Bench Press
Description
The bench press is one of the most popular and most effective exercises you can do for your upper body. Considering its popularity, we’ve provided an entire chapter - a blueprint if you will - profiling the bench press technique in great detail. This valuable information is available FREE and exclusively to the visitors of this site. You can request your copy of “Jacked Tactics” on the right hand side of this very screen. Enjoy!
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Bench Press Technique
- Lie with back on bench and feet secure on the ground.
- Using the bar markers, line up the appropriate arm width. Hand placement should be wide enough so your wrist is in line with your elbow on the descent of the movement.
- Inhale and lower the bar down to the midline of the chest until your arms come to a 90 degree angle. Going below 90 degrees is not recommended for beginners due to the stress that it places on the shoulder joint. Advanced trainees can lower the bar right down to the chest area.
- Exhale, and drive the barbell up towards the ceiling by extending the arms as far as possible without locking out the elbow joint. Stopping before elbow lock-out keeps the resistance on the pectoral muscles thus, resulting in a more effective training stimulus.
- Repeat until the desired number of repetitions are completed.
Variations
Utilizing a grip with the elbows parallel to the shoulders is ideal for maximum pectoral development. Unfortunately, this method is more stressful on the shoulder joints.
Allowing the elbows to drift 45 degrees below shoulder level will alleviate the stress on the shoulder joint and increase the recruitment of the triceps. This is known as the power-lifting style. Keep in mind that when implementing this technique, the additional recruitment of the triceps slightly decreases the involvement of the pectorals.
When in the maximum strength phase of a periodized program, variable resistance can be utilized for optimal power development. The biomechanics of the bench press movement are altered as the movement progresses. The bar typically feels heavier as it is lowered and easier the higher it gets on the accent. The stage when you’re pushing the bar off the chest to the halfway point of the repetition is known as the “sticking point”. The sticking point simply refers to the most difficult stage in the exercise movement. By adding a heavy-link chain on each end of the barbell, you can vary the resistance. As the chain-links hit the floor during the decent, weight is removed during the “sticking point” of the movement. On the accent as the chain-links are pushed up off of the floor, more resistance is added throughout the concentric phase of the movement.
Incline Dumbbell Press
Description
The purpose of performing incline dumbbell presses is to target the upper region of the chest. Incline dumbbell presses are actually one of the best chest building exercises that you can do. Ideally, you want to set the bench to a 30 degree angle. If the bench is angled too high, an increased reliance will be placed upon the front portion of the shoulder with less recruitment from the upper chest - which is the area you’re trying to target. Incline dumbbell presses are very similar to performing a barbell press except working with free weights gives you more freedom in regards to the range of motion. Since each arm is independently responsible for its own workload, more stabilizing muscles are recruited for assistance. This increased need for stabilization will develop functional strength, which can easily be carried over to athletics and daily activities.
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Execution
- Grasp an appropriately weighted dumbbell with each hand, sit on a bench with an incline of 30 degrees and rest dumbbells on the top of each thigh.
- Kick each dumbbell upwards with the thighs and lean back on the bench. You should be in a position with the arms at a 90 degree angle with palms facing away from you. (most likely towards the mirror).
- Exhale and drive arms up to an extended position. The extended position should have the sides of the dumbbells touching each other.
- Inhale and lower the weights down at a controlled speed. Beginners should never bring the weights lower than 90 degrees due to the added stress placed on the under-developed tendons and ligaments around the shoulder joint.
- Repeat until the desired number of repetitions are completed.
Variations
Performing incline dumbbell presses using an exercise ball instead of a bench will increase the need for stabilization which will increase the difficulty of the movement. Click here for step by step instructions on how to perform this variation.
Incline Cable Flies
Description
The chest fly exercise is an excellent way to strengthen and develop the chest region. However, there’s all sorts of different ways to perform the movement. You can use dumbbells, which increases the stability demands while allowing the shoulders to be internally rotated throughout the exercise - a technique that has been shown to deliver a favourable line of pull to the chest muscles. On the downside, during the upward / finishing phase of a dumbbell fly, the chest is alleviated from the resistance. However, when performing cable flies - which is discussed here - you’ll be able to keep continuous resistance on the chest throughout all phases of the movement.
Execution
- Position an incline bench between the cable crossover apparatus. Slide the cables to the bottom.
- Grasp an attachment handle in each hand and lie back on the bench.
- Draw the hands up towards each other and mentally prepare to begin the exercise.
- Inhale and while maintaining only a slight bend at the elbows, allow the arms to drift apart until a stretch is felt within the pectorals.
