The bench press, the star of chest day, has long stood as the de facto measure of a lifter’s strength. Of course, there are more holistic ways to measure physical strength – and if your goal is simply to build muscle, you won’t need a chest press at all. But if years of Hollywood montages have taught us anything, it’s to lean heavily into something.
To paraphrase Kenny Powers, not everyone is trying to be the best at exercise. If you don’t know or don’t care how much weight you can lift on the bench, you don’t need to worry. That said, if you know how and care enough, we have some information that will help you stack thick plates on the bar in no time.
To find out what it takes to maximize the bench press, we talked to top trainers, coaches and exercisers who have studied the movement and understand the latest research. If you’ve recently gotten stronger, or even if you’re just interested in improving your form and efficiency in the lifts, here are the experts’ top tips for taking your bench press to the next level.
increase frequency
If you, like most men who stay out of the gym, exercise your chest about once a week, you will need to bulk it up. “If you want to get better at bench pressing, you have to practice the skill of bench pressing,” says Luke Carlson, founder and CEO of Bench Press. discover strength. Like training for sprinting, this means attacking progress from multiple angles with at least two or three dedicated sessions per week.
To increase strength under the barbell and maximize progression, Matthew Welch, MS, CSCS, ATC, USAW-1, exercise physiologist hssRecommends a three-day training split that you can do on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
“The first day will be a maximum strength day, where we’re doing 3-5 sets of 1-5 reps as you build strength through that 1-5 rep range,” he says. The second day will be for accessory work – to develop the surrounding muscles that play a supporting role in the bench press. These will be exercises such as incline press and chest fly, each of which will be worked up to two sets of 5-8 reps. And Friday will be back on the bench for what Welch calls a “dynamic effort” day. Here, you’re doing 8-10 sets of just 1-3 reps, using a load around 55-65 percent of your one-rep max and trying to move the weight as quickly as possible. “The dynamic effort method can be very effective for strength development,” says Welch. “If you’re trying to break a plateau, adding some strength development can be very helpful.”
plant your feet
Using proper form isn’t just about preventing injuries; It also makes your body a more efficient bench-pressing machine. “You can improve your form and technique and move your bench press up even if your chest hasn’t strengthened at all,” says Carlson.
“One of the most overlooked pieces of the bench press is actually your legs,” says Jessie Shaw, DO, USAWSports medicine physician and associate professor at Western States University. “Your ability to drive and develop force really comes from your connection with the ground.”
The next time you’re about to lie back on the bench, pause for a moment and carefully lower your feet flat on the floor. And when you’re ready to pull the bar from the rack, make sure you’re making a connection between your upper and lower body.
“Your legs are a really important factor in the bench press, especially when it gets heavier,” says Welch. “You need to drive into the ground with your feet, almost the same way you’re going to lift your hips off a bench. It’s important to just be very stable and aware of the feet. This will allow you to use more weight, and it will help prevent overuse and injury.”
