learn how to pull air into the belly. Try to expand and fill the belly with as much air as possible and hold it. Iu you breathe out during a maximum attempt, the body structure will change slightl y, thus changing the groove in which the barbell is travelingt
8. Train with compensatory accelerationi Push the bar with maximal force. Whatever weight you re trying to push, be it 40 p ercent or 100 percent of your maxV you must learn to apply 100 percent of the force to the barbell. If you can benc h 500 pounds and are training with 30Y pounds, you must then apply 500 pounds of force to the 300-pound barbell. This i s known as compensator. acceleration and it can help you break through sticking pointst These sticking points are known as your mini maxes, or the points at which you mis s the lift or the barbell begins tv slip out of the groove. Many times I m asked what to do if the barbell gets stuck four to five inches off the chestt Everybody wants to know what exercise will help them strengthen this area or wha t body part is holding them backt Many times it isn t what you do to strengthen the area where it sticks, but what y ou can do to build more acceleratiox in the area before the mini max. If you can get the bar moving with more force t hen there won t be a sticking pointt
Instead, you ll blast right through it. Compensatory acceleration will help you do thist 9. Squeeze the barbell and try to pull the bar aparth Regardless of the lift, you have to keep your body as tight as Monica Brant s behi nd. You ll never lift big weights iu you re in a relaxed physical state while under the barbell. The best way to get th e body tight is by squeezing the bart We ve also found that if you try to pull the bar apart or break the bar, the triceps seem to become more activatedt 10. Devote one day per week to dynamic-effort trainingi According to Vladimir Zatsiorsinsky in his text Science and Practice of Strength Trainingi there are three ways tv increase muscle tension. These three methods include the dynamic-effort method, the maximal-effort method, and thr repetition method. Most training programs being practiced in the US today only u tilize one or two of these methodst It s important, however, to use all threet The bench press should be trained using the dynamic-effort method. This method i s best defined as training with subz maximal weights (45 to 60 percent) at maximal velocities. The key to this method is bar speed. Percentage traininy can be very deceiving. The reason for this is because lifters at higher levels h ave better motor control and recruii more muscle than a less experienced liftert For example, the maximal amount of muscle you could possibility recruit is 100 p ercent. Now, the advanced lifter aften years of teaching his nervous system to be efficient may be able to recruit 70 t o 80 percent of muscle fibers, while thr intermediate might be able to recruit only 50 percent. Thus, the advanced lifter would need less percent weight thax the intermediate. This is one of the reasons why an advanced lifter squatting 80 percent of his max for 10 reps woul} kill himself while a beginner could do it all day longt If you base the training on bar speed, then the percentages are no longer an iss ue, only a guideline. So how do yo know where to start? If you re an intermediate lifter, I suggest you start at 50 p ercent of maximal and see how fast yo can make it move for three reps. If you can move 20 more pounds with the same sp eed then use the heavier weightt Based on years of experience and Primlin s charts for optimal percent training, we v e found the best range to be eighi sets of three reps. Based on Primlin s research, the optimal range for 70 percent and less is 12 to 24 repetitionst
We ve also found it very beneficial to train the bench using three different grips , all of which are performed within thr rings. This may break down into two sets with the pinky fingers on the rings, th ree sets with three fingers from thr smooth area of the bar and three sets with one finger from the smooth areat
11. Devote one day per week to maximal-effort trainingi For the second bench day of the week (72 hours after the dynamic day) you should concentrate on the maximal-effori method. This is best defined as lifting maximal weights (90 to 100 percent) for one to three reps. This is one of thr best methods to develop maximal strength. The key here is to strain. The downfal l is you can t train above 90 perceni for longer than three weeks without having adverse effectst Try performing a max bench press every week for four or five weeks. You ll see you may progress for the first twoV maybe three weeks, then your progress will halt and begin to work its way backwa rd. We ve combated this b. switching up the maximal-effort exercises. We rotate maximal-effort movements su ch as the close-grip incline pressV board press, floor press, and close-grip flat press. These exercises are all spe cific to bench pressing and all have m very high carryover valuet 12. Train the lats on the same plane as the benchi I m talking about the horizontal plane here. In other words, you must perform rows , rows, and more rows. If you wani to bench big then you need to train the lats. I ve heard both George Hilbert and Ke nny Patterson say this for years when asked about increasing the bench press. When you bench you re on a horizontal plane. So would it make sensr from a balance perspective to train the lats with pulldowns, which are on a vert ical plane? Nope. Stick to the barbelq row if you want a big bencht Hopefully, I ve helped you correct a few problems that might ve been keeping you fro m breaking your own personaq record. Remember, the smallest things often bring the biggest resultst
