For most guys Monday is chest day. It’s the first workout of the week and you gotta start things off with “Chest”. Don’t ask me why this is, it just is for some weird unknown reason…
So, on Monday afternoon you can walk into any gym in the country and see several eager young muscle building enthusiasts doing the “Bench Press & Deadlift Dynamic Duo”…
It’s like a workout ritual or right of passage of sorts. Most young guys have been guilty of this at one time or another. I’ll admit it… Yes, I’ve been guilty of doing this in my younger days and that’s why I can spot this situation a mile away…
The workout consists of one guy doing the bench press with two or three big 45 pound plates on each side of the barbell. While his faithful spotter is standing by preparing to deadlift the barbell off his friends chest.
After pacing back and forth the gym and getting “psyched up” our bench presser plops down on the bench and takes the weight off the rack. The bar drops towards his body like a rock.
As the bar makes impacts with his chest it bounces nearly half way back up, but then all of a sudden the bar comes to a Dead Stop!
Our bench presser pushes and struggles with all his might, screaming out some primitive growls and grunts, while arching so much that his ass lifts eight inches off the bench…
But it’s to no avail, the bar doesn’t budge!
Now it’s time to call for backup as our faithful spotter / deadlifter jumps in and starts pulling on the bar, while simultaneously yelling “Come On, It’s All You!”
With the combined effort of our bench press & deadlift dynamic duo, the barbell defies the force of gravity and somehow gets pressed and pulled to lockout. Then the bench presser jumps up, raises his hands in the air, and victoriously shouts: “YES, I Did It!”
The Key To Building REAL Strength…
Now obviously I’m having fun here and just slightly exaggerating this story, but not by much.
Just think of all the guys that you have seen do this at one time or another.
(Or maybe you’ve even done this yourself… Gasp!)
Do you think that this bench press & deadlift circus act really builds strength?
Do the folks that routinely go through this silly Monday afternoon chest workout ritual strike you as strong lifters? (Probably NOT.)
The strongest lifters you will see are those who have complete control over the weight throughout the exercise – be that bench presses, squats, shoulder presses, curls, or any exercise they do.
This is not to say that these people are always the ones lifting the biggest weights. I’ve seen some guys that I consider to be strong, lifting moderate weights, but doing it in a way that dictates strength.
The difference between these lifters and the previously mentioned lifters is made crystal clear as time passes on.
Just keep track of the progress of the lifters who push themselves hard, but regularly use good lifting form. Chances are they will be the ones who make consistent long-term improvement with their lifts and muscular development.
Where as the “circus act” lifters who are always trying to max out and “test their strength”, are usually doing the same thing week in and week out until they are side lined with a muscle tear or some other major injury.
Gains in muscle and strength don’t come overnight. It takes consistent training over the long term and one cannot be consistent with their training if they are injured. Improper form and fast jerking of excessive weight will eventually lead to an injury, it’s just a matter of time.
Keeping It Under Control…
The reason why the good lifters make better gains in strength and muscular development is found in their lifting form. They control the weight during the eccentric (lowering) portion as well as the concentric (lifting) portion of the exercise.
Muscle tension is at its greatest during the eccentric contraction. Controlling the weight through the eccentric phase has been shown to increase strength and development at a faster rate then controlling it through the concentric phase alone.
However, this emphasis on the eccentric phase of the rep doesn’t mean that the concentric contraction should be ignored. Once the weight is lowered to the bottom of the exercise in a controlled manner, it should be lifted up with maximal force. Increasing the force of the contraction leads to increased power output and directly effects the intensity of the exercise.
When starting any new training routine or implementing a different lifting technique you should always start off conservatively and make gradual progress overtime. So, if this lifting form is new to you, then you may have to adjust your training weights to somewhat less then normal for a short period of time, until you become comfortable with the form.
Use this lifting technique on every rep of every set, even your warm ups. Don’t make the mistake of using sloppy form during your warm ups and then trying to lift strict during your work sets. Use proper form all the time so it becomes second nature to you.
As you get comfortable with this style of lifting you will develop a rhythm for it and you will not need to consciously think about your lifting form, you will just lift with good form automatically.
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34 Comments
Bali
So Lee whats the rep temp that bodybuilders should use for the most part?
leehayward
I personally don’t like to count tempo when training, just focus on keeping the weight under control at all times.
