Detailed Instructions For Building Chest Mass And Bench Strength
The bench press has gained a reputation as a rite of passage, a trial by fire, and a founding member of the powerlifting "big three." It is all that and more. There is even a day of the week dedicated to the bench press - "International bench day" is synonymous with Mondays at gyms everywhere. Bench presses are great exercises for building chest, shoulders, and triceps strength. Barbells and benches are stable and have a fixed range of motion, allowing more weight to be used. The more weight you move, the more size and strength you will gain. You have found the right place if you are looking for a bench-focused workout to increase strength and muscle in your upper body. Here are the details.

Preparing for a Bench Workout: How to Warm Up

It may not be a huge issue on rare occasions, but over time, not warming up may decrease performance and increase injury risks. Warming up your muscles and getting your shoulder and elbow joints ready for action is more beneficial than rushing through it. The bench press engages your upper back and rotator cuffs, so perform any upper back movement that engages your scapula and rotators - face pulls with external rotation or band pull-parts.

A few sets of lightweight ramp-up sets on the bench press, focusing on engaging your chest muscles, will get you ready to go. Try this upper-body prep if you want a more thorough warm-up. When benching, your lats and upper back stabilize your chest, so these exercises focus on them. In order to properly prepare your shoulders and rotator cuff, you'll need to get your back ready for chest day.

• When pulling the face with an external rotation, hold the resistance band at eye level against a stable object. Step back with your arms extended straight ahead, overhand gripped. As you pull your hands to the top of your head, drive your elbows back in line with your shoulders. You should point your thumbs behind you and place your palms close to your ears at the peak of the contraction. Return to the extended arms position. Do two sets of 15 reps.
• Start in a push-up position with your hands and toes on the ground and your body straight. Pinch your shoulder blades together while reaching your chest toward the ground while keeping your arms stiff and locked. As you extend your shoulder blades down and push your chest away from your hands, drive your hands "through the ground." Repeat two sets of 10 reps.
• For the rear delt fly, hold a pair of light dumbbells in each hand, or stand in the middle of a light resistance band and hold each end. Allow your arms to hang toward the ground with a slight bend in them as you bend forward at the waist and near parallel to the ground. Ensure that your arms are parallel to your shoulders. Maintain a constant arm angle throughout the exercise. Take a moment to pause before returning to the stretched position. Two sets of 12 reps should be performed.
• The Spiderman With Rotation exercise begins in a push-up position, with your hands and toes on the ground and your body straight. If your mobility permits, step forward with your left leg, aiming to get your foot near the pinky on your left hand. Maintain a straight right leg. Lift your left arm to the ceiling without bending your right arm, allowing your upper body to rotate fully. After bending your arms perpendicular to the ground, return to a push-up position and feel a complete body stretch. With each repetition, alternate sides. For each side, perform two sets of five repetitions.
• The Incline Plyo Push-Up involves standing near a stable flat bench or box, with your hands on the bench, your toes on the ground, and your body straight. Then, lower your chest to the bench and explode upwards, letting your hands leave contact with the bench as you lift your chest. Brace your core and catch yourself with slightly bent arms. Immediately after completing the repetition, take a breath and reset. The reps should be done in two sets of eight.

Best Bench Press Exercises For Muscle and Strength

In order to gain absolute strength, you should concentrate on lifting heavier weights, working at an intensity of 85-90% of your one-repetition maximum. This can be accomplished by performing multiple 'mini-sets' of low repetitions with heavy weights in order to accumulate significant volume. By strengthening muscles, you are setting the stage for them to grow, which leads to more muscle growth. As a follow-up to the heavy work, two different supersets concentrate on exercises that will increase your chest size and strength with ease.

Split your upper/lower body workout once a week. The first exercise should be completed in three complete cluster sets, followed by four the next week and five the week after that. When you are capable of performing five cluster sets, you should add weight. All three of the other bench exercises should be performed at the lower end of the rep range with an increase of one repetition each week. Increase the weight by five to 10 pounds when you have reached the upper range, and start the process over.

Bench Press Cluster Set

The flat barbell bench press is the best exercise for moving the most weight. With this benching variation, you'll achieve better overall muscle development since both upper and lower chest muscles are targeted equally.

