The popular bench press has built a reputation over the past decades as a rite of passage, a fire trial, and a founding member of the powerlifting “Big 3.” That’s all for this exercise. Bench presses are so popular that they also have their own days of the week. “International Bench Day” has become synonymous with Monday in many gyms.
A bench press is a reliable exercise when you are considering increasing the size and strength of your chest, shoulders, and triceps. The stability of the bench and the fixed range of the barbell allow for more weight to be used. And moving more weight means building more size and strength.
If you’re looking for workouts that focus on standalone benches to increase your upper body strength and muscle, you’re in the right place. Let’s jump downstairs.
Best Bench Press Workout for Muscles and Strength
To get absolute strength, you need to focus on moving the maximum value of 85-90% for each repetition by about 85-90%. (1) The cluster set approach gives you everything you can handle in this respect. Run multiple “mini sets” with low repetition focus on heavy weight and accumulate a significant amount. This will help you set up a table of more muscles as stronger muscles may be of more size. After heavy work, two different supersets concentrate on exercises that efficiently increase breast size and strength.
Size and strength routine
Perform this workout once a week as part of your top/lower body split. To proceed with your first exercise, start with a complete set of three clusters, then do four and five next week. If you can run a set of five clusters, add weight. The other three bench exercises start at the bottom edge of the person in charge and add one repetition each week. Once you reach the top range, increase your weight by 5-10 pounds and start the process again.
Bench press cluster set
Flat barbell bench presses are a staple of your routine and should be your go-to for more size and strength whenever you want to move your weight the most. This bench variation focuses equally on the upper and lower chest to improve overall muscle development.
How to do it: Lie on your back on a flat bench, arch your hips slightly, and plant your feet on the floor. It brings together the shoulder blades to increase stability and back strength. Before unlocking your luggage, grab the bar and squeeze your hands vigorously to extend your arms, squeezing your muscles to the fullest. Lower the bar to your chest/chest. Push up the weight and tighten your back tightly. Put the shoulder blades together.
Set and representative: 3-5 x (4×2) – I ran four mini sets of two reps, repeating them in total 3-5 times.
Break time: It takes 10 seconds between each mini set. You will rest three minutes after each set.
Close Grip Bench Press
In the Close-Grip Bench Press, your hands are shoulder-width apart and shift your luggage to the triceps and the inner chest. (2) You may not be able to lift the weight, but you will have to train your chest and triceps from different angles to improve muscle development.
How to do it: Set up like a flat bench press, but push your elbows into your body and place your hands inside shoulder width. Pull the bar out of the rack and finish it off. While lowering your chest, pull your elbows near the rib. Once you reach the desired depth, you can play until you lock out.
Set and representative: 3-4 x 4-6
Break time: You will not take a break before moving on to the next exercise.
Sitting band pull apartment
After two press exercises, get a break with this simple pulping exercise, strengthening the upper back and maintaining shoulder health. This sitting band pull apartment increases back engagement without leaving the bench (due to the stability of sitting).
How to do it: Stand upright and hold the looped band at shoulder height with your hands apart shoulder width. Pull the band apart and keep your arms almost straight. Lower your shoulders and raise your chest. Pull until your shoulder blades come together and your arms extend to either side of your body. Return to the starting position and repeat.
Set and representative: 3 x 15-25
Break time: Rest two minutes before repeating the previous exercise.
Single Arm Dumbbell Bench Press
This single arm (one-sided) exercise won’t be as heavy as possible with the Barbell Bench Press, but I still like a lot about this press variation. First, it addresses imbalances between sides of the body, improving muscle development and improving joint health. Secondly, with the Dumbbell Bench Press, you can find a comfortable press pass in your wrist, elbow and shoulder joints.
How to do it: Place one dumbbell on your lap while sitting on a flat bench. Push the dumbbell up, using your knees to drive it towards your shoulders. Lower the dumbbells and keep your elbows at about 45 degrees from your body. Push up the dumbbells to lock them out and repeat.
Set and representative: 3-4 x Responsible for each arm.
Break time: Rest for 60-90 seconds before moving on to the next exercise.
Dumbbell chest free
The Dumbbell Chest Flye is similar to the thoracic isolation movement. This exercise removes the triceps from the movement, stretching the PEC for a wider range of motion, and brings the possibilities for better muscle building. (3)
How to do it: Pine up on a flat bench with dumbbells in each hand. Start with your arms trapped on your chest. Creates a slight bend in the elbow, maintaining this bend throughout the movement. Lower your arms down along your shoulders. Once you feel the stretch in the PECS, reverse the movement, squeeze the chest muscles, and return to the upper position.
Set and representative: 3 x 8-15
Break time: Rest for 60-90 seconds before repeating the previous exercise.
