Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Charleston, SC
Posts: 1,324
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BENCH PRESS & TRICEP TRAINING
By Keith Wassung
The bench press is the single most popular exercise in the history of weight training. Almost everyone who has ever had any type of gym/health club/sports experience has at one time or another performed the bench press. This article details ways to improve your bench press along with adding strength and development to your upper body.
TECHNIQUE
The first step to improving your bench press is to ensure that you are performing the lift with optimal technique. As popular as this lift is, it is rare to see good technique used during workouts. Perfecting your technique will allow for a more efficient lifting stroke, maximize development and will limit the chance of injuries. I highly recommend having your workouts videotaped and analyzed, as this will allow you to correct errors that might normally go undetected. The first step is to ensure you have a solid base on the bench. That means that head, shoulders, torso, butt and feet are firmly and solidly planted. The head should not come off the bench, the butt should remain in contact with the bench surface and the feet should be flat and dug into the floor. If your legs are too short to make solid contact with the floor, then use plates or blocks for a firm surface. When I am benching, I want my entire body to be tight and dug in—even to the point that when I am pressing the weight off my chest, at the same time I am pressing my head back into the bench and driving my feet into the floor, though there is no movement, just isometric contraction. Your approach to the exercise needs to be aggressive, though I am not talking about screaming, snorting, and slapping, but rather developing a sort of an internal rage and intensity that is channeled into completing the set. Remove the weight from the uprights and position the weight directly above chest. Lower the bar to the chest, touching in the general vicinity of just above the nipple. Drive the bar up and back so that when you are locked out- the bar is approximately at eye level. One common mistake that I often see in the bench press is that the lifter will lock out on the last rep and immediately dump it into the racks. This practice not only leads to injury but can disqualify lifts in competition. In fact, if you are a competitive lifter, then it’s a good idea to lock the weight and have the spotter say “RACK” and then place the bar back into the uprights. When I am spotting, I always guide the bar back into the uprights and then say “CLEAR” meaning the lifter can relax their grip on the bar.
I believe the repetition speed should be one in which the bar is moved with total control and without any type of jerking, bouncing or other ballistic activity. The lift should resemble a piston, solid, powerful, in a tight groove and moved with both precision and authority.
USE OF THE LATS IN BENCH PRESSING
An often-overlooked component of the bench press is the use and development of the muscles of the back and in particular the lats. Very few lifters utilize the strength of the lats in their bench press and when they are able to incorporate lat contraction into their exercises, immediate increase is always achieved. Here is how you incorporate the lats into your bench press: Take an empty bar or even a wooden rod and assume the bench press position. Lower the bar to the chest and pause. Instead of driving the weight up with the arms, contract or “flare” the lats in an outward direction. If you have decent lat development, you should see the bar move several inches off the chest. This takes practice to utilize the lats in this manner, but be persistent and practice over and over with an empty bar, gradually adding weight as you get used to the movement. The eventual goal is to use the lats as sort of a cushion or coiled spring when lowering the bar and then contracting them strongly on the initial drive at the same time you are pressing with the arms. DO NOT walk into the gym tomorrow and attempt this with your max poundage—if you do you will fail. I have worked with athletes who have increased their maximum bench press anywhere from 20-50lbs within 2 weeks as a result of using this technique. This also requires strong well-developed lats, which are developed by chins and rowing. *see notes below on barbell rows.
SET & REPS
I am often asked what type of reps are best for the bench press, high reps, medium reps or low reps? My answer is “Yes”. I think the best program is one that incorporates high, medium and low reps. There are many different ways to do this. My personal favorite is the 10-5-3 method. You can either do 3, 4, or 5 sets based on your individual needs, but each workout the repetition scheme changes. For example, the first workout would be 4 sets of 10 reps, where each set is an all out set of 10. This involves decreasing the weight each set. The next workout in which bench presses are performed would be 4 sets of 5 repts, and then the next workout would be 4 sets of 3 reps. This takes some trial and error to determine weight selection, but goal setting and accurate record keeping is a big help.
A sample workout series would look something like this:
WORKOUT 1
185lbs 1x10
165lbs 1x10
140lbs 1x10
135lbs 1x10
Total 6520lbs
WORKOUT 2
225lbs 1x5
210lbs 1x5
190lbs 1x5
175lbs 1x5
Total 3125lbs
WORKOUT 3
270lbs 1x3
255lbs 1x3
240lbs 1x3
230lbs 1x3
Total 2985lbs
The goal in each session is to always increase the total weight lifted. If all ten reps are not achieved, then simply multiply the weight by 9 or whatever number is achieved. You will find that the tens build incredible foundational strength, which helps you use heavy weight in the threes. The tens are physically taxing while the threes are more mentally challenging. The heavy weight used in the three’s makes the relatively weight used in the ten’s seem easier by comparison. The five’s hit the medium range which helps both tens and three’s. Varying the repetitions each session also keeps the body from adapting to one particular routine, which allows for growth and development. Make sure that you set and complete all of the sessions within certain time frame, which is an individual choice, You will find that the tens require just a bit more rest between sets than the fives and threes. The number of days between workouts is also based on individual needs and preferences, You can make great gains doing each session once a week, or even as much as all three sessions within a 16 day time frame if desired.
TRICEP TRAINING TIPS
Since the bench press is such an excellent triceps developer, I thought I would include a few tricep training tips.
