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How many of these common bench press mistakes are you making?
A few days ago I visited a local gym and whilst warming up, preparing to train, in walked 'The Bencher'. Perhaps you know him or know someone like him. 'The Bencher' didn't bother with a warmup but went straight in on his first set with a weight of 70 kg.
He then proceeded to employ a fast descent speed and bounced that weight off his chest. Fascinated now, I continued to watch 'The Bencher' as he progressed with his bench press workout. He added weight on each set but took each set to the limit. As he ground those last repetitions out on each set his hips came off the bench, his head waved from side to side, and his feet would tap dance across the floor.
Upper body marathon
As the weight got heavier the bounce got progressively bigger off his chest and the locking out of the weight, less even. After seven torturous sets he left the bench press to continue with his upper body workout. Actually, upper body marathon would be a more apt description as 'The Bencher' did multiple sets of nearly every chest exercise known to man. Incline pressing then decline pressing then dips followed by the pec-deck machine then flys, and to finish off, cable crossovers.
You probably expect this fellow to have a 60 inch chest and be benching 300 pounds. In reality, his last set on the bench was a 100 kg for 2 reps in atrocious style. What's more, he possessed a chest like the inside of a spoon. The fellow isn't lacking in enthusiasm - he's trained regularly for four years. However, his bench press hasn't increased for two years and neither has his development improved. What is he doing wrong? He's actually typical of many trainees up and down the country. Every gym has a one. You may know someone like him or even (heaven forbid!) recognise some of him in you.
So what is to be done and how can regular progress be maintained?
Firstly, correct and safe technique has to be applied. A list of some facets of correct bench-pressing technique are as follows.
- Keep the head still at all times.
- Keep the eyes on the bar at all times.
- Employ a controlled and steady descent speed.
- Spot the bar at nipple level.
- Pause the bar briefly at the chest - never bounce the bar.
- Breathe IN during the descent, breathe OUT during the ascent.
- Keep the feet and torso still during the lifts.
In addition, remember to warm up in a safe manner. It isn't the poundage that you start with that matters, it's the poundage that you finish with that counts. If necessary, warm-up with just the bar, then go up in steady and safe increments.
Many trainees I see push out as many repetitions as they can on warm-up sets.
This is a mistake. Warm-up sets are exactly that - warm-up sets in order to prepare the body for a number of quality sets. Many trainees just starting out ask me what the best exercise is to add size and bulk to the upper body. The answer is, of course, the bench press. For size and bulk one should work predominantly for STRENGTH. There may be a few exceptions, but in 99% of all cases everyone who can bench press 300 pounds (properly) will have a big, thick chest. Think about that for a while. Size is normally directly tied in with strength.
So if you are a beginner, or you've plateaued, forget the fancy movements such as the cable crossovers or the pec-decks, and concentrate on getting your bench press poundage up. With that goal in mind, please do not try to attempt your maximum single everytime you bench press. That will only lead you to becoming stale or injured. Rather, set out a plan of workouts over a number of months that will prepare you for a maximum single and keep to the schedule.
There are as many successful routines as there are successful lifters or bodybuilders but a simple tried and tested routine is as follows. Calculate 10 weeks away from when you intend to do your maximum single and gradually zero in towards your goal. A routine to achieve a new maximum 240lbs on the bench press might look like this.
Make a plan and work steadily towards increasing your bench press poundage. One cannot be strong all the time so a routine of this type allows the lifter to peak with a top poundage and then re-group, so to speak, starting the routine from week 10 again but with slightly elevated poundages from the previous routine.
By all means use different exercises after the key one - the bench press - but don't fall into the "more is better" mentality of using loads of chest exercises. Work sensibly and leave room for your body to recover. In summary then, utilise safe technique, warm up carefully, plan your workout and follow your plan. Work hard, but work smart, use good nutrition and supplement wisely and your goal of increased upper body power will be realised.
Derek Cope
