the longer you tell yourself that your bench sucks improvement will be slow. adjust that attitude and get in there and be aggressive with those plates. Show them who is boss! Also be sure to eat and drink big during the day prior to your workout. In the meantime here is an article on upping your bench:
Freshen up the STALE bench!
By Bob Shaefer
Typically, in most sports, we tend to pick one aspect or one player's position to glorify, above any other player or position in the event. In football, it has to be the Quarterback. In the sport of Powerlifting, the Bench Press specialist seems to be pre-eminent in drawing the most attention from the media and stirring excitement from the fans. With benches approaching the 800-pound mark (possibly history before this article goes to press) I'm not at all surprised.
Not too many years ago, an 800-pound deadlift or squat, would have us buzzing for weeks. Far too many beginners become so entrenched in the pursuit of their bench press progress, they sometimes sidestep exercises they consider not related to their bench training. Commonly, young benchers focus on triceps, pecs, and delts, figuring they play the major roll so let's work them to death. I must tell you, without a decent set of lats, you1ll never realize your full potential in the bench. I'm constantly asked, How many reps and how many sets should I do? As years pass, reps and sets become less & less important to me. Nonetheless, it seems to be the undying question. Many youngsters feel the current crop of top benchers, have a secretive, magical formula that they share - carefully guarding the numbers so the masses never get a clue. If, in fact there is a magical formula, I guarantee you it will be different numbers (sets & reps) for each individual. Herein, we find the truth. We are all individuals with totally different physiological blueprints. A wise man once said, One man's ceiling is another man's floor. Structure your own rep/set scheme to fit your specific needs. Ultimately, you really have no choice if you plan on benching at your maximum inherent potential.
My suggestions to any serious bencher, starts with a discussion on form. This isn't a back burner topic. Once we agree to forego jumps in weight if form is suffering, we start the long battle. Most young fellas over train, or tend to take that direction if not disciplined by a higher entity. As a trainer for many years, I have found that starting out with a rep scheme of 6 to 8 reps for a maximum of 3 sets (not counting any warm-up sets), seemed to be productive without overtraining. We chose to rest 72 hours between sessions. Rest between sets ran 7 minutes, minimum. In many situations, this combination would let the beginner progress for many months. For those who came to a halt in progress, I found a switch to the decline bench, brought about new surges in progress. The decline bench hardly ever gets the credit it deserves. My best guess - most lifters tend to avoid the angle simply because it1s a bit awkward or, maybe they feel it isn't productive because they never read about it1s use in training articles. The 20 degree decline became our number one tool for getting past sticking points in the flat bench. Once the individual started going stale, we would head for two sessions on the decline (often 3 in a row). With sessions being a minimum of 3 days apart, flat bench sessions became rare. We would develop our rep/set numbers by adding 10 to 20 pounds to the previous best poundage used in the last flat bench sessions. Our grip was narrowed to put emphasis on the triceps. After a nominal 3 set warm-up, we focused on two heavy sets to failure and a third set, somewhat lighter, for 8 reps. Again, resting 7 minutes between sets. These decline sessions became our triceps builders. We stopped triceps pushdowns and dips. 90 percent of our team saw improved flat bench sessions each time they returned from the decline. Some scoffed at the idea of "no triceps" isolation so, we soon found it easier to keep our training methods to ourselves. At meets, other lifters would ask, "You guys do lots a dips?" Oh, Hell yes! We strap on the plates and set our elbows on fire. That's what they wanted to hear. When I tried telling them the truth, they thought I was lying. Now, I'm not saying that this system is the only way to go. I'm sure we could have chosen alternatives sets/reps combos that may have produced the same results. The system did produce several WPC/APF World Record benchers and it took a 39 year-old 242-pound bencher from a 390 max to 505 and a #2 Masters ranking within two years!
Within a few months of Powermag's premier issue, I teamed up with a young man from Washington. We developed an email training program. At times, we talked daily. He was, like many, overtraining. Even so, his bench was impressive before we began. Recently he completed the first leg of our cycle. I thought, the recent results of this training system - as applied by email - from one end of the continent to the other, could best be described by Mr. Josh Wilkins himself. "When I read the article entitled The benefits of rest, I knew that it was perfect for me. I wanted to get away from lifting 5 days a week but still stay strong," said Josh. "Also, going to college full-time, it is hard to stay dedicated to your routine. After I read the article, I contacted Bob Shaefer via email and asked him how I could get to a 500-pound bench press. First, he cut my training days back and then he told me not to do triceps. I laughed at the idea of not doing tri's since I would work them to death on their own special day. Within two weeks after modifying my routine my bench went through the roof - I was absolutely amazed at such a drastic change that I had achieved in only two weeks with the program! I am truly fortunate that I took a chance and tried a new routine or else I would have probably over trained for the rest of my life. Also, I probably would have not achieved one of my goals of cracking the 500-pound bench barrier. I don't know what's in the water where they live and train (Ohio) but, what they are doing with the bench press is truly legendary and they should get the recognition that they deserve." Naturally, Josh and I, plan to continue our program in search of the almighty 600-pound bench, now that 500 is history.
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I can press 95lb DB's for 6-8 reps, but I can barely do 225 3 times....sometimes not even that much. Any idea on what my problem is?? Some of you know that I have recently incorporated deadlifts into my workouts....will this help me at all on push excercies like bench? Could it be in my head...or form? I feel like my form is good though....
