subject: Dramatically Increase Your Bench! [print this page] Do you want to improve your bench press? There are a few things that you can do to make that occur. First off your form is by far the most essential thing that you can change. This is where all the strength comes from and once you have this down nothing can stop you. What you want to do first is lay down on the bench under the bar and place your hands just a little wider than shoulder width apart on the bar. Now that you have your hands in the appropriate place you are going to want to crush you shoulder blades together like you're trying to pop a grape. Ok arch your lower back so all that is in contact with the bench is your butt and your upper back. Now lift bar off of the rack and start the exercise. What you want to do is let the bar drop towards your chest in a controlled free fall, you want the bar to contact you right below your pectorals. While doing this you need to hold your elbows in so your arms are vertical with respect to the bar. You do not want your arms aligned to the bar because this will put unwanted tension on your shoulders. When the bar touches your chest you will want to push from your securely planted feet. This will blast energy up your torso and through your back and ultimately to your chest. You will be driving the bar up with explosive power! This is how you bench press with flawlessness, by doing this you will see substantial gains.
Now as far as a routine, once you have the form down you can start on a strength routine! What I would recommend is that you do a 5 x 5 routine, made famous by Reg Park. This means that you do 5 sets of 5 reps. By doing this you are setting yourself up for huge gains in strength. You want to do this 3 times a week, and every day you go in increase the weight that you are lifting by 5 lbs total. For example if you bench 5 sets of 5 at 135 lbs on Monday, when you go in on Wednesday you will go for 5 sets of 5 at 140 lbs, than Friday will be 5 x 5 at 145 lbs. You get my drift, at this rate you are adding 15 lbs a week to your bench. Now if you get stuck and can't go up, stay at that weight until you can get 5 x 5 and then go up. With this routine and the form stated above it is the perfect recipe for adding weight to your bench press.
