Posted by Nick in reply to How to Bench Press With Proper Technique:

“I’m on your Beginner Strength Training Program. Doing 5×5 with 165lbs on the Bench Press. But I’m close to failure on the later reps in the 4th and 5th set.

I Bench Press on a smith machine because of this. I know you don’t approve the smith machine for Squats but what about the Bench Press?

My gym is open 24 hours. I go late at night or early in the morning. I’m often the only one lifting weights. I don’t want to get stuck with a bar on my chest. How can I Bench Press safely when I’m alone?

Ask For Help. You train alone so a training partner is out of the question. What you can do:

• Ask someone training at the gym to help you
• Ask the gym manager to help you
• Take someone with you to help you
• Schedule your Bench Press at times people are there to help

My advice is to schedule your Bench Press session when someone is there to help. You have your reasons to train in the morning or late at night. Unfortunately you’ll have to sacrifice. It’s either this or the smith machine.

Stay Away From Failure. If you think you can’t do another rep: stop the set.

Example, you’re in set 4. Your goal is 5 reps, but you feel after the 3rd rep another one will be hard or impossible: stop. Set 4 is over. Do your 5th set. Try to get as many reps as you can. Stop again when you think you’ll fail.

Take note of the number of reps you achieved & try to beat this the week after. As long as you’re a beginner: stop when you think you can’t do another rep. It’s better to stop too soon than to get injured.

Bench Inside the Power Rack. Know what you’re doing for this one: this isn’t 100% safe. Rule number one: learn to Bench Press correctly: press the weight above your chest, not towards your face.

Power racks come with safety pins. Set the pins at about the same height the bar touches your chest. Not too high so the bar doesn’t hit the pins. Not too low so you can put the bar on the pins in case you miss the lift.

If you fail the rep: lower the bar back to your chest. Let it rest on the safety pins by pulling your stomach in & get under the bar. You’ll look like a clown doing this: don’t care about it. Being a clown is better than getting injured.

You can’t use this if you’re pressing 200kg. I used this method for weights up to 90kg. I wouldn’t trust anything above 100Kg as it becomes too heavy. But for weights lower it works if you use your head & know what you do.