-The Parallel Bar Dip is an excellent triceps exercise—in fact it may be the best overall triceps exercise for strength and development. It is important to stay upright when performing dips and often there is a tendency to lean forward, which shifts the stress away from the triceps. The best way to maintain upright form is to put your hands right on the end of the bars, facing away from the equipment. Your thumb and forefinger will wrap just near the end of the parallel bars, which will make it almost impossible to lean forward.
-Use the power rack about twice a month to strengthen the triceps, particularly on the lockout portion of the lift. Place a flat bench in the power rack and set the pins about 6-8 inches below lockout. Perform 1-2 sets of 6-10 reps each. Control the weight throughout the entire movement and when lowering the bar to the pin, do not bounce the weight, but rather, touch the pin, hold it for a momentary pause and press the weight to a lockout. Hold the lockout portion for 2-3 seconds. It is important to maintain the solid body position on the bench. If your feet or butt is moving or shifting, then the weight is too heavy. Don’t overdo the power rack exercises—they are very brutal and can lead to over-training.
-Trying performing lying tricep extensions, aka “skull crushers” while lying on a decline bench. The slope of the bench makes it much easier to keep the upper arms in an upright and perpendicular position, which is very important. Dumbells can also be used and allow for a greater stretch. Perform this movement in a very slow controlled motion—the key is contraction, keep constant tension on the triceps and working them as intensely as possible. When positive failure is obtained, you can push the exercise harder, but simply pulling the bar down to the chest and pressing it up to arms length.
-A variation of the tricep pressdown is to perform them with the use of an incline bench. Place a portable incline bench in front of a pushdown machine with the seat facing away from the weight stack. The bar attachment can either be a straight bar or a V-bar. Sit in the incline bench and pull the bar over your head or have someone hand it to you. Keeping your elbows tight against your sides, simply press the weight forward and down to arms length, contract the triceps strongly, then return the weight bar back until the forearms contact the lower biceps. To make the negative phase of the movement even more effective, pretend that you are “pulling” the weight back towards you, rather than just letting gravity do that—you will see the increased emphasis on your triceps. Perform this movement in a slow and controlled manner and keep the reps above 10.
*Notes on Bent Over Barbell Rows*
Bent over rowing is an excellent movement for the upper body. Work this movement hard and don't be surprised if you see increases in the squat, bench press and deadlift as well an increases in muscular development. One of the great aspects of the bent-over row is that there is a wide variety of techniques and variations to chose from which means that just about anyone can find a method of performing this movement regardless of their body structure. The important thing is to ensure that your technique is fairly consistent so that increased poundages are the result of strength gains, not in favorable advantages in the biomechanics of the lift.
The width of your hand spacing should be slightly wider than your shoulders, but this will vary with each individual. Your hand spacing and grip should put you into a position where you can strictly row with the greatest amount of weight. You can use either a pronated or supinated grip. The pronated or overhand grip tends to hit the upper back harder, while the supinated grip tends to work the lower lats a bit more. Experiment with both variations and see which one works best for you, or even use both grips in an alternating fashion. I have found that the supinated grip works best when using an E-Z curl bar to take the strain off the wrists. Use plenty of chalk and or resin on your hands to ensure a firm grip. If you happen to train at a commercial gym that does not allow chalk (somebody should really invent flesh colored chalk) then purchase some resin bags and place them in a large colored sandwich zip-lock bag. You can dip your hands into the bag and get plenty of resin and there will be no waste at all.
Take a good solid stance, with the feet about shoulder width. Lean forward and bend the knees just slightly so that you nearly settle your abdomen onto your thighs with the hips being the center of gravity. If you have ever played football and had to get into the classic “3-point stance”, as similar position will suffice for the barbell row-ie, you want to get into a stance where you can generate the most power.
The angle of your upper body can be anywhere from parallel to about 45 degrees though I believe that you should try and get as close to parallel as you can. People with a longer torso tend to do a bit better with a higher angle than an individual with a shorter torso. Make sure the back is flat and stable keeping a slight arch in the lumbar region before the weight is pulled off the floor. There are numerous opinions on the exact part of the torso that you try to pull the bar into. This will vary from individual, but somewhere in the upper abdominal region, just below the sternum is a good reference point. If you are using a supinated grip, you might get want to pull just a bit lower into the abdominal region.
Because you are pulling a barbell from a position in which you are bent at the hips, considerable stress is placed on the lower back muscles. You should not attempt to add momentum to the lift by yanking or jerking upward with the lower back muscles and extending the body. Lack of proper form means the targeted area does not receive maximum stimulation and can often lead to lower back injury. Heaving and cheating the weight up is very easy to do as the movement is not very natural to start with and the position makes it difficult to use a mirror to monitor and correct your form. There are a couple of things that you can do to eliminate the heaving aspect of the row. First of all, many books and magazines advise that when the bar is lowered to get as much as stretch as possible-it sounds like good advice, but what happens is that once your arms are straightened, in an attempt to get even more of a stretch, you relax and begin dropping the upper body downwards which causes rounding of the back. This places the body into a weakened condition, so that when you attempt to pull the next repetition, you are forced into performing a body swing in order to compensate for the inadequate position. Just lower the body to arms length and pull it back up. Another way to teach yourself to do the movement correctly is to have a training partner place their hands on your upper back along each side of the spine. Have them hold their hands steady and you will be able to gauge whether you are keeping your back stable or not.
I will throw another little tip in here that Marty Gallagher taught me, use straps, but DO NOT wrap your thumbs around the bar---the contraction in the back is incredible and it takes the arms/biceps out of the movement as much as possible. I do 1-2 sets without straps, and then 1-2 with the straps.
I hope that helps in your quest to increase your bench
Keith
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