When it comes to us guys, the amount of weight that we can bench press is very important to us. The question “how much can you bench” pops up pretty often when two guys discuss working out. This measure of strength is almost as vital as how big our muscles are. What most people don’t realize, is that it’s very easy to increase your bench, you just have to be smart about it. The following is a primer about the best way to do it.
The bench press is a compound exercise that involves most of the upper body, the chest, shoulders, arms, and of course, the core. So to become better at it, you need to strengthen all of those muscles. They all work in unison during the press, so it is very important to make sure that they can all hold their own. Don’t forget that muscles are not just used for strength; they also provide stability. Hence, it is necessary to train the upperbody muscles to be strong AND stable.
Based on these factors, it’s evident that the best way to increase your bench press is through a workout that combines the bench press movement, compound upperbody stability movements, and muscle-isolation exercises. The following is a sample of such a workout:
-12 reps Chest Press with Dumbbells and legs on bench or in the air
-15 pushups on either Bosu or Stability Ball
-12 widegrip pullups
-plank, hold for one minute.
Here’s the philosophy behind this workout. The chest press is the same maneuver as the bench press except that it forces you to put more effort into stabilizing and controlling the weight. Keeping your legs on the bench or in the air forces the pectorals and the core muscles to work harder. Pushups are a great exercise with which to follow up the chest press. Through the use of the BOSU and Stability Balls the muscles are overloaded by having to offer strength and stability. Wide grip pullups are good because they strengthen the back and shoulders, which are important muscles used during the bench press. Lastly, the plank is crucial because a stronger core means a stronger body (i.e. heavier bench press).
So when you are working on increasing your bench keep in mind that you don’t need to be benching every time that you work out in order to be able to put up more weight. Rather you just need to strengthen the muscles involved with exercises that both strengthen them and work on their stability.
Give this workout a try and let me know the gains that you have made. I can promise you that if you try this for a few weeks, you will see a noticable difference.
