The triceps play a huge role in a successful bench press, and dedicating specific time to them in your training is important. It can be tough, however, to find movements that carry over well to the bench without beating up your elbows. A standard full range-of-motion skull crusher or similar movement can really aggravate your joints if going too heavy, and things like tricep pushdowns are great for hypertrophy and recovery but don’t necessarily translate to bench lockout. The lockout part of bench has always been an area I need extra work on, and these are some of the things I'm really focusing on now to hammer this weakness..
The JM Press was popularized by JM Blakely, who’s best bench was over 700lbs. The movement is basically a hybrid between a close grip bench and tricep extension. While it can still put some pressure on the elbows, if done correctly and worked up slowly over time (start light), it can be an excellent way to build bench lockout without destroying your joints. Here's some old school video of JM explaining the movement:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5dWDNaG0bw]
..And video of Dave Tate with his take on the exercise:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2ElVaNFltQ]
There are also some different twists you can put on the JM Press or other tricep extension movements that translate to the bench press:
"JL Press" Variation by JL Holdsworth
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0v_GO-zauI]
Swiss Bar JM Press Variation to Pins
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zxmR0FCoTY]
JM Press Variation with Shoulder Saver Pad
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb9Mp5m6O4w]
Remember with all of these to start light, and gradually work up volume before increasing weight. Like Blakely said in the first video, a few weeks of 5-6 sets of 10 isn’t a bad idea before starting to go heavy. I also like doing these after I’ve done some pushdowns or something to get some blood into the area around my joints. These can be done on any of your upper body training days, but I’ve typically kept them to once a week, and done each variation for 3-4 weeks before taking a week off to give my elbows a break. Happy benching!
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