Presently, a lot of people seem to know me as the guy who got less fat, but not that long ago my claim to fame was benching big. I hold 600 lb raw benches in meets as a super heavyweight, a 308 pounder, and 275 pounder. I honestly don't know if anyone else has ever benched 600 raw in three different weight classes. I even have a 900 pound equipped bench if any of you even know what shirted benching is anymore.
More importantly for all you you, I not only know how to bench well, but I know how to coach it also. Over the years I have taught hundreds of lifters how to bench more. It's rare that I can't increase someones bench even after only one coaching session.
Here are three of the easiest to follow cues that are sure to shoot your bench up:
1. Extend the bar out of the rack. Most people press the bar out of the rack straight up and then bring it out over their chest. That causes them to untuck from that tight upper back setup and once untucked, it's impossible to get that position back. It's best to keep that tight upper body position and take the bar out of the rack like you are doing a massive triceps extension. Of course this only works if you have a worthy person lifting off for you. If you are a true powerlifter, then you need to have someone lifting the weight out for you. If you don't, start training some people from your gym to do so.
2. On the descent, make sure to meet the bar at its highest point. Most people wait for the bar to reach their body. This causes them to get loose in the hole. In addition, it increases the range of motion of the press. So, make sure to press your body up to meet the bar at its highest point.
3. Once the bar meets your body, drive your feet through the ground as hard as humanly possible and explode through your elbows. Regardless of whether you bench from your toes or your heels, try to push them through the floor. Couple that with the cue to drive through your elbows and the weight will skyrocket to the top. Since I bench on my heels, as I'm meeting the bar at its highest point all I keep thinking about is keeping pressure in my heels and elbows. Then once I meet and get that press command I'm ready to shoot that bar straight up to lockout.
There you go, three down and dirty tips to boost your bench. Even if you only take one cue away from here, you'll be better than where you were before reading this. Now go SFW!
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