Note: the elbows should be positioned towards the ground throughout the decent. - Exhale and in an arcing motion, draw the hands back up towards each other.
Tip: envision that you are wrapping your arms around a thick tree branch. - Repeat until the desired number of repetitions are completed.
Parallel Bar Dips
Description
Overall, the dips exercise trains the front of the shoulder, the chest and the triceps. However, the muscle recruitment depends on the technique used to perform the repetitions. If the trainee leans forward while performing the dips exercise, maximal activation occurs at the chest. If you were to maintain an upright posture while performing the dips exercise, maximal recruitment is drawn from the triceps. It is important to note that if you’re performing parallel bar dips with an upright posture (the triceps version), then the range of motion should be limited to reduce the risk of sustaining a shoulder injury.
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Execution
- Grasp the bars with each hand and support yourself with your arms extended.
- Inhale and if targeting the chest, tuck the chin down, bend the elbows and lower your body down until the arms reach a 90 degree angle while leaning slightly forward. A stretch should be felt within the chest and shoulder region.
- Inhale and if targeting the triceps, keep the chin up and bend at the elbows while maintaining an upright body position. The arms should not bend beyond a 50-60 degree angle. Bending the arm too much and going down too low will place unnecessary stress on the shoulder joint.
- Exhale, extend the arms and drive the body back up to starting position.
- Repeat until the desired number of repetitions are completed.
Variations
When performing the dips exercise using the parallel bar, you can attach a barbell to your weight belt (using a chain) and by doing so, you can increase the resistance, thus - the difficulty of the exercise.
Dumbbell Flies
Description
Dumbbell flies are a great movement to sculpt the chest. You can perform dumbbell flies from a variety of angles - each of which will target a different region of the chest. I recommend that you review our chest training article for more information on which angle targets which region of the chest and also, for some great tips regarding how to effectively incorporate dumbbell flies into supersets.
It’s unfortunate that dumbbell flies - being as effective as they are - commonly get performed incorrectly. People tend to make the mistake of allowing their shoulders to drift into an externally rotated position. When this happens, it changes the line of pull of the chest and also places unnecessary stress on the elbow joints. To keep it simple, just remember that when you’re performing dumbbell flies, your elbows should always be facing the ground.
Execution
- Grasp appropriately weighted dumbbells in each hand, sit on the bench and rest the dumbbells on your thighs.
- Kick your thighs upwards to create momentum to assist with moving the weights up to a position that has the arms just short of full extension. While arms are extended to support the weights, turn elbows so they are facing to the sides. Make sure that the shoulders do not externally rotate.
- Inhale and while keeping a slight bend at the elbows, lower the weights down slowly until arms are perpendicular to the floor.
- Exhale and extend arms back up to starting position. Use mental imagery to envision wrapping your arms around a large tree trunk. When performed correctly, you’ll be making a half circular motion with your arms.
- Repeat until desired number of repetitions are completed.
Variations
Performing dumbbell flies using an incline bench will place more emphasis on the upper region of the chest.
Chest Fly Machine
Description
The chest fly machine is great for both beginners and advanced trainees alike. The pre-determined movement path allows the primary focus to be on feeling the muscle contraction rather than focusing on complex motor movements. This is great for beginners. As for advanced trainees, although the complexity of the motor movements involved with free weight exercises is not so much of an issue, experienced trainees may opt to perform the machine version also.
The major advantage of using the chest fly machine as opposed to dumbbell flies is that the machine version provides resistance throughout the entire repetition, while the resistance during the dumbbell version is not as consistent. To further elaborate on this, consider a trainee performing an chest fly exercise using dumbbells. As the arms are spread apart and the dumbbells are lowered, the stress on the chest increases. However, during the upward phase of the movement in which the arms are being drawn together, a point is reached in which the chest is alleviated from the stress.
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Execution
- Adjust the machine to the proper settings and sit in an upright position.
- Reach back, grasp the handles using a neutral hand grip with elbows slightly bent and pointed behind you.
- Exhale and while maintaining only a slight bend at the elbows, draw the hands towards each other. Briefly hold position.
- Inhale and slowly allow the arms to return back to a position in which a light stretch is felt across the chest.
- Repeat until desired number of repetitions are completed.
Olympic Bar Push Punch
Description
In addition to strengthening the chest, shoulders and triceps, this exercise is effective in calling upon the muscles of the core region to provide stability throughout the movement. It is important not to let the rather unorthodox appearance of the movement give you negative pre-judgments prior to execution. Although everyone can benefit from this exercise, its effectiveness is clearly demonstrated when performed by athletes such as fighters (to increase punching power) and linemen due to the movement specificity.
