3 Ways To Bump Up Your Bench Press

You may have reached that point where you feel like your workout is going brilliantly and you?re looking great in the mirror. However ? for some reason ? your weight hasn?t increased and you can?t seem to bump up your bench press. Forget smashing chest workouts and piling on reps and reps ? instead check out these useful tips which will help you start seeing results today:

1. Strengthen Your Lats

When you bench, your back and lats are also engaged and help you move the weight. Therefore, without strong lats, your bench press is destined to falter once you reach a certain point. It could actually get worse due to muscle imbalances between your chest and back. In order to avoid this, superset your bench press with bentover rows which will help your back gain the strength needed.

2. Vary Your Grip Width

Many powerlifters have mixed up their grip widths for years and research backs this up as an effective way to improving bench press strength. A wider grip encourages the larger, prime mover muscles (pectorals) while a narrow grip (roughly shoulder width) puts more stress on the shoulders and arms. By doing this, you can focus on all three muscle groups and grow your chest in a balanced manner.

3. Improve Your Leg Drive

A lot of lifters struggle to effectively use their legs or are confused on how it works. Regardless if you?re lifting for hypertrophy or weight, keep your feet planted to the ground whilst keeping some tension in your legs as you bring the bar down. When the bar touches your chest, use your legs to help drive the bar upwards. This added momentum will also assist you to move the bar through your sticking point and into lockout.