Finally after many months I am seeing a huge pay off in my Bench Press from grip training. I normally do my Bench work on a machine as I don’t have a training partner.

I like to train alone so thats the way it must be. So the stack on my bench machine has 96 KG max. I stack 20 KG plates onto the machine to add weight.

So several months ago I thought I was doing good benching 300 lbs. Yesterday I did 4 reps with 387 lbs. My goal is 400 lbs by the end of the year which should be easy given its only July. My 387 was after 5 sets ranging up from 300 lbs. The odd thing is I don’t feel any stronger than I did months back and honestly apart from my hands and forearms I don’t think I am.

The other trick I know for bench is to squeeze the traps all through the range of motion both up and down. Also you want to do serious stretching with a stick and with swinging arms between each set.

Hey folks I’m putting together a new manual specifically on bench press.

It will be pretty factual and straight to the point covering the following so far:

Bench Press Anatomy

Bench Press Bio Mechanics

Bench Press Form

Bench Press Routines

FAQ

Its fully illustrated and so far I am up to about 20 pages. I hope to get it to between 30 and 50 pages.

This WILL NOT be a freebie but will be super cheap like about $7 – $27 maybe. I have all the bench press manuals and books so am extracting the best information and putting it all into my manual.

Join my optin list and download the anatomy manual to be informed when the bench manual is available. www.FreeFitnessGuru.com/FreePassword.html

The bench press is an exercise in which the lifter lies on his/her back on a weight bench, lowering the bar directly above the chest. It is intended for the development of the chest, or pectoral muscles , frontal shoulders, serratus, but a variation exists for the triceps.

The bench press is an exercise in which the lifter lies on his/her back on a weight bench, lowering the bar directly above the chest. It is intended for the development of the chest, or pectoral muscles , frontal shoulders, serratus, but a variation exists for the triceps. In weight lifting , however, where the focus is to achieve a single very heavy repetition, the force for a bench exercise is exerted by both the pectoral and tricep muscles.

The world Bench Press Record for the heaviest benchraising at 1005 lb (456.8 kg) was set by Gene Rychlak under International Powerlifting Association rules in November 2004. It must be noted that the different lifts federations and gyms have subtly different rules on technique, the equipment that is allowed and whether performance enhancing drugs are tested for.

The heaviest “raw” Bench Press Record (without equipment such as denim shirts) is 713 lbs (324kg) by Scott Mendelson. Many people regard this as a greater achievement than Rychlak?s 1005 lb press. Classic bench presses may not be suitable for every athlete, if you experience a lack of development, switch to other exercises, i.e. dips, butterfly or other exercises involving dumbells.

Perform your bench presses carefully and slowly. Do not use the momentum of the downward movement of the barbell to let it bounce off your chest and push it explosively back upwards. At least, you bereave yourself of the negative and power building phase of the exercise. This exercise should always be performed with a spotter to catch the bar in case it is dropped on the chest.

Varying width grips can be used to shift stress between pectorals and triceps, and between the inner and outer pectorals. It can also be performed with dumbbells to incorporate greater use of the stabilizer muscles. Each variation is intended to work different subgroups of muscles, or work the same muscles in slightly different ways.

Scott Mendelson 1015lb Bench Press

Is that Freaking or what !!!

The dude is 314 lbs and has abs. Not bad since most powerlifters tend to have a belly.

His are Tips as follows:

1) Put your back into it:

Big chests do not make big bench presses. Proper technique makes the primary movers the back (latissimus dorsi), triceps, and rear deltoids. On a standard 15-17″ bench, pull your shoulder blades together so the shoulders rest on, and not off, the bench’s surface. This shortens the distance from the chest to full extension and eliminates your arms’ weakest range

2) Lift with your legs:

Put your body into a near-full arch when performing a maximal-lift bench press: support your body on the toes or balls of your feet by putting your feet underneath your body and arching your back. Squeeze the bench between your thighs to stabilize your body and use leg drive to initiate the lift from the bottom.

3) Train for triples:

Dedicate one work-out per week to the bench press, performing 5-8 sets of 3 reps with 5-7 minutes between sets. Use 60% of your 1-repetition maximum (1RM), adding 5-10% per workout.

4) Emphasize tricep, rear deltoid, and brachialis development:

Following the above 5-8 sets of bench press, perform one exercise for rear deltoids, one exercise for triceps, and one exercise for the brachialis. Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions with 2-4 minutes between sets.

Rear deltoids-
Using a seated pec deck machine (used for crossing the arms in front of the body), reverse the motion by facing the opposite direction and moving your arms backwards.

Triceps-
Choose either A) tricep extensions or B) board presses (place a 4×4 board on the chest and perform bench presses within this partial range of movement).

Brachialis-
The brachialis is a muscle on the outside of the bicep that supports arm movement at the elbow. Perform hammer curls (bicep curls where the thumb is kept pointing to the ceiling and the palm is not turned upward) to address this bodypart.

5) For safety, do not use a “false-grip”, where the thumb is placed under, rather than around, the bar:

“Once I was bench pressing with a false-grip and I got 584 lbs. to lock-out. The spotters thought I had it, so they took their hands away. The bar slipped, and 584 lbs. bounced off of my chest twice. I couldn’t breathe properly for 2 months, but I had no broken bones-not even a bruise.” Moral of the story: Hold the bar at shoulder-width with your thumb wrapped around the bar-safety is a precursor to efficacy?and results.

Train systematically, train intelligently, and follow the guidelines of the world’s #1 bench presser to actualize your true genetic strength potential.

Hey welcome to my new website and this is the blog of course.

I guess Ill keep a training diary of sorts here, give news updates, post video’s and contests and also communicate with you folks through comments.

If you pump iron and love working out then you will find plenty of value in the coming months.

For now i have a benchpress video i just stuck up on youtube.

Hope you find it usefull. Most folks would be lifting alot more if they isolate properly. Next post I’ll share my Bench Press warmup technique.