7 fastest ways to increase your bench

Introduction

In this Critical Bench Special Report we’re going to
embark on the road to a 300 plus pound bench press. It’s
no surprise that everyone fights over the benches at the
gym on Monday evenings. The bench press or variation of it
should be a staple of every program. If you’re one of the
people scrambling for an open bench you’re on the right
track. When done correctly the bench press can be a full
body exercise that will make you harder, thicker, stronger
and more muscular in the least amount of time. Here are
some tips you can use right now to increase your max in the
bench press and set a personal record. Implement some or
all of these techniques next time you workout to bust
through your own bench press rut and add pounds to your one

rep max.

1. Tuck Your Elbows
Almost everyone you talk to says they want to increase
their bench press, but not everyone actually bench presses.
The number one excuse I get, “I can’t bench press because
my shoulders hurt.” Its true bench pressing with bad form
can cause shoulder injuries but there is a way to alleviate
this. I had the same issues myself and thought my heavy
benching days were over. That is until several years ago
when I met with a powerlifting coach and discovered this
tip.
As you bench press, keep your elbows tucked in close
to your body. By doing this the path of the bar will
change a bit. The bar will touch a little lower on your
chest right below your nipples. The fact you’re touching
the bar lower on your chest will decrease the pressure on
your deltoids.
The further you are from your center the less leverage
you have. When you tuck your elbows and keep them from
flaring out you transfer the load to your triceps taking
pressure off the shoulder complex.
Touching the bar lower and keeping your elbows in
close will allow the bar to travel in a straight line. We
all know the fastest way from point A to point B is with a
straight line. Give this technique a try. You may drop in
poundage the first few workouts, but you’ll skyrocket past

where you were in the past in record time.

2. Decrease the Range Of Motion
There are a few ways to accomplish this. First of all
widen your grip on the bar. If your pinkie finger is on
the knurling of the bar, than move it out to your ring
finger. Eventually you’ll want to move your grip out so
that your pointer finger is on the rings. Don’t make too
big of a jump at once, take a month or two to move out one
finger at a time. This is common sense, the wider your
grip the less distance you’re pressing.
Next you’re going to want to retract your shoulder
blades. Picture yourself doing a cable row. At the end of
the movement you pull your shoulders back, squeeze your
back and bring your scapulas together. This should be how
your start the bench press. It removes several inches from

the range of motion and keeps your body tight.

Arch your back. Your butt,
shoulder blades, and head should
always be in contact with the bench,
but its okay to arch your lower back.
If this isn't natural for you, you
can place a foam roller under your
lower pack for practice. Once again
this brings your chest closer to the
bar during the eccentric movement

decreasing the path the bar travels

3. Hold Your Air
As a personal trainer I
typically teach my clients to take
a deep breathe in during the negative
portion of the lift and tell them to
exhale during the concentric part of
the exercise. When it comes to
maximum effort work it’s another ball
game. The rules that apply to high
rep training are thrown out the
window.
Fill your stomach with air before
you unrack the bar and hold that air until the lift is
completed. It may take practice but try to fill your belly

with air rather than your chest. If you let you air out 
during a max lift attempt, your body will move making you
unstable. Holding your air keeps your entire body tight
and gives you a stable base to press from.
Some people actually prefer to take two airs. This
means they take one breathe when they unrack the bar. Than
while holding the bar at lockout they exhale and take
another breathe before starting to descend. Give both

techniques a try and see which you prefer.

4. Rep Ranges
Plain and simple change your rep ranges. If you’ve
already achieved the muscle mass you’re looking for and you
want to focus on making your strength level match your
looks than it’s time to decrease the reps you’re doing in
the bench press.
When you train with low reps your strength gains are
neurological: You develop a greater ability to recruit
muscle fibers. You won’t necessarily get bigger from this
rep range but you will increase the weight you can lift.
If you’ve been training for hypertrophy in the 6-12
rep range drop your reps to fives to start. The classic
5x5 program is a huge strength builder. Once your
stabilizers have adapted to lower reps the meat of your
program will be triples. Triples are the “nectar” of
strength gains and should be the foundation of your bench
routine.
When your reps drop, guess what else happens? You got
it, the weights go up. The heavier loads will force your
bones, tendons and CNS to adapt. All are essential in
getting stronger. Maybe your muscles can handle the weight
but if your tendons can’t and your CNS can’t than you’re in

for a shock. Pun intended.