Tempo training was actually meant for coaches so they could judge whether or not their lifters were lifting too fast, or not fast enough. It wasn’t meant for the lifter himself to try and count in his head while lifting at the same time.
Otherguy
This is real good advice. Everyone likes to go in the gym once in a while and see what their max is. But i see some people doing that every day. Anyways, i think a spotter really helps too as you mentioned.
Sometimes if im doing dumbell curls or dumbell press or something, and im on that last rep. My mate puts his pinky finger under the bar or dumbells and then just touches it and sometimes i can push out that last rep.
Kinda like going past a barrier, feels great.
dave
yea. i know what u mean. though the pinky doesnt help out in lifting that weight at all(common sense right?), its that sort of encouragement that we receive that lets us summon the power to finish that last rep.
leehayward
That’s totally cool and is exactly how you should use a spotter. In this case you are doing 99% of the work.
But in the example I outlined above there is probably a 50/50 effort split between the bencher pushing and the spotter pulling. It’s quite hilarious to watch, but at the same time very dangerous. The only thing saving these guys is that they have youth on their side and their joints, tendons, and ligaments haven’t had years of wear and tear on them “Yet”.
Cody
Hey Lee, i have a weird problem with my chest. I get really sore from hardly any bench press for up to 7 days. I keep my training up but it never goes away. This week i decided to bench sore. Ive done this experiment before. So i took a 7 day break. then a 4 day break and then 2. So i benched yesterday and today i feel good. sore but manageable. At least i can move today. Technically forced over training. But i make gains still. Why do i have this problem with only my chest? Any ideas?
I have also recently injured my shoulder doing bench. (likely because i have bad shoulder rear dealt strength and my shoulders crooked.) And i am a small guy. So i am trying to train back into it. Couldn’t do the bar for a while without pain.
I have your Blast Your Bench routine and I’ve made good gains. So don’t waste your time ppl. Just go buy it. Have the extreme Fatloss routine too. Looks effective.
leehayward
Try stretching your chest after each chest workout, then do 15 minutes of moderate intensity cardio after your stretching. This will help to get clear some of the lactic acid and waste products that accumulate in your muscles during training and often lead to delayed muscle soreness.
Also alternating hot and cold showers can help. The hot water forces blood to the surface of the skin, cold water pulls blood to the core of the body. Doing 1 minute hot, 30 seconds cold, and alternating back and forth for several minutes can circulate blood through the muscles and help speed up recovery.
Brandon
I sometimes take ice baths too after a really intense and new workout =D seems to help me!
Cody
Nice,i never heard about the shower method. I used to do 3 minutes of treadmill on 8 to 10 then 10 pushups then 1 minute then 10 pushups again. Then repeat. for a total of 10 minutes. Light stretching. Then i would take my protein, vitimin c and stuff. Thanks for the help.
Oh, would your bench routine work good for shoulder press? Guessing not tho..
clay
hey just wondering im more into bodybuilding not power lifting is blast your bench a powerlifting or bodybuilding program thanks
Cody
Hey Clay, i used the Blast Your Bench as u may have read. After I used it I found that I could lift my max for more then 1 rep. And my chest was bigger. If u wanna lift more and be bigger its the way to go. Not sure if this helped. But its my experience. Its worth the money.
leehayward
The Blast Your Bench program will improve your pressing strength in general. So at the end of the program you’ll be stronger at shoulder presses, bench presses, incline presses, etc.
leehayward
It’s kind of both, but I generally recommend it to bodybuilders who are looking to get bigger and stronger. But I know of several powerlifters who use it as well to peak their strength for powerlifting meets.
Masterhossaine
It’s quit impressive. Thanks Lee.
Longhorn
Hi Lee, thanks for the article. I have a quick question for you– I know you mentioned in a few videos that you should hold your breath while on the lifting portion, as you’ll have better strength that way. It works like a charm and I use that often. However, a sports medicine doctor with our rugby team told me that the hold-your-breath technique can cause hernias in the lower abdominal region over time, due to the pressure exerted.
Have you heard anything about this? Are there any precautions to take against developing said hernia?
Ray
Lee, you’re the man!!! this article is hilarious but super useful too!
