15 Feb The bench press. From suck to good? Maybe.

By: Brian Carroll

With any lift, you have some people that are genetically gifted and some that are not. Gifted for the bench press would be a thick chest and back with short and stubby arms. Without naming names, most top benchers are built this way. There are things you can do to take you from a lift being a weak spot in your arsenal, to being one that doesn’t hurt you or actually making it a good lift – one that normally would really hurt your total, and/or ego in the gym. I’m going to show you the four things you can do to help your bench. No matter if you compete or not or if you use gear or not, you can get better at the bench press, no matter what disadvantages you may have been given. I’m going to tell you what I did to get better at the press in these four ways. Note that this does not happen overnight. It takes patience, a methodical plan of attacking weak points, and taking advantage of everything that you possibly can.

[wa-wps]

1. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH GREATNESS AND BE A SPONGE! 

The first thing I did was get with best bencher in the world, in 2006. Shawn Frankl took me in and I went up to Omaha to train for the weekend with the best benchers in the world at the time. NOTE: after this trip my bench went from 600.7 to 785 in less than two years. Frankl taught me how to use my whole body and to use my lats to take the weight. Every rep is the same. Bending the bar in half activates your lats and reminds you to get up on your traps and drive your heels. All good benchers use more than just their upper body – it’s a full body movement. Hips, leg drive, trap placement and leg drive. To be the best, seek out the best! More recently, we have used Paul Key to help us dial in the bench with his rock solid technique teachings. Also, look for Paul to start writing for PRS over the next couple of weeks!

2. FORM AND YOUR MENTAL CHECKLIST

Have an ingrained routine that you do not deviate from. Have a mental checklist. I used to hate the bench so much, that I would just go and bench without much thought in it. What I do now? I talk about a few things above that I name essential to setting up the bench press. The set-up is your foundation that you build upon. You wouldn’t try to throw stucco on a house that’s not even had its foundation poured, would you? Hell no. Solidify your foundation like a tripod. Traps, 1 foot, and other foot. You don’t want your back or your butt flat and flush on the bench. You’re hovering on the bench, feet are rooted and you are driving your heels into the ground (whether you use a tucking style or a wider base with feet out). You make sure to have a three man liftoff. This sound stupid, but having your spotters be able to place the bar in your hands and you stay tight the whole time and only have to worry about benching makes a world of difference. Nothing more.

Checklist would be…

• Lock your feet in like a monkey, grip the floor and traps into bench like a tripod. Wipe your back off so that its not sweaty and make sure bottom of shoes are dry. HEELS ARE DUG IN AND POINTED OUT.
• Get your breathing right and be stiff and locked in. No micro-movements under the bar and take your last breath before you get the handoff.
• Wait until you have control of the bar before you descend, flare your lats and take the bar with them as you bend the bar and sink your traps into the bench and driving heels.
• Staying as tight as possible while lowering the bar controlled, staying up with your heels dug and your belly reaching toward the bar – once the bar is motionless on chest. Drive you heels though the floor and traps driving through the bench. You are pushing yourself away from the bar and pushing the bar back at an angle slightly over your face to lockout.

3. LOOK THE PART & GET MORE JACKED

Once I figured out those two and maximized those, I saw a huge carryover to my bench. That’s the thing about technique and set-up…you can fix those sometimes immediately and have a massive carry over. I needed to add some triceps and chest size. I have pretty long arms, so I needed to fill them out. My lockout was an issue still. Making my chest and back thicker, would shorten my pressing distance and give me a better driving base. I got more serious about my diet and actually went up one weight class, then another. Doing things like close grip bench, floor presses, board presses, DB presses, heavy rows, shrugs and the like really helped in filling my upper body out. The weak point day that I have in 10/20/Life for a secondary day is ideal to attack weak points on a second day.

**See exercise assistance work A and B for more info to see where you need to work concerning your weaknesses as it’s laid out for every lift top/middle/bottom for each lift — in 10/20/LIFE. **

4. MINDSET

Make up your mind that mediocrity is behind you. Last but not least, I decided one day that I didn’t want to suck at the bench anymore. Mentality is so crucial with any lift that you do. If you make up your mind that you suck at it then you are correct and will. If you say that I will do well at this lift and get better, you might just get better. Having a well thought out plan, your mental game on point, and a good coach and/or or team to train around is so important. I speak pretty in depth about the mental state in 10/20/LIFE. Don’t be afraid of weight and getting better, be afraid to fail and let yourself down, but don’t be afraid to try!!

In closing…

Remember, iron sharpens iron, negativity & lackluster attitudes & performance breeds more of the same. You are who you roll with! Next time you see your lifts and think man, I need to get better – don’t just think about it. Break down your lift and see about these four steps and attack it with tenacity and make it a strong point, and not anything less than your best. Give things time to get better with a well laid out plan. Most significant changes don’t just happen over night. Give your assistance work at least five weeks at a time to work for you before you change it up. Don’t be a program jumper and seek out the best in that particular field. Get with the guy who does things correctly and listen to one person at time, otherwise you’ll be spun in 360 degrees and never get anywhere.

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Brian Carroll

Owner and Founder at PowerRackStrength.com

Brian is a retired world-class powerlifter with over two decades of world-class powerlifting. From 1999 to 2020, Brian Carroll was a competitive powerlifter, one of the most accomplished lifters in the sport's history. Brian started off competing in bench press competitions 'raw,' then, shortly into the journey, he gravitated toward equipped lifting as there were no "raw" categories then. You only had to choose from single-ply (USPF) and Multi-ply (APF/WPC). Brian went on to total 2730 at 275 and 2651 at 242 with more than ten times his body weight in three different classes (220, 242, 275), and both bench pressed and deadlifted over 800 pounds in two other weight classes. He's totaled 2600 over 20 times in 2 different weight classes in his career. With 60 squats of 1000lbs or more officially, this is the most in powerlifting history, regardless of weight class or federation, by anyone not named David Hoff. Brian realized many ups and downs during his 20+ years competing. After ten years of high-level powerlifting competition and an all-time World Record squat at 220 with 1030, in 2009, Brian was competing for a Police academy scholarship. On a hot and humid July morning, Brian, hurdling over a barricade at 275lbs, landed on, fell, and hurt his back. After years of back pain and failed therapy, Brian met with world-renowned back specialist Prof McGill in 2013, which changed his trajectory more than he could have imagined. In 2017, Brian Carroll and Prof McGill authored the best-selling book about Brian's triumphant comeback to powerlifting in Gift of Injury. Most recently (10.3.20) -Brian set the highest squat of all time (regardless of weight class) with 1306 lbs – being the first man to break the 1300lb squat barrier at a bodyweight of 303 lbs.

Latest posts by Brian Carroll (see all)

• Brian Carroll Coaches the Side Plank - May 1, 2024
• Brian Carroll Coaches the Birddog - April 24, 2024
• Protected: -Header Image Post Template 2024 - April 18, 2024