Everyone just wants to boast about how much they bench. Whether you’re a bodybuilder or a powerlifter, or just someone in the gym wanting to put up some decent weight, the bench press is one of the strongest movements your body can perform. Bench pressing more weight for bodybuilders might keep the goal of gaining more mass in mind. Powerlifters may use different techniques just to top the charts for world records. However you’re wanting to bench press, many tips can be used for both aspects to increase your bench.

First off: Deciding your goals for bench pressing and determining form

If you’re training for the visuals then you’re probably going to want to concentrate on a ‘bodybuilding’ style of bench press. Some bodybuilders take different techniques and sort of combine it with their own technique, depending on the goals of the individual. There are variations to the bench press but for now we’re going to concentrate on the flat bench press.

The bodybuilding Bench Press: For bodybuilders, your form will be much more strict and you will be focusing on the contraction of the muscles you are trying to grow. Your pectorals will be the main muscle group here so you’re going to want to move a little slower depending on how you’re trying to shock your muscles. Powerlifting movements, as you will see, are more explosive and just concentrating on getting the weight up. To keep strain on the chest and take as much resistance off the font delts as possible, I would encourage using a slight arch in the upper back just as powerlifters use, while keeping your butt on the bench. You might be able to get the idea of what I’m talking about by just remembering to pinch your shoulder blades together.  Keep your grip shoulder width apart and slightly tuck the triceps inward to take a little strain off of the front delts. You’re going to want to lower the bar straight down to around the nipples and come straight up. The movement of the bar is much different in power lifting. Instead of fully locking out, you may feel more strain on the chest and triceps to keep the bar about 4 inches from locking out or might only use half reps to concentrate the pectorals. Similarly, you may only lower the bar down to about an inch off of your chest to keep constant tension.

The powerlifting Bench Press: As stated earlier, powerlifters are concentrating purely on moving the weight to a locked out position. The main purpose of this article is to increase those numbers, so if that’s why you’re here, I’d recommend leaning towards the techniques used by power lifters. With this technique you’re going to want to keep your triceps tucked, your back arched as much as possible while keeping your butt on the bench, and you’re going to want to concentrate on explosiveness. Lower the bar down to right around or below the nipple area, and you’re going to want to push the bar back up to a locked out position and move the bar diagonally as you lock out. Here is a video demonstrating a powerlifting technique. As with a bodybuilding technique, keep your feet flat on the ground, and use them to drive force up through your body, while keeping your butt on the bench, to gain more power.

Techniques to increase your bench press

There are many things that everyone can use to increase your bench press from both aspects. I will describe them here.

Shock your triceps! Many people are considered shoulder benchers and do not utilize their triceps enough in the movement. Try tucking your elbows in as shown in the video to drive more power from the triceps. If you do not have strong triceps, now is the time to start training them with exercises such as the close grip bench press, skull crushers, etc.

Train heavy! Strength usually is best obtained using low rep ranges with heavier weight. Train with sets varying from 3-5 reps with as much weight as you can and train to positive failure .

Change your routine. This applies not only to the amount you can bench, but for everything in general exercise science for those wanting to gain strength and size. Your muscle will get used to doing the same things over and over. Take a few weeks of lifting only with dumbbells and shocking your muscles in ways you have not done before. This will bring your bench press up dramatically. Research routines that use speed reps, chains, and other techniques to increase power.

Eat right, sleep right: For both muscle and strength concerns, you need to provide your body with enough protein, carbohydrates, fat, and sleep for it to recover. Do not overtrain your chest. People may respond to volume training or high frequency training but for the most part, you will find that you will benefit from taking a lot of rest in between chest days and increasing calories.

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