Do you know Bench?

One of the most asked questions in the gym is ‘how much ya bench?’. The bench press tends to be the benchmark of strength in most people eyes.
Personally, I never had enjoyed bench pressing and probably never will. In the sport of powerlifting, it is necessary so I train it just as diligently as my squat and deadlift. Most people have one lift they excel at, or are sometimes either upper body strong or lower. My lower body is stronger so I obviously enjoy squatting and deadlifting more.
This should never be an excuse to give up or not train hard, however. The first time I got on a bench, I am pretty sure it was 115lbs. I was 18 years old. Less than impressive obviously. Fast forward and my best raw bench in the gym is 470. My point is that no matter where your strengths and weaknesses are, you can ALWAYS make improvements EVERYWHERE.

Below are some key exercises that you could incorporate in your program to help increase your bench press.

Board Press
This can range anywhere from a 1 board to a 5 board. This is best utilized in 2 ways-
-          Use a board that is right at (or slightly below)your sticking point  in the movement. Perform 3-5 PAUSED, DYNAMIC reps in your sets. The pause is vital here to learn how to overcome the weight not using momentum getting your body to fire better
-          Overload. Using a 4-5 board with a weight that is heavier than you can straight press to your chest is useful in that you feel the weight in your hands and build the stability in your shoulders, arms, and back to handle that, and will as not frying your CNS the first time you go for a big PR.


Spoto Press
This has similar to a low paused board press, however most find this more difficult. You lower the weight to 1-1.5 inches off your chest and hold it for a good pause. With both of these variations, it is very important to keep your form and not let yourself sink in while holding the bar at the bottom of the movement.


Speed Bench
There are a ton of variations you can use with chains, bands and such, but I will just talk about straight pressing.
Keeping sets in the 2-3 rep range, you want to –MAINTAINING FORM- move the weight as fast as possible, as if you are trying to throw the bar at the ceiling. Do this with only 1 breath for the entire set (more on breathing below).

Neutral Grip DB Press
In addition to speed benching, This may help with your  pressing power off of your chest. The key to these are to make sure that you are not cheating on your ROM (get a good stretch down) and explode out of the bottom of the movement. 

TRICEPS!!!
The same goes for back and shoulders, but your are not going to bench a lot of you don’t have strong triceps.  The below exercises are some of my favorite tricep exercises-
-          Incline DB extensions
-          JM press
-          DB rollbacks
-          Close grip bench press


Kettlebells
Mr.3000 Donnie Thompson has said for years how important kettlebells are. If you don’t know who Donnie is you should look him up. I never took advantage of that advice until my shoulder operation. Using kettlebells for certain exercises provided a totally different feel, can work the muscle harder and take stress off the joint.  Pick a few upper body exercises you would normally use a bar or dumbbells for and use the kettlebells instead, performing reps and sets like you normally would (not circuit style like class). Some beneficial exercises would include-
-          Shoulder presses
-          Triceps extensions
-          Lateral raises
-          Bent rows
-          Upright rows
-          Floor press

To make things even more challenging, hold the kettlebell so the actual bell is up, and you have to stabilize the weight, maintaining a super tight grip. This is humbling at first, but you will quickly see the translation into your other exercises.


Breathing
When going for a max weight or high RPE, as with squats and deadlifts, your breathing is important. Taking a deep breath and holding it in your ‘Belly’ (diaphragm, then chest) throughout the entire movement, not letting go until the bar is locked out. This helps keep you tight and stable, and prevent your chest from caving in.

Foot Drive
This is one of the most overlooked things when benching. You should experiment with different foot placement. If you have never been on the balls of your feel with them underneath the bench, try. Some people find this mechanically puts them in a better position. If you already know that you prefer your feet in front, experiment is how wide you put them. Slightly wider feet when driving off the ground can cement you on the bench better.
Your power with any movement starts with your feet on the ground. Before you even unrack the bar, your entire body should be tight and locked, driving your feet from the get go. Continuing to push throughout the entire movement really aids in transferring power through your whole body and hands down will mean a stronger press.

Bench Press
This is not a typo. To get better at something you must keep doing it. One of the best things you can do after you main sets, is to back off for a set or two, get some reps in on a regular bench press movement and work EVERYTHING. Keep dialing in you breathing, arch, feet, grip, pause. Most people agree the bench is the most technical out of the 3 lifts. You can muscle up a squat or deadlift of you are struggling, but if an elbow starts to flare out the bar is going to come down at your face or you are seriously going to injure your shoulder. Or both. Keep practicing and keep getting better. 

Paul Emmick