Posted on May 21, 2014 by Jenny Cromack

If you’re looking for an exercise to help develop your chest, shoulders and arms then the bench press is ideal. I read an article that said the bench press had been pushed aside with the rise of CrossFit and metabolic training programs but in our eyes the bench press will always have its place. All that is needed is a bit of creativity so you know how to get a bigger and stronger chest and prevent your bench press attempts leading to a plateau.

Here are a few tips to spice up your bench press to develop explosive strength and get you feeling strong.

1) To get strong fast, lift fast.

In order to get strong fast you need to bench press with a fast tempo this will result in you lifting fast and producing more force, placing more demand on the muscle leading to greater recruitment of more motor units.

2) For athletic and functional strength use the incline bench press.

The incline bench press is crucial for athletic performance and functional strength as the angle translates to most sports due to the shoulder joint angle in relation to the trunk.

However all variants in the body position can lead to differences in muscle activation. The incline press recruits the upper pectoral more than a flat bench press which focuses on the middle pectoral fibres as well as the triceps. The decline press focuses on the lower fibres more than the incline press.

3) Over head press and its importance

For maximal strength and muscle gain the over head press is key. It develops the deltoids, trapezius and triceps.

Incorporating the over head press into your programme this help prevent shoulder injuries that commonly occur when people favour the bench press over the over head press.

To help improve your bench include the dumbbell overhead press into your programme. The optimal strength ratio for the over head press to the close grip bench is 29% so if you can close- grip bench 100kg you should be able to overhead press a pair of 29kg dumbbells over your head for 8 reps.

4) Grip variations and their affect on muscle activity in the bench press

A wide grip recruits the pectoralis, whereas a close grip increases triceps activity at a small expense to the pec.

A supinated grip leads to a greater increase in activity at the biceps and the upper head of the pec, there is no change when the grip is widened.

A wide grip places the most stress on the shoulder joint and can lead to injury of the shoulder if its trained chronically with a heavy weight

Unless you’re a power lifter for heavy or powerful training use a shoulder width grip to limit stress applied to the shoulder.

5) Train on a stable bench

A lot of people think that performing a bench whilst balancing on a gym ball will be great. Stick to a stable bench this will allow you to life heavier weights and add variety by using both dumbbell and barbell presses and vary the tempo.

6) Rest to get your full potential

Not enough people take rest periods seriously and wonder why they are struggling to complete their last reps or sets.

On the other hand some people rest for far too long.

Always time your rest periods to ensure you are resting for the right time.

Hopefully these tips will show you how to get a bigger and stronger chest. Don’t repeat the same routine every training session ask for advice from one of the motive8 personal trainers who will be more than willing to help you achieve success in your benching!