Tip #5: Don’t go full range on the bench press

Photo courtesy of bodybuilding.com

Another shocking revelation for you huh? Well, there is a scientific basis for this tip of mine so let me explain.

Our muscles fibers are comprised by motor units. These motor units are governed by the “all-or-none” principle. What this means is once the group of muscle fibers get the signal to contract, they all respond together. So its either they respond or they don’t. In the case of benching a weight above your chest, the same thing happens.Our chest or “pectoralis” muscle spans a wide attachment line along the sternum where it originates and inserts into your humerus bone ( Your upper arm). When you use lift a barbell, all the muscle fibers that is involved in the movement fire up.

But your next question would probably be…” why not all the way down to your chest since you feel the contraction more right“? Actually, the contraction you feel is a tug on your tendons. Once your elbows go past your body when doing a bench press, you’re already hyperextending your shoulder. Now unless you love your shoulders more than you love your personal record on the bench press, I suggest you stop when your arms are parallel to your body.

So, do you still want to go full range?

Floor Circuits 3

Here’s another circuit to cap off the month of August. Unlike the last 2 circuits I’ve uploaded, this one has a pull-up component that will definitely require a little bit more upper body strength. Ladies if you want to follow this circuit, replace the pull-ups with an inverse row ( Will post a video soon!) and the elevated push-ups with standard push-ups. Happy lifting!

Increase Your Bench Press

I guess everyone who has been reading my posts are wondering if I will ever give out training secrets. Well, today’s your lucky day. I bet most of you, especially the guys would like to know how to increase their bench. After all, today is Monday which is International Bench Press day for most.

You enter the gym… place your bag in the locker… come out onto the gym floor… say hi to your buddies…. do some arm circles… then almost by instinct… plop on the bench press and do the bar pressing warm-up. Am I correct?

Actually, you’re doing the right thing. Except that by now you know that the principle of specificity doesn’t really provide you real gains if you’ve been lifting for quite a while. So why don’t we do a workaround? Instead of training your chest to increase your bench press, why don’t you train your rotator cuff muscles?

Why the rotator cuff muscles you ask. Well, the rotator cuff muscles are responsible for bracing your shoulders during pressing movements. Your supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and supscapularis all come into play when you’re lying on the bench and ready to press the bar. These are your synergist muscles and they support your agonist muscles (Chest and Triceps) during the bench press exercise. Imagine these muscles the base from where 40% of your power is coming from. Don’t you want to use that up as opposed to just 60% of your real strength? So here’s a sample rotator cuff exercise that you can include in your routine. Your bench press numbers won’t instantly go up mind you. But give it 4-6 weeks and you will be reaping the benefits of this exercise.

Floor Circuits 2

Here’s another floor circuit that is composed of a dumbbell assisted exercise and lots of core . Combine this circuit with the floor circuit I posted a few days ago, and you already have a days worth of training!

Floor Circuits

Here’s a simple circuit with me doing 4 exercises straight. It took me 2 mins and 30 seconds to complete the circuit for 1 set. After doing your first set, rest for 1 minute and repeat the circuit again twice.

Note: You don’t wanna stare at my face while I’m doing the side plank. Just scrub through the timeline and just observe how I accomplish the exercises.

Clap Push-ups

Clap Push-ups or Plyo Push-ups are not for the faint of heart. Before you perform these push-ups you should be able to at least bench press your own weight or do 20 strict push-ups with ease.

Level: Advanced

Clap Push-ups, posted with vodpod

225 lbs. Bench Press Raw

Here’s a video of me doing a bench press of 225 lbs. at a body weight of 160 lbs. As you can see, I’ve managed to crank out 6 reps without a spotter. I had to follow a 6 week program that specifically increased my neural drive, allowing me to move a weight that heavy. This is for my buddy Jason who wants to increase his bench press. We can do it my friend!

Bench Press, posted with vodpod

Push ups

Perhaps one of the oldest and under-appreciated exercises , the push-up is an excellent exercise for the chest. By increasing the number of reps, varying foot placement and slowing down the tempo, push-ups can provide an amazing chest workout that can keep you sore for days.

Level: Beginner to Advanced

Push ups, posted with vodpod