Yesterday a friend came over to train in my home gym.
He weighs about 72kg (165lbs) & told me his Bench Press was stuck at 60kg (132lbs)
I watched his technique & gave him a few tips. He went home with a 70kg (154lbs) Bench Press max. Here’s how.
1. Use Your Thumbs. Forget the thumbless grip. Put your thumbs around the bar. This is:
- Safer: the bar can not roll out of your hands
- More effective: more power can be transferred to the bar
2. Squeeze The Bar. Not only should you use your thumbs, you should also squeeze the bar.
Try to break the bar apart, as if you were breaking spaghetti. This will involve more muscles leading to more weight.
3. Be Fast. One rule for all exercises: lift as fast as you can. All sports are done fast, strength training included. The only reason the gym manager don’t want you to lift fast, is so you don’t break his equipment.
The faster you go, the bigger the weights you can move:
- Touch & go: explode from the bottom
- Be as fast as you can on the way up
Then try to go even faster on the next set.
4. Keep Your Upper Back Tight. This will make you more stable on the bench:
- Put your shoulderblades back & down
- Bring your chest forward
- Drive against the bench
