All about the Bench Press

Bryant Towell Ask any bodybuilder how to build muscle, and the bench press is going to be a top priority. If you're like most lifers, you'll be able to lift more weight on the bench than any other upper body exercise. All that heavy weight means more muscle! However, you've got to bench right if you actually want to reap the benefits. It's the most popular movement in the gym, but most people do it all wrong. To build as much muscle as possible, follow these tips for your bench press technique and routine. Pinch Your Shoulders If there's only one bench press tip you follow, it needs to be this: pinch your shoulder blades as tight as you can! Keeping your shoulders pinched back puts them in the safest possible position. It also brings your chest a little closer to the bar, shortening the range you have to move the weight. Fail to do this, and you're going to have wrecked joints and a lousy bench. Arch – It's not Cheating! Some people think that arching your lower back is "cheating," but what does that even mean? In a powerlifting meet, an arch is A.O.K. as long as you keep your butt on the bench. Experienced lifters use an arch because they know it allows them to safely lift more weight. If you're already pinching your shoulder blades, then a little bit of an arch is just going to come naturally. To make it bigger, you'll have to work on your setup, getting into the ideal position before you even take the bar off the hooks. The more flexible you are, the more of an arch you'll be able to sustain. Forget Your Pecs Most novice trainees think of the bench press as a chest exercise, but that's the wrong mentality. It's better to simply view it as an upper body movement – and train to move as much weight as possible! Focusing only on working the pecs will seriously limit the amount of weight you can use, and you'll end up reverting to bad habits with your form. Just train for strength, and you'll have more development in your triceps, shoulders, AND chest. Don't Max Out There's a huge temptation to turn the bench into an ego exercise and "max out" every time you do it. Not only will this NOT make you stronger, it can actually be counterproductive. If you really want to take your bench to the next level, you'll have to exercise some patience and use weights you can actually handle. You should still go heavy, of course – just not so heavy that you can barely eek out one rep. Don't Overdo It Remember, the key to how to build muscle is to gain mass all over your body – especially in your back and legs. The bench press is great, but it's never going to give you the gains you'll get from squats and deadlifts. You can bench heavy and often, but it shouldn't be any more frequently than you do the other big lifts.