Monday, April 5, 2010

Workout of the Day:
Five sets of:
Bench Press x 4-6 reps
Rest 30 seconds
60 seconds of Double-Unders
(use this as skill practice if you are not proficient with double-unders)
Rest three minutes;
and then,
Five rounds for max reps (of Ring Dips):
In 60 seconds, complete 10 Burpees and then as many reps as possible of Ring Dips.
Rest 60 seconds.

Quick Tips for a Better Bench Press – Part One
Written by Mark Riebel

It’s pretty typical to hear among gym-goers the question “How much ya bench?” on an almost daily basis.  It seems that the bench press is viewed as the ultimate test of strength, particularly amongst guys who work out in tank tops.  There’s many reasons why I beg to differ with this notion (and the tank tops), but that is another post entirely.  The bench press is a fantastic way to move a lot of weight with your upper body and just because you don’t see it three times a week at Invictus doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make some adjustments to maximize your potential in the lift.  This two-part series will take a look at some common failures people have in their technique on the bench press, because unlike many believe, it’s not as simple as lying on the bench and pressing your arms up and down.  Some of these tweaks can add some weight to your bench in one session because they’re simple technique changes that you can make right away to become more efficient in the movement.

Pinch your shoulder blades together

When you get set up on the bench, you want to pull your shoulder blades together on your back as tight as you can.  It may help to think of pinching a dollar bill between them and even trying to tuck the bones into your back pockets to really get them back and down.  What this does is it makes your whole upper back region extremely stiff and gives you a much better foundation for holding that weight up over your chest.  I don’t know about you, but the thought of having a loose upper body whilst holding a few hundred pounds over my sternum with the possibility of it crashing down doesn’t get me too comfortable.  You want to be as stable as you possibly can be, and pulling your scapulae together and down is a great start.  You also get the added benefit of a slightly shorter range of motion on the exercise.  If you want a quick visual, put your arms out in front of you and pull just one of your shoulder blades back towards your spine while you leave the other where it is normally.  It’s easy to see a few extra inches you have to push the weight without tucking your scaps, and that few inches could make the difference for a new PR.

Brace

This should seem like a no-brainer if you’ve been listening to our coaches, but bracing is just as important on the bench as it is in the squat or deadlift.  While the weight is at the top and locked out, take a big breath to fill up your lungs and clench up your midsection like someone’s about to punch you in the stomach.  Keep this tightness throughout the entire movement, and once you’re back at lockout, take a quick breath if you need it, get tight again and do another rep.  Don’t breathe in the middle of the rep!  Again, this is all about staying as tight as you can through the entire movement.  Any inhaling or exhaling you do during the rep is going to affect how stiff the base is from which you’re attempting to press from, and you want that to be as solid as possible.

Next time we’ll take a look at putting some arch in your back as well as how to really engage some other muscles that you probably think have nothing to do with the bench press.