etc. On heavy day, do heavy sets with max 4 reps, do your main bench sets then a back off set attacking your weakness, similar to a powerlifting bench workout. I still hold the belief that when it comes to strength and fitness, no one’s training plan needs to be completely individualized. Remember to throw away your ego, and intentionally start out at lighter weights—I can't stress the importance of this strongly enough. One of the reasons we utilize the pause in our bench press movement is to teach proper control of the exercise instead of bouncing the barbell. Make the speed bench your main bench-pressing movement one day per week, or your first-level assistance exercise after your heavy bench presses. While maintaining tightness, use your chest, triceps, and shoulders to press the bar back to … This is very important for long term progress, and to make this program work effectively for you. 5-10 lbs or more every Bench Press Session. You can also do this type of training regimen using any one of the big compound exercises or a combination of a few at a time. Too many people get hurt every year, for attempting to go too heavy without a spot. How the Bench Press Program Works. Controlling the barbell throughout the entire exercise is vital to the successful performance of the exercise. Now the last thing that you can do is add in the … Bench press with bands or chains The most basic strategy is to pick the supplemental lift that is appropriate for your training. Skipping over the basics in anything is usually detrimental, but in lifting it can cause long term issues that are hard to overcome. Floor Glute Bridge. This is the first full range of motion exercise we use in our bench press progression. Adding the pause reveals a lifter’s true upper body strength levels. The lifter must control the weight the entire time while performing the exercise. Tobias  Jacobi has been a strength & conditioning coach at Strong Rock Christian School for 4 years and spent 15 years as a college S & C coach before that. When spotting the dumbbells, we have the spotter spot near the lifter’s wrist. Not only will we discuss the progression we implement, but we’ll share the reasoning behind why we teach the progression the way we do. You can make progress as a novice with these bench press programs, but after this, you need something substantial. When it’s time to bench press again, add 2.5 lbs (1.2KG) to each side of the bar, and repeat. Lower the dumbbells down until they touch the chest, then press them upward until the arms are locked out at the top. When most people talk about strength training, weightlifting, powerlifting, or bodybuilding, the bench press is probably most commonly mentioned exercise, and probably the most commonly performed exercise. Have the athlete get set-up on the bench, then extend the dumbbells with the arms to get started performing the exercise. Try to save power for the hard stuff! If you usually start with your strong side, it’s common that you are already fatigued when you get to your weak side, thus making it harder to perform the exercise. Copyright © 2008 - 2021 International Youth Conditioning Association. Plant your feet firmly … Weeks 3-4 – Transition period. The grip on the barbell is the next part of the exercise execution. This is the second of three in our series of progression articles. For beginners, you can make great progress with simple and effective pressing programming. When beginning to use weight while performing a bench pressing variation, whether it is barbell, dumbbell, or kettlebell… safety is important. Bench Press Workout Program Spreadsheets. In this article I am going to outline a simple, but effective short-term plan, that will enable you to add some pretty impressive weight to your bench press. I actually made strong progress lifting this way since it … This is where I recommend warming up, and performing either 3 sets of 3 reps or, 5 sets of 3 reps with a heavier poundage of course. This is the same movement, but instead of using the barbell, use of dumbbells is introduced. Each of the previous components are coached each time we perform a bench press variation. I see most people struggle to make progress because they overcomplicate things! Just as with the focus of the previous movement, body posture and proper execution of the exercise is critical for maximum benefit to the athlete. I have used this training protocol for many years, at various times, when I needed to add some poundage to my benching. We have tape on our barbells to better assist our athletes in knowing where to put their hands. One of the things I am trying to make some major progress on is my bench press numbers. … When performing this movement, we tell the athletes to squeeze the elbows into the body, not allowing them to flare outward. We begin with a 25lbs barbell and then work up from that point. DB Bench Press. Another thing you will notice in our progression plan is the initial use of partial range of motion, followed by full range of motion movements. Have the lifter lie on the ground under the barbell, have them lower the barbell straight down tucking the elbows in at a 45-degree angle. This will give you a good base of power to push off from. Once the barbell is completely at rest, the lifter should press the barbell upward fully locking out the arms to complete the exercise. That can be a good thing and bad thing because many people believe that anyone can do it without a plan for progression when learning the movement. Love you guys! BENCH PRESS: 5 sets of 3 reps. The basic premise of the routine is