The chain press is a max effort movement to help develop the lockout power of the bench press. I personally like to use the El Gordo fat bar for this movement. This bar seems to be easier on my elbows and shoulders. The diameter of the bar disperses the weight throughout the arms, shoulders and pecs. This isn't to say a regular straight bar can’t be used however.
There are many ways to do this movement. Some like to use a set number of chains and then work up to a bar weight max triple or single. The way I'm going to present it here is one of the best ways I've found to utilize chains for this movement.
Warm up and work up to 70% of your best raw max bench press. At this point add one chain per side for each additional set until you max out. The chains should be set up so half the chain is on the floor while the bar is resting in the uprights. When the bar is lowered to your chest there should be a total deload of the chains. As you press the bar back to the finish position, the chains will be gradually added to the bar. It's best to work up to a five, three or one rep max on this movement.
Training Mistakes:
Setting the chains up so no deloading occurs.
If you feel the bar path is being affected by the chains loading on the floor, try to readjust the chains so they fall evenly or increase the percent bar weight so less chain has to be used.
I have enough stuff to keep this series going for a very long time, so until next time, load the bar, kick some ass and break some records!