Chest anatomy
The chest is a large, superficial fan-like muscle, and the two thoracic muscles are the pectoral muscles and the PEC minors. There are two attachment points. It is the attachment of the head of the upper chest and the sternum from the middle bone to the lower chest. The PEC measure is located in your front (front) ribcage, while the thoracic pectoral muscles are small muscles below the PEC measure.
The clavicle head of the PEC major occurs in the front or front of the clavicle (clavian bone), as expected. The sternum head of the PEC tape is born from the front of the sternum. The head of both muscles is inserted into the humerus (upper arm) and is involved in most upper body movements. The two main chest functions that the above training focuses on are:
- Shoulder flexion – raise your arms by pushing and lifting them in front of your body.
- Horizontal adduction – Put your hands (and joints) together in front of the PEC when doing chest-free, bench press, or push-ups.
In addition to creating a large, muscular breast, PEC is the main “cuddle” muscle. The size and strength of the PEC will swing harder and faster when working with opponents in a sports arena, grabbing, dodging, playing sports such as soccer, baseball, tennis.
How to warm up your bench workout
Have you ever seen someone walk down the street under a barbell and start pushing it onto the contents of your mind? Don’t be that person, they want injuries and poor performance. Warming up may not be a major issue in rare cases, but over time it can lead to poor performance and increased risk of injury.
Take your time to warm up and move the blood while preparing your shoulder and elbow joints to work.
As the upper back and rotator cuff are involved in the bench press, perform upper back movements that are effective in inducing the scapula and rotator.
Then, using some light ramp up sets (lower rep, light sets gradually become heavier) on the bench press, focusing on the involvement of the chest muscles, ready to roll.
If you decide to spend more time for a thorough warm-up, prepare this upper body and spin. Here are some back-focused exercises here, as your rat and back stabilize your chest when you are on the bench. The back must be prepared on the chest day to fully protect and prepare the shoulders and rotor cuffs.
- External rotation for face pull:Fixes the resistance band to stable objects at gaze level. Take the overhand grip and retreat until your arms stretch straight. Running alongside your shoulders, pulling your hand over your head. In peak contractions, your thumb should point behind you, and your palm should be near your ears. The arm will return to its enlarged position. Run two sets of 15 reps.
- Scapula push-ups: Start from the push-up position with your hands and toes on the ground, with your body straight. Stitch your shoulder blades together while reaching your chest to lock your arms in a stiff, firm way. Driving your hands “from the ground” as you stretch your shoulder blades downwards and push your chest away from your hand. Run two sets of 10 reps.
- Rear delt fly: Take a light dumbbell in each hand and stand in the middle of the light resistance band, holding each end. Bend your hips forward, almost parallel to the ground, with your arms bent slightly and hanging your arms towards the ground. Raise your arms to match your shoulders. Do not change the angle of your arms throughout the exercise. Pause before returning to the extended position. Run two sets of 12 reps.
- Spinned Spiderman: Start from the push-up position with your hands and toes on the ground, with your body straight. If mobility allows, move forward with your left foot, aiming to step closer to the little finger of your left hand. Keep your right foot straight. Without bending your right arm, lift your left arm onto the ceiling and turn your upper body for full rotation. Once your arms are perpendicular to the ground, they extend all over your body before returning to the push-up position. Replacement side with every repetition. Run two sets of five reps per side.
- Tilt Plyo pushups: Set up your body straight, straight, near a stable flat bench or box with your hands on the bench, with your toes on the ground. Lower your chest towards the bench, drive explosively upwards, bringing your hands into contact with the bench. Catch yourself with your slightly bent arm and decorate your core. Breathe and reset immediately before performing the next iteration. Run two sets of 8 reps.
Happy bench
There are many different ways to target your chest, shoulders and triceps, but bench presses are the most popular and potentially the most effective tool. To complement your bench press, you can build muscle and strength by focusing on just a handful of the most effective movements. Always warm up your chest and shoulders, then attack your muscles using the detailed ultimate bench workout laid out above. Your Monday is never the same.
reference
- Schoenfeld, B. J., Grgic, J., Van Every, D. W., & Plotkin, D. L. (2021). Loading of muscle strength, hypertrophy, and local endurance recommendations: a reconsideration of a repetitive continuum. Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 9(2), 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/Sports9020032
- Rocky, Robert & Moreno, Matthew. (2017). Close grip bench press. Strength and Conditioning Journal. 39.1.10.1519/ssc.00000000307.
- Baroni, B. M., Pompermayer, M. G., Cini, A., Peruzzolo, As, Radaelli, R., Brusco, C. M., & Pinto, R. S. (2017). The full range of movement causes greater muscle damage than partial range of motion in free-weight elbow flexion. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 31(8), 2223–2230. https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.000000001562
Fiatread Picture: Yakobchuk Viacheslav / Shutterstock