Everard Ollivierre
Hi Lee, I am trying to beef up my legs and abs how do I go about it?
anas
hi lee,hope doing well. lee i have a serious problem since few months with my right hand bicep. when i do any pulling exercise e.g seated calble row,straight bar curl,after a few reps(when i am lifting heavy wieghts) my right hand bicep got tight. i mean could not able to lift further. but this problem is not with my left hand bicep. I’m sure u can help me to over come this problem..
uday
you made it really a iot humouristic and interesting to read and i cant stop myself from laughing but all you said is true
somebody
Hey Lee, I have a question about the hot/cold shower method of recovery. I tried that once and I immediately ran out of breath. It took about 15 minutes for me to get back to normal breathing tempo. Why would this happen? (I did this about 20 minutes after a workout, don’t know if that matters)
Thanks for any feedback in advance.
dhawal kale
hi,sir plz send me a shedual of week.
Siva
Hi Lee,
I am Siva , i am new to gym and started since from last 45 days , i have closely observed that after starting gym , my stomach is growing , i don’t understand why it is happening so , i don’t think i am doing wrong bcoz i am following master instructions. Is there any thing like this if gym is started the stomach will grows . Could you please tell me the reason behind this.
Thanks,
Siva.
Ankit
That was a real good information. from tomorrow onwards i will concentrate on eccentric portin as well. Thanx a lot again Lee
Curtis Uyeda
I never use a spotter, mainly because none of my friends workout at all, plus I workout at 4:30 am. However, using Blast Your Bench, I’ve increased the reps on my max bench which gave me the confidence to increase the weight. BTW, I entered the local Senior Games in Bench Press and took the Gold Medal in the 60-64 group, middle weight class. Thanks
mo broderick
Lee…funny! I have seen this a lot over the years (Im 51) and I would say there is no exaggeration to your scenario. I laughed to myself because it has become familiar. I too have learned over the years that a bench press is just that–a press. So much more control and strength is gained by doing this correctly. Thanks for your email articles.
mo
Nelson
Good Day Lee, Looks like I am Not in the majority of starting Chest on Mondays.. I start at the top, Traps, Shoulder presses, Deltoids ( Front, Side and Rear ). In between sets I do Planks as my rest period… Personnaly I favor bench presses with dumbells to fully control each arm strength up and down… Tuesdays for me Chest and Back and more Planks, Wednesday is Arms and Planks Thur. is Legs and Planks and Fri is rest, but I still go out and do lots of walking and shopping… Sat and Sun is famil park activities… Keep up the Good Work Lee…I read and try to comment on all your e-mails…Herc.
Bilal
Damn I was laughing my ass off as I read this. I see this kind of duos all the time lol
bill
great help with the bench work out and yes can see lots doing it like mad in the gym.
just love mondays
leehayward
That’s awesome Curtis, congrats on winning the Gold Medal.
leehayward
Nelson,
Good stuff, that sounds like a well balanced routine.
Alex
Haha haha… Lee I can recall being one of these guys. I have then since wised up. I watch bad form all the time and just cringe wondering how they have not strained, ripped or torn something. I also moved my bench press day to Friday and do legs on Monday. Kinda a reminder to those guys to do them.
Larry Hayes
Lee this is so true. I am a 50 year old man that used to do body building in the late 90’s until I flipped my car over because a guy not paying attention on the highway crossed a four lane highway and I T Boned him. Needless to say it took me out of the gym almost permanently. I was training for a show when this happened. My car did not have airbags so my chest became the “life saving” bag for me. I was benching over 300 pounds at the time and had build my chest up pretty solid, so when I hit the car the impact caused me to go right into the steering wheel. It broke the wheel completely and my chest almost caved in but thankfully it did not. Long story short, due to my mass that I had built on my pecs it save me from having my sternum broken. I learned to bench from professional body builders so I can relate to your story of the duo because I have been there done that. I used to see that in the gym often. Later I learned to lower the amount of weight until I could control it myself without my spotter doing a “dead lift.” This is something you learn as time goes on however I still work out and I still see guys doing the “duo.”
leehayward
Larry Hayes,
Wow, glad you weren’t hurt in the car accident.
Robin Hammerton
Lee am I wrong or are you and James Gregory arching your backs and lifting your backsides off the bench?!!!