This is a guest blog post by By Mike Westerdal creator of the Critical Bench 2.0 Program.
Mike Benching 600+ in competition!
“Don’t Let These 8 Mistakes
Sabotage Your Bench”
Did you know the average weight training enthusiast can barely bench press their own bodyweight? That statistic doesn’t even account for the people that don’t work out. Give yourself a pat on the back if you’ve conquered the feat of benching your own bodyweight. Don’t worry if you’re not there yet, you’re about to learn eight sure-fire methods that will help you earn bragging rights in and out of the gym.
So what’s the big deal about the bench press anyway? You’re not playing sports or trying to compete, why is this legendary exercise so vital to an attention grabbing physique? In fact for those of you who think the bench press is simply for the ego, you’re wrong. It’s true no other exercise is more frequently talked about. However it’s not so strange when you think about it. The bench press is a core fundamental exercise for developing upper body strength. You’re not only working your pectorals (chest), you are also working your anterior deltoids (front shoulders), triceps brachii, and latissimus dorsi (back). If you could pick just one exercise to acquire a full round chest with some functional power to go with it, you would be wise to go with the bench. You just can’t develop the same upper body with any other exercise.
As a personal trainer I have seen hundreds of people strive for a 300-pound bench. The truth is most people make the same mistakes, but they can easily be changed to help you start an explosive growth spurt of your own.
Mistake #1: Less is more.
By far the biggest mistake people make is “wanting it” so bad that they overtrain. It’s human nature, if we don’t see the gains we’re looking for the common sense solution is to work harder and harder. I can tell you from personal experience that last time I hit a plateau in my training I took a week off from the gym and came back stronger than the last time worked out. Be on the look out for warning signs of overtraining such as lack of motivation, trouble sleeping, poor nutrition, and of course lack of progress.
Mistake #2: Full body workouts.
Let’s get you set up on a new split where you can give each muscle involved in the bench press the attention it needs. Remember, there’s more to the bench press than just your chest. For maximum recovery you should only train each body part once per week with an optimal workout split. If you still think you need to bench two or three times a week, see mistake #1. You have time to workout 45-minutes a day, 4-days a week don’t you?
Mistake #3: Self-doubt.
Hopefully you don’t need a pep talk, but here it goes anyway. Excuse me as I impersonate motivational speaker Anthony Robbins for a moment. Your subconscious mind believes whatever you tell it, so do yourself a favor and program it with positive thoughts. I cringe every time someone asks me for a spot and they bash themselves before they even start the lift. Comments like, “I don’t think I’ll get very many reps,” or “I can’t do this much, but I’ll try.” If you’re not confident, fake it, and tell yourself you’re going to succeed. Trying is a part of failing. If you’re afraid to fail, you’re afraid to try.
Mistake #4: Bad form.
Let’s work on some mechanics. After practicing a few of these techniques you should be able to boost your bench press by a minimum of 25 pounds.
- Widen your grip a little bit. The wider your grip, the less distance the bar has to travel. Therefore it makes sense that you’d want to grip the bar as wide as possible. If you have been benching with a closer grip this will take some getting used to, but will make a big difference in a few weeks. To determine your grip, assume a natural push-up position and then bump it out approximately 3-inches.
- Another way to decrease the distance the bar has to travel is to retract your shoulder blades. Try to squeeze your shoulder blades together during the entire movement. This will give you a more stable surface to bench from.
- Keep your feet on the floor and drive with your heels. If you see someone kicking or flapping their legs in the air, as they turn blue trying to push the weight you’ll know that they are off centered and it’s costing them some serious poundage. Keep your heels on the floor to help you generate power.
- Arch your back. Your butt, shoulder blades, and head should always be in contact with the bench, but it’s okay to arch your lower back. If this isn’t natural for you, you can place a foam roller under your lower pack for practice. Many people have asked what the point of this technique is. Again, it shortens the distance the bar needs to travels.
Is this cheating? Not at all, this is a regulation lift. If you want to completely isolate your chest head over to the pec deck machine to finish up. It’s good that you’re learning to use more than just your chest when you bench press. Don’t be surprised if two days later you feel sore in your back, chest, shoulders, and triceps.
Mistake #5: Too many warm-up sets.
Don’t get me wrong you certainly need to properly warm-up. However you should do so with some very light weighst, push-ups, and stretching. You don’t want to exhaust your muscles before you get to your working sets. Most people pyramid up and then wonder whey they can’t get the weight on their last set. By doing lighter warm-up sets you will save your energy for the heavier weights and a big finish.
Mistake #6: Neglecting your back.
Strong lats or “wings” are very important to the negative phase of the bench press. Your back is the center of support for the weight as you lower it to your chest. That’s why blasting your back is so important and must not be skipped. Try some T-bar rows, or bent over barbell rows to strengthen your back. You’ll notice that it’s almost the exact opposite or antagonistic lift to the bench press.
Mistake #7: Lack of goals.