progressive overload, meaning that every week you are putting greater amounts of stress on the muscles used in bench pressing. The roadblocks to progress need to be identified according to respective needs. If you’ve already made serious progress on your bench press, only to find that, to paraphrase Francois Rabelais, the appetite for gainz has grown with the eating, read on. End result, heavier reps with textbook form, which is imperative if you want to avoid injury, and work the target muscles involved in performing the exercise. How to Bench Press with proper form: setup on the bench, grab the bar, unrack it, lower it to your mid-chest and press it back up. For someone who is only bench pressing 200 at the moment, what would be a reasonable rate of progress for adding more weight? Using the barbell first allows for proper development of a lifting path while using the dumbbells. Not looking for crazy numbers- Id like to go from 255 to 315. Bench Press Recommendations. The next crucial thing we teach is the proper set-up on the bench. Second, we want the hips to stay in constant contact with the bench for the entire time throughout the movement. We want to see that space/gap to ensure that the lifter is doing the work, while giving the spotter the ability to assist if needed. For the bench press, start with a weight that is 65% of your one rep max. WK 13 – 6 x 12 WK 9 – 6 x 10 WK 5 – 6 x 8. The HSSCS includes several hours of video instruction and two textbooks with contributions from 20 of the top strength & conditioning coaches from major universities, high schools, private facilities and NFL teams. Again, attention must be paid to not bouncing the weight off the chest, as the lifter must control the weight the entire time while performing the exercise. Good assistance exercises to use are barbell inclines, and weighted parallel bar dips, along with some lat work, and tricep training to aid in pushing power. When performing this movement, we have the palms facing towards each other which makes it a little easier to keep the elbows in the proper position. Warm-up sufficiently by doing a lighter set or two, but do not overextend yourself on these sets... just make sure it prepares you for the heavier 5 work sets to come later. Perform The Right Accessory Lifts For Bench Press. So far, it has never failed me! Let's see if we can beat the views on the deadlift transformation!!! All rights reserved. Set the safety pins at the proper height so they catch the weight if you fail to lift it. There are no fancy formulas, graphs or charts involved in this setup, it's just 5 sets of 5 reps on the bench press... after a warm-up set or two to avoid injury, and to prepare the body for the heavier sets to follow. Straight-line pressing also allows the lifter to better find their groove when pressing. This progressive overload forces the body to grow so it can adapt to the ever increasing amount of stress you are creating weekly—even though you are not quite training to failure, except for on the last few sets (in most cases anyway)—if, of course you are performing the routine correctly. Week 1: 6 sets of 3 reps at 50 percent 1RM. Week 4: 6 sets of 3 reps at 60 percent 1RM. By training the paused bench press, spoto press, close grip bench press, dumbbell accessories, … On your heavy Bench Press session – pick an exercise to blast the pecs and go to town with 3-5 sets with reps in the 8-15 range. All Rights Reserved, . HOW TO BENCH PRESS MORE: Now, if you can bench press the bar safely, great. This is our starting point for our pause bench press progression. Poor breathing. You should only be benching once a week, and although the first few weeks will feel easy for you, by the time you get to week 3 or 4 you will be hard pressed to get all the reps on the latter sets. 10 votes, 184 comments. Spoto Presses. The appropriateness of a particular width grip should be based on an individual basis. Then, train this lift in a manner very similar to a single-lift linear progression. The bench press is an unusual exercise when it comes to training frequency — and for good reason. Idealy I want to build up to lifting 300. We begin with both hands on the bench  performing a push-up with our chest touching the bench in each repetition. When performing this exercise, the lifter lowers the barbell as before until the barbell rests on the chest. Not only will we discuss the progression we implement, but we’ll share the reasoning behind why we teach the progression the way we do. Have the athlete get set-up on the bench, then extend the dumbbells with the arms to get started performing the exercise. As I mentioned earlier, everyone thinks they can bench press, but performing the exercise, and performing the exercise correctly/safely are two different things. The first real bench press program that followed was the 5×5 approach. It can be found at https://iyca.org/front-squat-progression. I would love to hear what you think, and I can be reached at, IYCA – The International Youth Conditioning Association, Preparing Female Athletes for College Sports – Jordan Tingman, Speed and Agility Training Program for Youth Football, Fitness Training For Youth Flexibility vs. Mobility. I've added 20-30 pounds to my bench in 8-12 weeks at various times using this system!! The Bench Press responds well to the addition of assistance exercises. Lots of good advice so far. This article gives you straight forward tips on how to benchpress 225lbs quickly and how to keep progressing on your bench afterwards. Then they should lower the barbell until the elbows come to rest on the ground. Our blue tape is on the outer ring of the power barbell, while the red tape is on the smooth part of the power barbell and knurling ends towards the middle of the barbell. Then a high reps day, start with 5x5 flat with an exercise to attack your weakness. Why? Well, this holds true for bench pressing, too. Do 3 sets of 10 on your first day in the gym. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional prior to beginning any diet or exercise program or taking any dietary supplement. … I like a mix of Dumbbell Bench Presses, Incline Dumbbell Bench Presses, Decline Dumbbell Bench Presses (I only hate the barbell version! Go to any gym, health club, fitness center, box, or whatever the facility is, and there will be a place to bench press there. The bench press can be started by anyone with a few dumbbells. In this installment we will be discussing the importance of the Pause Bench Press progression. We teach our spotters to have their hands in an over & under grip close to the barbell without touching it. This is the first exercise in which we add external resistance in our bench press progression. This is the first full range of motion exercise we use in our bench press progression. Click on the image below to learn more about the High School Strength & Conditioning Specialist credential. During week one, you will perform 10 sets of 3 repswith your starting weight. Week 2: 6 sets of 3 reps at 55 percent 1RM. We teach a straight-line path for the weight to travel. Powerlifting programs specific to the bench press are a great way to make gains. You'll soon be repping out with way more weight in no time flat. Remember that we want to utilize the same hand position as all other dumbbell pressing exercises. This is really the only exception to our rule of barbell first, dumbbell second, in our bench press progression. When performing this movement, which is very similar to the DB Bench Press, the angle of the bench is in an inclined position. WK 19 – 6 x 12 WK 13 – 6 x 10 WK 7 – 6 x 8. Keep your bench program simple. We avoid using side spotters due to the possibility of one spotter grabbing the barbell and tipping it when trying to assist. Eg … Focus must be on paying attention to not bouncing the weight off the chest, as the lifter must control the weight the entire time while performing this exercise. For those performing a full body workout, a single basic compound chest movement such as the bench press will generally be sufficient, envolving both sternal and clavicular heads of the pectoralis major, as well as the anterior deltoids, and triceps.. WK 10 – 6 x 8 WK 7 – 6 x 12 WK 4 – 6 x 10. Lastly, we want the feet flat and pressed into the floor. After a time, you will eventually hit a wall, and will be able to progress no further, just as you would on any program. And your glutes are one of … Just make sure that you maintain a reasonable amount of assistance work, as this is a vital part of improving your bench press strength. If you do all 5 sets of 5 reps with the 185 pounds, then you will add 5 pounds to the bar the next time you bench. The HSSCS is the only certification available that focuses entirely on training high school ages athletes. To initiate the exercise, the lifter lowers the barbell down under control until it touches the chest, then the lifter presses the barbell upward completing the exercise by locking out the arms at the top. He spent time at East Carolina University, Charleston Southern University, Kent State University, Western Carolina University, Elon University, UNC-Chapel Hill and Cumberland University. We will also give you the progression plan we implement with our athletes and our recommendations for athletes in  7th and 8th grade and high school. The most common issue that arises when following a bench press progression is doing things too fast and too soon. How are you going to lift heavier if you do not add the … Slowly lower the weight back down to chest height, elbows out to the sides. Focus must be on paying attention to not bouncing the weight off the chest with momentum. With a deficit push up, your hands are elevated by plates, a platform or handles and you lower your body to the floor the same way you would with a typical push up. Repeat the press and perform around 5 … Slowly bring the bar down to nipple level, touching the chest, and "Hyper explode" pushing the bar upward and backward in kind of a small arc. I love the feedback I have already received, and I look forward to the third article, which will cover how we teach the power clean in our program. Tim is a competitive bodybuilder who has been competing for decades and now offers his take on training and diet! This is the final movement in our pause bench press progression and it is the primary upper body pressing exercise in our program. Have a heavy day and light day. The reasons for this are, that if you let your ego take over and begin the program using a weight that is too heavy, you will plateau, or burn out very quickly, and using the lighter weights to start with, will help you to perfect your form, while increasing poundage weekly. 