Chris:
I’m a big fan of your column, and have written you before. I am planning to compete in the Senior Olympics and need your advice on increasing my bench press.
I weigh 170, and my best lift is 205. I’m having trouble getting beyond that. I feel I need to do 225 to compete. I’m 58 years young. Do you have any advice that will help me increase my bench press?
Dan C.
Dan:
There are many ways to increase your bench press. However I’m going to suggest that you concentrate on three things; use proper technique, work muscles that assist you in the bench press and cycle your strength over a period of 8-10 weeks.
The first and most important thing is using proper technique. Power lifting is much different than body building or any other type of lifting.
There are several techniques that can help you automatically press more weight. Here are 3 that I have found to be important.
Make sure you warm up properly. A warm up means exactly what it says. Warm your muscles so the can function better but don’t tire them out. Most people waist too much time and energy trying to get ready to bench press. By the time they get to their work sets they are tired and able to move less weight. A warm up should never be more than 15-40% of the amount of weight you plan to lift. Complete just enough warm up sets to get your body ready for your workout. If you can bench 200 pounds and you warm up with 150 pounds you are using valuable energy needed to fuel you through your heavy sets.
Use proper foot position. Foot position is important because it gives you stability when lifting heavy weight.
Your feet should always be planted firmly on the floor while performing a bench press. I like to teach my lifters to position their feet so that their knees are angled slightly less than 90 degrees. I then have them arch their back and put shoulder blades flat on the bench. With a little bit of practice you can learn to push off your legs to gain momentum while moving the bar back up.
Use longer rest periods when practicing the bench press. Rest periods between sets are important because it takes the body time to recover after lifting heavy weight. In power lifting you get three attempts to lift the heaviest weight possible. Therefore muscle conditioning is less important. Rest 7 minutes between each bench press set for best results.
Next you will need to concentrate on muscles that assist in the bench press. Bench pressing is not all chest strength. There are muscles that can help you bench more weight. In fact your shoulders, triceps and back play an important role. Be sure to include these muscles in your program. Work each muscle group once a week.
The third and final thing is to cycle your strength. The average person that’s trying to get stronger will lift as heavy as they can every time they go to the gym. This is not a good idea if you want to reach your potential.
Gaining strength is much more scientific than that. It takes time to get stronger. In other words if you were building a house you wouldn’t throw the roof on first. You would need to build a strong foundation before you do anything else. The same goes for your body when trying to gain strength.
I usually train my power lifters by working toward a goal over a period of 8-10 weeks. If they can bench 200 pounds, I usually add 5-10% for a realistic goal. A person that can already bench 200 pounds can realistically expect to gain 10-20 pounds over an 8-10 week training cycle. Start light with about 60% of the amount of weight you hope to lift. Cycle your strength by increasing the weight about 5% each week. Decrease the amount of reps as you get closer to your contest. Take at least 7 days off from lifting before your contest to allow your body to rest.