If you can, use a cambered bar for this type of training.
Extending the press range of motion and adding in pauses are two great ways to do this. Once you learn to engage your chest again, work to increase your time under tension. 2 – Extend Your Range and Time Under Tension This is especially important not only for strength, but for a well-balanced physique, too.
TIME OUT BENCH HOW TO
Save that for the competition-style presses with your feet on the ground.Īs your chest gets stronger, you'll be able to handle more and learn how to bench with your chest again. Use light to moderate weight for moderate to high reps. If you aren't used to benching with your feet up, simply start light and work through a pain-free range. Dumbbell bench presses with the elbows out can help a ton, as well as doing simple old school, wide-grip bodybuilding style benches with the feet up. The trouble is, it took a long time for me to learn how to feel my chest work again since I'd become so triceps dominant over the years.ĭoing exercises where you can really spread your chest open at the bottom with your elbows out wide will help teach you to use your chest when you bench. Every big raw bencher has a barrel chest. The chest is a much bigger muscle group and it needs to be utilized to its fullest potential. Big arms are awesome but big arms and a big chest are even better. Bands and chains, boards, and extensions are great, but let's not forget the chest itself. 1 – Learn to Engage the Chestįor years it's been drilled into our heads that we need triceps for a big bench. Here are four things he taught me to bring the bench up to boss status. Luckily, I managed to learn how to properly train for a massive raw bench from Dan Green, aka "The Boss." His tips and tricks helped my gym achieve three 500-pound raw benches, many respectable one-and-half-times bodyweight benches, and even some double-bodyweight benches. While a lot of the info coming from geared powerlifters has been great, some of it doesn't transfer over to raw benching. Thing is, shirted benching requires a different technique. In other words, geared powerlifters – those who use special bench press shirts that add safety and ultimately a whole lot of plates to their PRs. Why? Because a lot of what they know, or think they know, has been learned from some of the greatest shirted benchers of all time. Incorporate one day per week of bench-focused training and a second upper-body day with shoulder-focused training.įor years, lifters have struggled to get their bench press up.Train the shoulders to increase stability using overhead and incline pressing.Work all ranges of the press with board presses and Spotto presses, which are "invisible" board presses.Use a cambered bar or closer-grip benches and long pauses in the bottom range.
Learn to engage your chest when you bench.