Climb Past Your Bench Press Plateau for a Huge Bench
Climb Past Your Bench Press Plateau for a Huge Bench
By: Al Short
Has your bench press been stuck at a plateau?
The bench press is the favorite chest exercise of every person looking to add
bulk to there chest can be the biggest disappointment for people. Most people do
the same routine over and over again, though it once worked now no results for
all the time spent in the gym. List below are tips that you can implement in
your next workout to start building a bigger bench and get you out of your rut.
The first technique to getting out of your bench press plateau is to pause at
the bottom. Most people got down and up so fast that they use more momentum than
muscular strength to press the weight. So, to develop better strength we are
going to over pause to ensure optimal muscle fiber recruitment.
It is best to have a spotter who you trust that can help lift the weight off if
you don't make it up. Also, have the spotter count to two for you once the bar
stops moving as you don't want to be relaxing or screwing up your breathing to
count. Once your partner says two explode with all your might for one full rep.
Complete as many reps as possible though if you can do more than 6 reps add more
weight.
As you continue to train even beyond these tips it is important to train using
all three techniques of pausing at your chest. The three are the touch and go
that most do, a slight pause at the bottom and then press, and a complete 2-3
second pause at the bottom before pressing the weight up. Each different method
is going to challenge your muscle fibers in different ways with different levels
of weight. One legitimate rep with less weight does more for muscle development
and strength than a rep of heavier weight that you bounce off your chest to
impress your friends with how much you can lift.
Have to train the triceps
You don't get a big bench without strong triceps. The bench press is not just a
pectoral muscle exercise. Most people use triceps extensions or pressdowns which
can develop strong triceps muscles though it doesn't always help with what the
triceps need to do in a bench press. The best exercises you can do to train your
triceps is to do any kind of close grip pressing motion from close-grip bench or
incline bench and close grip push ups. Also, use a variety of dumbbells,
barbells, and bodyweight exercises. The important factor is to train your
triceps in the motions they need to gain strength in to get a bigger bench
press.
Don't forget about your shoulders
The common exercises for shoulders are presses and lateral raises of some kind.
The important part of the shoulder for bench press is the anterior deltoid. Add
front raises to your routine to strengthen up the front part of your shoulder.
Make sure to stand still and use only your shoulder muscles to raise the bar,
dumbbells, or plate. I see too many people arching their backs and using
momentum to lift the weight. Pure strength and muscle development comes from
proper technique more than total weight if momentum is used.
Your back is important
too
It most because that we don't see it in front of us because people are way more
developed in the chest than the back. A big reason your bench may not be going
up is that your antagonist muscles in the back are not strong enough to support
the movement from your over developed chest. The only way to build a big bench
is to build a big back. If you forget about your back or don't put the same time
and effort in your bench will always limit out well short of your potential.
The last thing on your bench press is your legs and core. Your legs are still
needed on during a bench exercise to stabilize the weight. If you didn't need
your legs to have a big bench than you would be able to lift the same weight
with your legs on the floor as you do if you put your feet on the bench and take
them away. A big bench is about total body strength, if you focus only on the
bench so results will always suffer.
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