Steps to Do it: Position yourself supine on the flat bench, arch your lower back slightly, and plant your feet firmly on the ground. To enhance stability and upper back strength, pull your shoulder blades together. Squeeze your hands hard and flex your arm and grip muscles to the maximum before unracking the load. Lower the bar to your sternum or chest base. Pull your shoulder blades together and keep your back tight while lifting the weight.

Workout Sets: 3-5 x (4-2)

Rest period: After each mini-set, rest for 10 seconds. Every full set should be followed by three minutes of rest.

Bench Press with Close-Grip

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Using a close-grip bench press, your hands are spread shoulder-width apart and the weight is shifted to your triceps and inner chest. The chest and triceps will train from a different angle for improved muscle development, so you won't be able to lift as much weight.

Steps To Do It: As Keeping your elbows tucked in, position your hands inside shoulder-width on the flat bench press. Get tight when you pull the bar out of the rack. Lower the bar to your chest while keeping your elbows close to your ribs. Press again until you reach lockout once you have reached your desired depth.

Workout Sets: 3-4 x 4-6

Rest Period: You must move on to the next exercise without resting.

Seated Band Pull-Apart

Following two pressing exercises, you'll get a break with this simple pulling exercise to strengthen your upper back. With this seated band pull-apart, you will engage your upper back (since you are seated) without having to leave the bench.

Steps To Do It: Hold a looped band at shoulder height with your hands shoulder-width apart while sitting upright. Keeping your arms nearly straight, pull the band apart. Maintain a down-shoulder position and a high chest position. Extend your arms to either side of your body while keeping your shoulder blades together. Repeat from the beginning.

Workout Steps: 3 x 15-25

Rest Period: Take two minutes to rest before repeating the previous exercise.

Single-Arm Dumbbell Bench Press

Single-arm (unilateral) movements provide less strength than barbell bench presses, but there are still a lot of benefits to this variation. The first step is to address any imbalances between the sides of your body, leading to better muscle development and more healthy joints. As a second benefit, you will have more freedom of movement because the dumbbell bench press allows you to adjust your grip and arm angle to find the right pressing path.

Steps To Do: While sitting on a flat bench, place one dumbbell on your knee. Using your knee, drive the dumbbell toward your shoulder while pressing it up. Keeping your elbow at roughly 45 degrees from your body, lower the dumbbell. Repeat the process of pressing up the dumbbells until they lock out.

Workout Sets: 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions each.

Rest Period: Take a 60-90 second break before moving on to the next exercise.

Dumbbell Chest Flye

The dumbbell chest flye can be considered an isolation exercise for the chest. With this exercise, the triceps are removed from the movement and the pecs are able to move more freely, resulting in better muscle development.

Steps To Do: On a flat bench, lie supine and hold a dumbbell in each hand. Start by locking both arms out above your chest. While performing the movement, maintain a slight bend in your elbows. As you lower your arms, make sure they're aligned with your shoulders. Reverse the motion when you feel a stretch in the pecs and squeeze the chest muscles to return to the top.

Workout Sets: 3 x 8-15

Rest Period: Take a break of 60-90 seconds before repeating the previous exercise.

Chest Anatomy

In general, the clavicular head of your pec major originates on the front or anterior surface of your clavicle (collarbone). The anterior surface of the sternum is the origin of the pec major's sternal head. They are both attached to the humerus (upper arm) and are involved in most upper-body movements. The training above focuses on two primary chest functions:

• By pushing or lifting your arms in front of your body, you perform shoulder flexion.
• As with chest flye, bench presses, or push-ups, horizontal adduction involves your hands (and joints) bringing together in front of your pecs.

The pecs are not only the muscles that give you a big, muscular chest, but they are also the primary muscles that hug your body. A good pec size and strength will help you tackle, grab, and fend off opponents in the sporting arena. They also help you throw and swing harder and faster when you play sports like football, baseball, and tennis.

Have fun Benching

Bench presses are one of the most popular and potentially most effective exercises for targeting the chest, shoulders, and triceps. By focusing on a handful of movements that complement the bench press, you will be able to build muscle and strength. Ensure that you warm up your chest and shoulders before beginning the in-depth, ultimate bench workout outlined above.

By Rashmi Goel