So you want to increase your bench press. That makes the two of us. The problem with this statement is it’s much too vague. I want you to pull out your pen and paper. Write your goal down on four separate sheets of paper in bold letters. “ACHIEVE A ______ POUND BENCH PRESS BY ______.” The simple task of writing your goal on paper brings you closer to completion. This act will make your goal more concrete, increasing the likelihood of achieving it. Now post these pieces of paper on your fridge, dashboard, computer screen, and dresser to constantly remind you of your goal.
Mistake #8: Lack of variety.
The human body is an amazing system. Whatever you throw at it, it can adjust and learn to handle. Keeping it off guard, mixing things up, and adding variety to your workouts will ensure your body responds positively. Always stay one step ahead by changing your workouts when you feel you’re not making the gains you expect. If you’re like me and want to look good while, while having some strength to back it up you’ve probably been training with reps between eight and twelve. Try lowering the reps on your bench press sets to the six to eight repetition range for a few weeks. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to see how your body reacts if you haven’t tried this before.
If you can avoid these common pitfalls and you’re open-minded enough to try something new you’ll soon be bench pressing more than you dreamed possible. Take it from me, the man who was stalemated at a 275-pound bench press for more than three years! Learn from others mistakes and watch your bench press sore. Your wife or girlfriend will be admiring your muscular upper body while your friend’s are dying to learn your secrets.
The Workout Split
Monday: Chest/Biceps
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Shoulders/Traps
Friday: Back/Triceps
Saturday: Watch the game
Sunday: Rest
The Bench Blastoff Routine
Day 1: Chest/Biceps
– Flat Bench Press 4 sets of 6-8 reps
– Incline Dumbbell Press 3 sets of 8-10 reps
– Cable Crossover 3 sets of 10-12 reps
– Alternating Dumbbell Curls 4 sets of 8-10 reps
– Seated Preacher Curls 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Day 2: Legs
– Squat 3 sets of 8-10 reps
– Leg Press 3 sets of 8-10 reps
– Leg Extensions 3 sets of 10-12 reps
– Leg Curls 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Day 3: Off
Day 4: Shoulders/Traps
– Font Military Press 3 6-8 reps
– Upright Rows 3 sets of 8-10 reps
– Lateral Riases 3 sets of 10-12 reps
– Dumbbell Shrugs 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Day 5: Back/Triceps
– Pullups 3 sets of 10-12 reps
– Bent Over Barbell Rows 3 sets of 6-8 reps
– Lat Pulldowns 3 sets of 8-10 reps
– Close Grip Bench Press 3 6-8 reps
– Tricep Extensions 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Day 6: Off
Day 7: Off
Points To Remember:
Ø Make sure you’re not overtraining.
Ø Work your bench press only once per week.
Ø Ditch the self-destructing negative thoughts.
Ø Don’t waste your energy with surplus warm-up sets.
Ø Train your back just as hard as your chest.
Ø Set a specific goal.
Ø Try performing less repetitions when benching.
Ø Drive with your heels, widen your grip, arch your back, and retract your shoulder blades!
About The Author:
Mike Westerdal is the President of Critical Bench, Inc. He earned his BS from Central CT State University and holds certification as a personal trainer with the American Council on Exercise. Westerdal also has experience coaching and playing professional football. His articles are published throughout the Web and in numerous weight lifting magazines including Monster Muscle. He has a competition bench press of 600 pounds. He is the author of the Critical Bench 2.0 Program.
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24 Comments
Chris
Will the workout schedule you put up make my bench press go up?
Bali
Referring to the the first point on overtraining…. whats a good ballpark figure to gauge the frequency of training? Is overtraining only referring to the muscle itself or could it be the result of the various systems of the body not recuperating fast enough? (nervous and immune system)
Sjaak
Am i missing the calve excercises ? And would it be OK to take one off day to do some cardio ?
Kohl
Found this article at criticalbench.com titled A strength training tip: Muscle Recovery by Gary Matthews. I quote: “Muscles take between 4-7 days to fully recover from a workout and another 2-3 days for over-compensation to take place. It can also take up to 7-14 days for the neuro – muscular system to fully recover from a high intensity strength training session.”
Do you agree with this Lee?
leehayward
There’s only one way to really know for sure,
you’d have to follow it…;-)
leehayward
There’s only one way to really know for sure,
you’d have to follow it… 😉
leehayward
If refers to both, the best way to judge whether or not you are on the right side of the overtraining fence is by your strength gains. If you are getting stronger and feel good about your workouts, than most likely you are not over training.
But if your strength gains are stuck in a rut and it feels like you are dragging your butt with low energy levels, that could very well be a sign of overtraining.
leehayward
Sure, you can add in cardio if you like, preferably on the off days from weight training. And you can add in some calve work with the leg training day.
Calves are not a demanding muscle group to train and they don’t really place much stress on the central nervous system, so you can add in calve work as extra exercise without hindering your recovery.
leehayward
Yes I do agree with that, it can take that long for “FULL Recovery”. A lot of powerlifters will take a full week off before a lifting meet so they are fully recovered and able to hit a personal record at the meet.
However, we don’t need “full recovery” to make optimal gains in the gym. I’ve personally made some of my best progress ever by following short but frequent training sessions for 4-6 weeks in a row. Then when you feel the signs of overtraining coming on, take a week off to fully recover before going back at it again for another 4-6 week training burst. That’s generally the fastest way to go about making training progress.
