Increasing your bench!

[sneezingstardust]

Okay so I'm really, really bad at benching. I know that people tell you, "If you want to be better at squats, SQUAT MORE!!" and all that jazz, but if you're not doing something right, you're not really going to progress . So I'm wondering if you guys have any tips you could give me? (Benching tonight).

I keep a good arch in my back, my foot placement is good, and I use a full ROM, but my arms always seem to give out before my chest, so something tells me I'm not doing something right. My chest isn't SUPER strong, but it's not so terrible either, I don't think...then again, I could be doing everything right but just need to work up strength.

I would take videos, except my gym has banned cameras of any kind - so any info you guys would like to share would be much appreciated

[BendtheBar]

How often do you perform closegrip bench presses or french presses? Usually women have a tendency to under work the triceps (though you are no typical light-weight using woman, obviously), so I thought I would start there...

[RickB]

Are you doing plenty of tricep work? Some of the best things are Close Grip Bench and Skullcrushers imo.

[sneezingstardust]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

How often do you perform closegrip bench presses or french presses? Usually women have a tendency to under work the triceps (though you are no typical light-weight using woman, obviously), so I thought I would start there...

Close-grip bench I'm starting to add into my routine again now that I started a BBing split up again. I do a lot of OH DB/bar extensions/pressing, etc. . always include tricep work. Do you think maybe my hand placement just isn't wide enough, and I'm hitting my triceps more than my chest?

Originally Posted by RickB

Are you doing plenty of tricep work? Some of the best things are Close Grip Bench and Skullcrushers imo.

I do lots of tricep work. Close grip bench, dips, rolling tricep extensions, skullcrushers, etc.


If anything, it's been my chest that gets under-worked.

[CallmeKing]

Idk how tall you are but, I like to put my middle finger around the rings.
When I started doing these it helped me a lot
1. Squezze the bar really tight and act as if you're trying to pull it apart
2. When bringing the bar down really focus on using your lats

Bench Press Articles About Bench Press Technique

there are a sh*tload of articles in here that helped me.

this is pretty basic stuff but a lot overlook it
http://www.criticalbench.com/bench-press-tip.htm

[sneezingstardust]

Originally Posted by CallmeKing

Idk how tall you are but, I like to put my middle finger around the rings.
When I started doing these it helped me a lot
1. Squezze the bar really tight and act as if you're trying to pull it apart
2. When bringing the bar down really focus on using your lats

Bench Press Articles About Bench Press Technique

there are a sh*tload of articles in here that helped me.

this is pretty basic stuff but a lot overlook it
Bench Press Tip

Thanks for the tips and links! Now that I think about it, I don't think I'm bringing my lats/traps into the bench as much as I could be, which might be affecting how tight the movement is.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by sneezingstardust

Close-grip bench I'm starting to add into my routine again now that I started a BBing split up again. I do a lot of OH DB/bar extensions/pressing, etc. . always include tricep work. Do you think maybe my hand placement just isn't wide enough, and I'm hitting my triceps more than my chest?

I do lots of tricep work. Close grip bench, dips, rolling tricep extensions, skullcrushers, etc.

If anything, it's been my chest that gets under-worked.

I used to do close grips with a fairly narrow grip, but now I hit them about 4 inches tighter then a bench press. I feel my pecs working this way, but the focus is more heavily on the triceps.

Are your elbows at "about" 45 degrees when you bench? If you stand up and raise your elbows out 45 degrees and lift your hands up, this is about how wide you want your bench grip.

[cooltom]

When you arch your back and lay on the bench, make sure to keep your upper back tight as well, as if pinching your scapulae together. Also, try to tuck your elbows in to your sides: don't let them flair out. When I do both of these, the weight goes up a bit better.

Also, everything that has been said by CallMeKing, Rick, and BTB is critical as well.

For triceps work, I like dips and floor presses. The latter you can do with a barbell or a set of dumbbells. I did them yesterday for the first time in a while, and my triceps are very, very sore.

[onetiredkris]

Originally Posted by cooltom

When you arch your back and lay on the bench, make sure to keep your upper back tight as well, as if pinching your scapulae together. Also, try to tuck your elbows in to your sides: don't let them flair out. When I do both of these, the weight goes up a bit better.

^Ye, i like to focus on keeping the back tight as well. And rather than thinking about pushing the weight up, ill think about shoving my back into the pad as hard as possible.

Experiment on your grip distance, i recently spread my grip more than normal and found it really helped my bench.

[Mombow111]

So you're having trouble locking the weight out? Have you given partials a shot?