The bench press primarily targets the pecs, front delts, and triceps. Yes, it’s true that you will need to build more leg strength (leg drive) and upper back strength to truly maximize your bench…but for this article let’s focus on exercises for the primary muscle groups.
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Ok let’s stop wasting time and get to the exercises.
CLOSE GRIP BENCH PRESS
If you want to boost your bench then you should bench more. This is true for strength training any exercise. If you’re already benching a lot then the next choice is in bench press variations. The close grip bench press is a great way to boost overall bench strength because it targets the triceps in the same movement pattern as the bench press.
Take a grip that’s comfortable for you and focus on your triceps as you perform this movement. It’s not crucial to bring the bar all the way to your chest with this movement. In fact, stopping about halfway down and then pressing to lockout is arguably a better way to perform this movement. Since the triceps will primarily help increase lockout strength, they play the biggest role towards the top of the movement. Working a close grip bench press in the middle and top part of the movement will work the triceps in the part of the bench movement where they matter most.
I always recommend a spotter with any bench movement, especially when you’re training for strength. However, setting up in the power rack is a great option as well. You can set the safety pins at the height where you stop about halfway down on the rep. You can let the weight rest on them and perform the press from a dead stop. This will help add strength and train the triceps to fire through that part of the movement. If you have a spotter then you can also incorporate paused reps by stopping halfway down and holding the weight for a 2-3 second count before lifting again. A spotter also allows you to work in overload where you pick a heavier weight than normal so that you can work the “negative” (eccentric) part of the rep. The spotter can then help you lift the weight back to the starting position.
All of these styles of close grip bench press must be performed with perfect form and the proper weight or you’ll risk injury. However, if you’ve been struggling to increase your max on the bench then the variations with this movement would be the first place that I would start!
DEAD SKULLS
The Dead Skull is one of the best triceps movements there is. It will primarily work the long head (biggest part) of the triceps, and you’ll be moving the weight from a dead stop on every rep. This dead stop means you have to generate enough strength to move the weight and can’t rely on any “rebound” effect from say a standard skull crusher or similar movement. Dead stop reps are a great way to increase strength on any movement (similar to what I suggested for close grip bench in the power rack). Again, this targets the triceps which means you’ll improve lockout strength. You’ll also incorporate some lats and shoulder stability with this movement as it’s not so much pressing from your chest and more extending the arm overhead and then in front of your face. That shoulder stability is a welcomed addition when trying to build a bigger bench press. In the end, big and strong triceps are one of, if not the most, important component to a big bench press.
STRICT STANDING OVERHEAD PRESS
Many of you know how to do a push press. This is where you use a little leg drive to move the weight and then “catch” it overhead. This is great for Olympic lifting movements like the “clean and jerk” and the “snatch”, but you want to do these without the leg drive if you want to boost bench strength. You can do a seated military press but I think the strict standing overhead press is a better option because you don’t have back support and have to stabilize the weight yourself. You’ll essentially perform a standing overhead press but don’t use any leg drive and don’t cheat by arching your back (this can injure you anyways). By performing these strictly, you’ll build up massive deltoid and triceps strength…both of which will boost your bench press. An interesting thing to note is that performing this movement, the push press, and the Olympic lifts will certainly help you get a bigger bench press. However, performing the bench press has little carry over to the Olympic lifts. Either way, we are focused on a bigger bench in this article, so adding strict standing overhead presses to your workout program is a great way to boost your bench press strength.
You’d think that we would focus more on pec movements, but that’s not always the best route for a stronger bench. I’ve found that having stronger delts, and especially triceps, will do more to increase your bench than having stronger pecs. Of course, we want to train the pecs too, but it’s really about training overall pressing strength more than isolating the chest. The best part is that you can do this and build a bigger chest at the same time so you can’t go wrong here!
You now have some new exercises and variations to add to your benching days. Remember, the first thing that you should do to build a bigger bench press is to bench press more. This can be more frequently or performing more sets and reps depending on your program. You have to factor in rest as well since you won’t be at your strongest if you’re not able to recover in between sessions. Once you get that down then you find ways to incorporate these other movements to work specific components of the bench press. Work on shoulder stability and really focus on triceps strength. Those two things will compliment any bench press focused program. All that’s left for you to do now is to put the work in!
