Bench Blog RSS

💥 BACK TIGHTNESS 💥
 
 
Keeping back tightness and being able to really load the bench press really comes down to scapular depression and your ability to maintain the position throughout the bench press.
 
 
 
 
 
The 🔑 component is to keep the position we started off with in our setup where we tried to create maximal tension and maintain that throughout the movement. If we lose our scapular position and let our shoulder blades creep upwards you’re also going to lose out on back tightness and overall positioning.
 
 
 
 
 
We want to pinch the shoulder blades together and rotate them downwards. If there’s a side of the bench you can grab onto to really jam yourself into position it can be a huge help. By driving your shoulder blades to the hips and constantly trying to keep tension in that position you’ll be able to maintain tightness throughout the movement.
 

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💥 BREATHE AND REACH 💥
 
 
Cutting range of motion is a useful tool you can use to increase your bench press strength. Most of us happen to be stronger off of a board press rather than touching the chest because you’re pressing a shorter range of motion. If you’ve already maxed out your arch or just don’t a great one going for you this trick can help you instantly cut your range of motion on the bench press.
 
 
 
 
 
When you breathe and brace on the bench press it’s unlike a squat or a deadlift because there’s no load that you’re directly supporting with your core. When you normally setup and brace while you’re in a good position you’re not getting the most out of cutting down range of motion.
 
 
 
 
 
Next time you go to bench think of reaching your upper ab towards the bar. We want to breathe and try to inflate our touch point. You can think of it as trying to meet the bar halfway. By doing this we’re driving up and shortening our range of motion on the press.
 
 
 
 
This is one of the few things that you can try out on your next bench session that will instantly make a difference on the bench.
 
🔥 We are always looking to add highly motivated athletes to our team! If you want to make some substantial progress in strength and technique, use the link below to apply to our coaching program today!

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💥 CHAIN SETUP  💥 

 

Chains are a great tool to use to up your bench press. Sure you can just slap them on the bar and start benching but you’re never getting the full effect of the chain that you would on a squat or a deadlift because of how small the range of motion is on the bench

 

 

To really maximize how useful chains are I use this method of setting them up in my own training. First we need a smaller leader chain, this shouldn’t weigh too much and we’re just using it to attach the chain to a strap loader or the bar itself. You would loop this around to the appropriate height for your bench

 

 

Next you would take your heavy chain and half it. From there you would attach a carabiner clip through the middle of the chain. This should leave you with 4 links that should hang to the ground.  If you’re having trouble finding a big enough clip searching for a shop that sells climbing equipment is your friend

 

 

Now you have a chain bunch that you can hang onto the leader chain you might need to do some adjustments to ensure that some of the links are dragging on the ground when you begin the press so that it doesn’t sway the bar around on you

 

 

Using chain bunches now is the only way I setup chains for the bench press. It lets you get a bigger deload on the bottom and unlike a normal setup is effective for benchers like myself who have a short range of motion

 

 

🔥 We are always looking to add highly motivated athletes to our team! If you want to make some substantial progress in strength and technique, use the link below to apply to our coaching program today!

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💥 GRIP TIGHTNESS 💥
 
 
Do you just go and grab the bar when you bench? If you want to maximize your grip tightness this is not the way to go about it.

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💥 Beginner Bench 💥
 
 
 
Powerlifting is a great sport that lets you prioritize training for maximum strength. The bench press is also a household name but a powerlifting style bench press is way different than your standard press. We want to shorten the range of motion, prevent injury and turn the bench press into a full body movement. These next 3 tips will take you from a standard gym goer to a budding bench presser!

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