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Execution
- Place one end of an Olympic bar in a corner between the walls for support. Load barbells onto the opposing end.
- Elevate the end with the barbells and firmly grasp the bar using a closed grip.
- Bend at the knees, tighten abdominal region and square up to the bar while keeping your arm extended.
- Inhale and bend elbow, allowing the hand and weight to drift back towards the front shoulder/outer chest region. Stop movement prior to your elbow drifting beyond your ribcage.
- Exhale, and drive the weight forward as if throwing a punch or pushing something out of your way.
- Repeat until the desired number of repetitions are completed.
- Switch arms and repeat.
Bent Over Cable Press
Description
The bent over cable press is a rather advanced movement that requires a great deal of stability. The stabilization requirements are what makes the exercise so effective. The body meets the stability demands through the recruitment of additional stabilizing muscles. Also, it trains the muscle groups to work together as a kinetic chain. For example, during movement execution, muscle recruitment is not only limited to the chest and the triceps. Muscle contraction and stabilization demands are also placed on the core, the shoulder region, the legs, as well as other muscle groups. The bent over cable press makes a great pre-exhaustion superset finisher when combined with the standing cable crossover exercise.
Execution
- Select the appropriate weight and grasp a pulley cable attachment in each hand.
- Move both pulleys down to a point where you have your arms extended with knuckles facing the ground.
- Bend over at the hips while placing one leg forward and the other leg back for stability. Move the arms to a position that has your elbows in direct alignment with your wrists.
- Exhale and push both arms forward in a similar fashion to the technique used for the chest press.
- Inhale, flex at the elbows and return movement back to the position described in step 3.
- Repeat until desired number of repetitions are completed.
Decline Barbell Press
Description
By performing the decline barbell press, you can specifically target the lower aspect of your chest. It’s actually one of the best lower chest exercises that you can do. The lower aspect - specifically the sternal site of the pectorals - is both larger and stronger than the upper (clavicular) portion of the chest. This allows heavier weights to be lifted when training on a decline.
Execution
- Hook your lower legs under the shin pads and lean back until your back is against the bench.
- Grasp the barbell using an overhand grip that’s wide enough to allow wrist-to-elbow alignment throughout movement decent. To determine this optimal grip width, trial and error should be used during the warm up set.
- Lift the barbell off the safety racks and position it above the chest with the arms extended.
- Inhale and lower the barbell down towards the chest at a controlled speed. Beginners should stop lowering well before the barbell touches the chest. A 90 degree angle is ideal (elbows don’t move below shoulder level). Advanced trainees have developed enough joint stability over time to enable them to bring the barbell right down to the lower chest region.
- Exhale, extend at the elbows and drive the barbell back up to starting position.
- Repeat until the desired number of repetitions are completed.
Variations
Using dumbbells instead of a barbell is a more advanced progression due to the stability required for execution. For information on how to perform the decline dumbbell press, just click the link. The dumbbell version is also one of the best lower chest exercises.
Decline Dumbbell Press
Description
The decline dumbbell press is a great lower chest exercise. The lower aspect - specifically the sternal site of the pectorals - is both larger and stronger than the upper (clavicular) portion of the chest. This allows heavier weights to be used. Since setting up for this lower chest exercise can be somewhat awkward, you may opt to have a partner hand you the weights while your seated in an upright position. Due to the complexity involved in both the set up and the actual execution of the movement, the decline dumbbell press is not the best choice for beginners.
Execution
- Grasp an appropriately weighted dumbbell in each hand and sit upright on a decline bench with legs hooked under the shin pads. If your using heavy weights, you may find it easier to have your training partner pass them to you once your already seated.
Note: In this position, the dumbbells should be positioned upwards and resting atop your thighs. - Lower your torso and dumbbells down until your back is resting against the bench padding and the elbows are positioned out to the sides of the chest at a 90 degree angle.
- Exhale, extend at the elbows to drive the weights up and towards each other.
- Inhale and while maintaining wrist-to-elbow alignment, lower the weights back down to a 90 degree angle at a controlled speed.
- Repeat until the desired number of repetitions are completed.
Variations
The decline press can be simplified by using a barbell instead of the dumbbells. This less advanced version makes for a good stepping stone to the dumbbell version. More information on how to perform the decline barbell press, just click the link. The barbell version is also an awesome lower chest exercise.