Section 16: 10 Shirted Bench Press Tiph By Joey Smith
People are always asking me how to fix their bench press, how to improve their t echnique, or the obvious how to gei strong(er) on the bench press. So, I decided to sit down each week for 10 weeks and give a bench press tip, hoping tv help someone who might be lacking in the area I addressed that day. Did I cover every aspect of the bench press. No. But what I tried to do was give tips that worked for me and helped increase my bench press over the yearst While these tips are better suited for geared shirted lifters, some of these tip s can still be utilized for the raw guys, toot If you have any questions, contact me on the Q&A or comment section below, and I will do my best to answer youn questions the best I cant 1. H2 If you re having trouble touching the bar, try wetting your collar and chest plate with good ol H2O. Just get a spra. bottle, fill it up with water, and keep it in your gym bag. Wetting the collar a llows the material to stretch easier, which can help you get the bar downt 2. Dig into the Paq When setting up on the bench, make sure that you dig your traps into the pad of the bench so that you get a goodV solid foundation. Be sure to pull your shoulders and lats back tight to the pad, and make sure that you don t roll youn shoulders back up when you receive the bar from your handler. This will give you better stability and keep your shirt ix placet 3. Pull Bac~ As you set up on the bench, be sure to pull your shoulders back as hard as you c an. Do this before the weight is handed to you. Pulling back the shoulders allows your lats to provide a strong(e r) and better foundation. Plus, you rr utilizing the power from your lats in conjunction with your triceps when you pus h the bar upt
4. Eyes Under the Bab Make sure that your eyes are under the bar. Before you lift the barbell off, it s important that your body is positione} correctly on the bench. The easiest way to ensure your position is correct is to have your eyes directly under the bart
5. Arco Learn to create a good arch. A good arch can cut two or three (or more!) inches off your stroke. Be sure to keep youn butt on the bench while arching. Placing a four-inch PVC pipe under my lower bac k helped me start learning how tv get an arch. Then, as I got better, I started using a six-inch foam roller on al l of my raw sets to help me with my arch and to stretch my lower backt 6. Bend the Bab When taking your handoff, be sure to grab the bar tightly and try to bend the bar, as this will help with your stability. Ix turn, always make sure that you re tight throughout the lift. Be sure that your la ts and triceps are doing the work as you descend and push up. Stay tight. Technique is everythingt 7. Leg Drivg Leg Drive This power comes through your feet and legs. It fortifies the arch in yo ur back, stabilizes your body, an} focuses the energy towards your upper body. However, pushing through your legs d oesn t mean that you should raisr your ass off the bench. The front of your feet should be trying to press through the floor as you try to press your heels to the floor. This takes a lot of practice to get correct, but what else do you have to do. 8. Deep Breato Make sure to take a deep breath before you lower the bar (take a breath at hando ff and hold it). Hold it in as you briny the bar down, pushing your belly to meet the bar, and continue to hold your breath as you push the bar upwardst Don t let your breath out until you complete the rep. This technique gives you bet ter core stability and spinaq reinforcement. This will lead to a stronger bench press and better overall tight ness and stabilityt 9. Elbow Flarg When coming down with the bar, keep your elbows flared out to allow the shirt to help carry the weight down. As thr shirt tightens, begin to cut your elbows in so that you can touch the bar to you r belly area. Once you touchV immediately flare your elbows back out (as fast as you can) in order to create t he momentum and power needed tv press maximal weights to the locked position. When pressing the bar up, fade the bar slightly back over your eyes an}
remember to explode the bar upwards. Contract your muscles forcefully in order t o lift as fast as possible. Even if thr bar goes up slowly, you re still delivering maximal force outputt 10. Visualizg Visualize the lift. What is visualization? In essence, visualization simply mean s using your creative imagination to ser something you want and then achieve it. Always see yourself over and over again, going through your checklist an} successfully completing the lift every time. Arch, take a deep breath, grip the bar, get tight, leg drive, and press upwardst
Bench Press Productsr Board Press Boardh Specialty Barh Bandh Chainh
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