5. Training Partners
If you’re not on the Hammer Strength Machine or the
Smith Machine, than you’re going to need a spotter. Best
case scenario, find a buddy to do the same routine as you
or just ask someone that trains at the same time if they
want to up their max as well. If you can’t find someone
you’re going to have to suck it up and ask a stranger for
some help. Make sure it’s not a guy that wants to work on
his cheat curls at your expense! If you absolutely must
train alone be sure you have access to a power cage with
pins in case you come up short.
Training partners will keep you accountable. It’s a
lot harder to take the day off when someone is relying on
you to be there. Motivate and encourage each other,
everyone has an off day from time to time but it’s not
likely you’ll both have an off day together. To build a
big bench you need to be consistent and training partners
keep you on track.
Internet forums can be a double edged sword. On one
hand you can talk to people all over the world and pick up
training tips from elite level lifters. On the other hand
many forums today have turned into “troll” boards or a
place where anonymous posters criticize and bash each
other. At the Critical Bench Muscle Forum we have created
an online environment that is supportive and positive.
There are several sponsored pro athletes available to help
you with any of your strength training questions. Although
people can’t physically help you through the computer
screen they can provide motivation and help you create a
plan of attack when you’re not sure how to proceed.
In addition you can keep an online training log or
training diary to track your progress and set goals for
future work outs. 

6. Squeeze The Bar
You’ll notice that most big benchers have massive
forearms. This helps control the bar. Grip the bar low in
the palm and keep your wrists straight. This helps
transfer your power straight to the bar. When you place
the bar too high in your hands your wrists may bend and
even become sore. A pair of APT wrist wraps will also help

you keep your wrists straight.
By squeezing the bar as hard as you can you will
recruit more active motor units. The harder you can
contract a muscle the better you can demonstrate strength
in that muscle. You can contract a muscle much harder if
you also contract the muscles surrounding it. Try flexing
your bicep. Now flex your bicep while making a fist. You

should get a much stronger contraction while making a fist.
Now apply this same principle to the bench press.
Squeeze the bar as hard as you can and keep your entire
body tight and contracted. You’ll be able to recruit the
individual muscle groups needed for a monster bench much
more efficiently when using this tactic.

7. Don’t Neglect Other Muscle Groups
Your bench is going to get stronger on days you’re not
training bench. That’s right. You grow and get stronger
while you’re recovering. There are also other important
muscle groups that need attention if you want to break your
bench press rut.
When you start the lift you are primarily using your
pecs, but after a few inches your triceps will take over so
we’ll need to strengthen those triceps with some exercises
like rolling dumbbell extensions and dumbbell floor
presses.
Your back needs attention as well. You need to train
the antagonist muscle group to avoid imbalances. Your lats
also serve as a shelf and give you a more stable base to
push from. Your back muscles help you stabilize the weight
in the eccentric phase which makes up half the lift! Work
your back on the same plane as your bench. Bench friendly
back movements include barbell rows and close grip lat pull
downs.
This is a bench report so luckily you won’t have to
squat and deadlift right? Wrong! Squats and deadlifts
trigger your body to release growth hormone and will
temporarily raise testosterone levels in your blood. This
puts you in an anabolic state and all your other muscles
will benefit. These are compound exercises that will add
muscle mass and work your entire body. Besides you don’t’
want to look like a light bulb do you? You know the type,
guys with a huge upper body and tiny chicken legs. The

deadlift will build your back up big time.
Now for the good news. Bicep training can actually
help your bench. The hammer curl significantly targets the
brachioradialis which is the largest muscle in the forearm.
Developing this muscle will help you at the bottom of the
bench press and you can build your biceps at the same time.
If you’re ready for that 300-400 plus pound bench
press than open your mind to the possibility. Before your
body can perform something your mind has to accept it as
reality. So get your head on straight, try out some of
these bench press tips and get ready to claim first dibs on

any bench you want at the gym.

Overview Of The “Rut Busting Bench Press Matrix”
Monday – Chest/Triceps
Bench Press 5 sets of 3 reps
Close Grip Bench Press: 5 sets of 5 reps
Rolling DB Extensions: 3 sets of 8 reps
Dumbbell Floor Presses: 3 sets of 8 reps
Wednesday – Legs/Rear Delts
Squats 5 sets of 3
Leg Press 3 sets of 8
Glute Ham Raises 3 sets of 8
Reverse Flyes 3 sets of 8
Friday – Back/Biceps
Deadlift 5 sets of 3 reps
Barbell Rows 3 sets of 8
Lat Pull downs 3 sets of 8
Hammer Curls 4 sets of 5
Notes: This is a 12-week program. Go heavy for three
weeks than take a light week where you do 12 reps of each
exercise. If you can’t stay away from the gym add cardio
and core exercises on your off days. Take one full day off
per week to rest your CNS. Before starting this program
you may need to train two-three weeks with five reps to
safely make the transition to the triples rep scheme used
in this routine. Add abs whenever you’d like. Twice a
week should suffice.
The 12-week layout would look like this. 3 heavy weeks, 1
deload week, 3 heavy weeks, 1 deload week, 3 heavy weeks, 1
deload week.
Points to Remember
 Tuck Your Elbows
 Touch The Bar Lower On Your Chest
 Decrease The Range Of Motion
 Hold Your Air
 Lower Your Rep Range
 Recruit A Training Partner
 Squeeze The Bar
 Don’t Neglect Other Muscle Groups
 Do A Few Weeks Of 5 Reps Before Starting This Routine
 Every 4th Week Should Be A Deload Week
 Limit Your Cardio

 Train Your Core/Abs 2x’s Per Week