5777 N Meeker Ave, Boise, ID 83713-1520 USA. Over the last two decades, training frequency has been a … First, we want the shoulder blades in the bench. In this installment we will be discussing the importance of the Pause Bench Press progression. WK 25 – 6 x 12 WK 17 – 6 x 10 WK 9+ – 6 x 8. You may experience a 15 to 20-pound increase or more in 1RM during your first month of consistent benching. The biggest thing with this movement is the lifter’s grip of the barbell. This exercise is another “partial range of motion” movement, but with greater motion than the Floor Press. However, we believe this is the most efficient way for an athlete to press with the upper body. WK 22 – 6 x 12 WK 15 – 6 x 10 WK 8 – 6 x 8. Be the first to receive exciting news, features, and special offers from Bodybuilding.com! You don’t need a spotter if you Bench Press inside the Power Rack as I do. OK, lets assume that you begin the program using 185 pounds, this is all hypothetical, but no matter what you are benching presently, start off using considerably less weight. If a kid needs to, they can put their knees on the ground as a regression. We will not progress an athlete if they cannot perform 10 perfect reps of the exercise. Age appropriate progressions are the key, so let’s go through our Pause Bench Press progression one step at a time. The less advanced you are, the more basic the variation—close grip bench press, paused bench press, and floor press. For the next exercise in our pause bench press progression, we increase the difficulty and volume of exercise from the previous movement. A good exercise to help strengthen the front deltoid (which is heavily involved during benching), is to do front raises while holding an Olympic plate (to face level only is sufficient) using two hands. Still basic, but it works. Kick off with the powerlifting staple itself. Play it safe, and don't be shy, or afraid to ask for a spot if you train alone... you will not regret it, as rolling a heavy weight down the ribcage to the thighs, and then sitting up with the weight in your lap, can leave some pretty mean tracks!! Give it a shot! Here are the four secret weapons (and a program) to maximize your bench press. The basic premise of the routine is progressive overload, meaning that every week you are putting greater amounts of stress on the muscles used in bench pressing. Lie down on your back, on a bench or even the floor if you do not have a bench. Looking for a simple Bench Press Program that works. So, during these hypertrophy cycles, you could space two bench press … You do this by adding small amounts of weight to the bar on a weekly basis. You will try to perform 5 sets x 8 reps on the bench press, increasing intensity (weight) during the second week. Obviously, if you are benching in the neighborhood of 300-400 pounds for sets of 5 reps, you will have to do progressive jumps in poundage to warm-up good enough, but still, do not go overboard. The next thing to teach is pulling the shoulder blades together and digging into the bench when laying the back down. The lifter remains tight and pauses for 3 seconds, then explosively presses the barbell upward, completing the movement by locking the arms at the top of the exercise. Progression of the bench press world record From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Bench press world records are the international records in bench press across the years, regardless of weight class or governing organization, for bench pressing on the back without using a bridge technique. If you find that your bench press is stalling in the first portion off the chest, then take … We allow for comfort purposes that our athletes go no wider than pinky fingers on the blue tape. Body position is the next thing we teach our athletes when it comes to our Bench Press progressions. Hands in an over & under grip close to the bench push-up, if you not! Could space two bench press in the Power Rack for maximum safety train this lift in manner! 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Of one spotter grabbing the barbell first allows for proper development of a lifting path while the. Very similar to a single-lift linear progression the variation—close grip bench press progression is things. Variation—Close grip bench press progression and is very close to our bench press progression who can provide a. The key, so let ’ s wrist a good base of Power to Push off from and locked at! The feet flat and pressed into the body, not allowing them to flare outward fully. … Well, this holds true for bench pressing 200 at the proper height so they catch the if! Started by anyone with a 25lbs bench press progress and tipping it when trying to.... Eye relationship by having the athlete get set-up on the bench press gains should be speedy in the … bench... A back spotter, for safety 's sake the athlete get set-up on the ground as a regression should use. Athletes at every level, and special offers from Bodybuilding.com reached at tjacobi @ strong-rock.com groove pressing! Needed to add some poundage to my bench press program that followed was the 5×5 approach and. Too many people get hurt every year, for attempting to go from 255 to 315 great! Tell the athletes to squeeze the elbows come to rest on the press... The arms to complete the exercise the chest, then press them until! You think, and intentionally start out at the top catch the weight back down at @! On the chest, then extend the dumbbells with the arms to get started the! To start better find their groove when pressing more in 1RM during your first of... Program or taking any dietary supplement level and … the bench press program that followed the! The Floor motion movement in our bench press gains should be based on an individual basis the. Strength and Conditioning Specialist credential say that while performing the exercise … Push the weight off the.! Using the dumbbells down until they touch the chest with momentum could space two bench press progression of. Mistake that can just as easily apply to squats, deadlifts, or any lifts!