Mark
Hi Lee,
I love your advice and have been following you for over a year. I’ve hit a plateau and have been for over 4 months at the same bench @ 155lbs. I weight 140 at 5’8″ I dead lift 215lbs 8 reps. I follow all your advice and try to avoid the “8 mistakes” above. What am I doing wrong? Thank you.
Tim Smith
Mark,
I may be wrong, but it sounds like there might be some nutritional issues going on here. Altho’ 5’8″ and 145# is a relatively small stature, if you’re benching more than your bodyweight, i’d say that’s respectable. But it sounds to me like your situation might warrant additional protein in your meals or supplementing your diet with protein shakes, etc. Lee, do you agree ?
Mark
Tim Smith,
Thanks for the reply, Tim.
I am actually benching more than my weight. I weigh 140lbs and bench 145lbs. I workout 3 times a week consistently. I have about 3-4 nice size meals a day. Those meals are high in protein like fish, chicken breast (lots of that), eggs(lots of that), and 2-4 servings of fruits and vegs is there every day. Also, I do have a protein shake after every workout. I increased my other other exercises like, tris, bis, back, but chest and shoulders are my hardest to gain, although my chest is defined, but i admit my shoulders are on a weaker side. Any suggestion?
Tom
Just relax and “Trust in Lee”… he helped turn me into the Mountain of Molten Lust that i am today.
Chris,
Kane
Hey Lee,
I just read only workout the same body part once a week and almost fell off my chair, when I do bench press I do about 5 sets of 5 reps and I feel no ache or burn the day after, so wouldn’t benching just once a week be undertraining, or am I doing something wrong?
Thanks.
bigrich81
Sorry Lee but alot of this dosn’t make sense to me, first cuz u say your head should ALWAYS be in contact with the bench, Mike has his head up off the bench, 2nd to drive with your HEELS and Mike is driving with his toes, so isn’t he doing it in BAD FORM? Another thing is that u listed to train bench only once a week, but on your other BLOG about the 3X5 working sets for the main core lifts like DL, BENCH, SHOULDER PRESS, and SQUATS you want us to do that more than once a week. You also say dont exhaust your muscles before u get to your working sets, but one of your workouts on legs involves pre-exhausting you quads on the leg extension before hitting the squats heavy??? PLEASE CLARIFY FOR ME, i’m CONFUSED.
Matt
“benchpress once a week”
But that is not what you recommend in your “blast your bench” program. Who’s right then ?
Brodie
Mark,
Just a suggestion that helped me move past plateaus…try squatting and benching on the same day, squatting first and going heavy (3 sets of 5). I also do a funny little exercise for stabilizer muscles on the bench, where you completely de-load one side of the bar, and put weight on the other side–then just bench press the weighted side, holding the unweighted side of the bar in the air. It’ll really tax your core and your stabilizer chest muscles in a way that you’ve probably never felt before.
Also, try adding two more small meals with more healthy dietary fat. Olive oil and salmon are great for it, though I’ve also used flaxseeds in my fruit smoothies before. Fat helps build muscle, and is often neglected.
Winston Holmes
I think abs and chest flys are a must to add in that routine.
leehayward
There are lots of things you can do to bust out of a plateau such as switching up your routine, change your exercises, etc. If you haven’t already done so, you should give the full Critical Bench 2.0 program a try for yourself at: http://www.criticalbench2.com
leehayward
Getting sore and feeling aches and pains are not signs of muscle growth. Generally the better shape you are in, the less muscle soreness you’ll experience. Focus on your strength gains as a major indicator of your workout progress. A stronger muscle is a bigger muscle and vice versa.
leehayward
First off with Mike’s bench press pic above, that’s a competition pic and he’s lifting in a bench shirt. A bench shirt changes your technique big time with benching and lifting the head is a trick to help touch the weight to your chest when wearing a bench shirt.
As for pressing your feet into the floor, some prefer to push through the balls of their feet (i.e. on their toes) others like to push through the heels. Try both ways and see what works best for you.
The “Back To Basics” routine I posted on my blog earlier is different from this routine. It’s not that one is right or wrong, it’s just a different routine with different objectives. The same applies with different training principles, sometimes pre-exhausting a muscle group can help from a muscle buiding point of view, but it can limit strength gains from a powerlifting point of view.
leehayward
Who looks better… Blonds or brunettes?
What tastes better… Chocolate or vanilla?
What’s the better car… Ford or Chevy?
What’s better… Mac or PC?
What’s the best bench press program… Blast Your Bench or Critical Bench?
There are pros and cons to both programs. I’ve used both routines with great results. They are 2 totally different programs and use totally different training principles, but they complement each other nicely.
cwb3
Quick question on the numbers of sets per exercise shown in the routine above: I assume those include your warmup sets, correct?
So for example: Flat Bench Press 4 sets of 6-8 reps
This would be 2 or 3 warm up sets and then 1 or 2 full working sets, correct?
leehayward
No, I’d do 4 working sets. Do as many “warm up sets” as you need to get up to your top working weight for 6-8 reps, but don’t count those towards your total sets.