In last week’s blog, I focused on the bench press, and how the lifting regimens that I listed allowed you to surpass your current plateaus and to help you go after a dense, lifters physique. The programs mentioned could be utilised on all the ‘big’ exercises, including the dead-lift, squat and even the clean-and-press, giving the reader a breath of fresh air in their workouts to make some noticeable gains in size and strength.

But you will never realise the full potential and effects of those programs if your bench press technique is not ‘up to par’. This is a fitting description, as a bench press is as complicated as a golf swing. There are so many moving parts and focal points involved that need to be precisely timed and executed to perform the ideal press. Of course, unlike a golfer, you also have the added pressure – literally –of controlling several hundred unforgiving pounds that wants to come down as quickly as possible.

So here is a much warranted “Part II” to figuring out exactly just how much you can bench – with the maximum safety, control and return on your efforts. What follows is a list of important steps to take and mentally prepare for – and I cannot stress just how important the ‘mental aspect’ of bench pressing is. Power-lifting exercises require absolute focus to successfully and safely perform, but are a hugely rewarding feat to undertake – both in terms of size and strength gains but also confidence.

So pay close attention, grasshopper – the experience and wisdom of those before you have revealed the path to bench pressing enlightenment…

1. Warm-up!

I am constantly amazed at the willingness of most people who perform the bench press who go in cold and expect to experience a great session. You may be short on time before you go to work, or you might be bubbling over with enthusiasm to “get hench” and become “a bit of a Unit” (my two favourite English expressions I’ve heard since returning to the UK).

But do yourself a favour and take the time to thoroughly warm-up. I personally spend about 45 minutes before I actually start a weight-lifting session with stretches and light warm-ups. Before I even lie on the bench, I’ve stretched and warmed-up my upper body by grabbing on to something and holding multiple stretches for between 5-8 seconds at a time. I’ve taken a pair of light dumbbells (7.5kg) and performed shoulder raises, curls, hammer curls, kickbacks and shoulder rotations to get my upper body prepared for the challenge ahead (10-20 reps at a time is sufficient). Use this time to tune in mentally prepare yourself for what’s to come.

2. Situation Awareness

When I lie on the bench, I align the bar with the ceiling panels to form parallel lines (an OCD trait I’m sure, but it also helps me know if I’m more likely to make contact with the supports during a press, which can be an incredibly frustrating accident when you’re determined to clear a press. It also provides me a point of reference once I’ve found my ideal body position on the bench.

3. Tune-in

Again, try taking a couple of light dumbbells, and use them to help you find your benching groove. Open up your chest and try to lift the weights from your lat shelf. Stretch with the weights as if you were going to perform a pec fly, and feel the stretch in your chest.

When you finally lift the bar, try to crush the bar in your hands, and rip it apart as you lower it to your chest. You are actively preparing your muscles for high-tension endurance, and recruiting the maximum number of muscle fibres to assist you in your pressing. Perform a few sets with just the bar, and then maybe a plate on each side for a few reps (no more than 10).

4. Get in the groove

Again, as mentioned last week, here is the technique for the lift: A one second pause on the chest for the press (do not relax), a one second pause on the top – NO BOUNCING! Plant your feet like you mean it – none of this feet up crap. Take a deep breath and brace your whole body as if you are about to get punched and unrack the barbell. Flex your pecs hard on the top and literally pull the bar into your sternum with your lats. At the same time, keep pushing your chest out as if you are trying to meet the bar half-way. Your pectorals should feel a tight stretch as they are being loaded like rubber bands.

5. Breathing

Trying to inhale with a heavy barbell compressing your ribcage is an exercise in futility, so hold your breath on the way down. Pause for a second when the bar touches your chest. Do not relax, stay tight and ready for blast-off

6. “By the Power of GreySkull…”

Squeeze the weight off your chest and push it towards your feet as if you are doing a decline press. Thanks to Louise Simmons, this technique as saved many pecs and shoulders in the power-lifting community. This may feel like a very unnatural manoeuvre – you have a tendency to bring the bar up your chest, calling more upon your triceps and shoulders to clear the weight when you fatigue – but persevere. You will get the best results if you imagine that you are pushing yourself away from the bar, sort of wedging your body between the weight and the bench. You will feel tightness and pressure in your upper back if you do it right. When you approach failure you will be pleasantly surprised that the bar keeps inching up, persistent and stable, as if in a Smith machine.

7. Power-up

When the reps get hard and you hit your sticking point, grip the bar hard. Simultaneously flex your glutes, abs and grunt – imaging that you are sending energy from your stomach into your fists. The effect of this martial art technique is nothing short of amazing. Before heading down for another rep make sure that your scapulae have not slipped out. If they have, pinch them together. If the weight in your hands is too heavy to allow it, rack the bell and continue your set in the rest-pause fashion.

Drago!!