Note that I had the wrong video up earlier (an earlier attempt at around 600 pounds). Sorry about that.

Critical Bench is the definitive source for all things Bench Press. They recently did an interview with Dave Delisle, the man behind Bench Press Blueprint.

Here's the link:

Critical Bench Interview with Dave Delisle

1. Get stronger throughout the range of motion from lock out to rib cage
2. Build explosive force throughout the range of motion
3. Blast through natural sticking points
4. Lock out every time

The technique I'm going to describe will help you get stronger throughout the full rep range as well as help you lockout every time. It involves using chains that hang off either side of the Olympic bar. There are a few ways you can configure the chains:

• Size
• Number
• Length
• Amount touching floor at lockout

The stronger guys will use more heavy chains, while the relatively weaker guys will use maybe just one light chain on either side. The key is progressive resistance. You can also set up the chains so that you are bearing all of the weight of the chains at lockout OR where the bulk of the chains are on the floor when the barbell is lowest in its travel. It doesn't really mater. Just be consistent; otherwise, you'll won't be able to accurately measure your progress.

I suggest you pyramid your sets, such that you do a warmup, then a heavier set with no chains, then another set with one set of chains, then finally another set with either another set of chains hung on OR a heavier set of chains. You can do a "cool down" set of lighter weight combined with no chains and try to rep out with explosvie benches on your final set.

Using chains is a time-tested method of building greater strength in the bench pressing muscles (pecs, delts, triceps, and to a lesser degree, lats). It does what normal bench pressing does not do: It makes the top of the exercise just as hard – or harder – than at the bottom, as you are lifting more of the chains at the top than at the bottom.

This is a killer tip for making your lockouts rock solid. Give it a try; I think you'll see quick improvements in your bench press.

If you want to know more about this and other bench press workout techniques, then check out the Bench Press Blueprint, where Dave Delisle, a record holder in the bench press, and I show you exactly how Dave has built his bench up from 300 pounds to over 500 pounds in less than a year.

He's a bench press master – listen to him!

Miss any one of these 3 components and your bench press is doomed. You will fail. Right technique? Not good enough if your training or mental preparation is lacking.

You surely get the picture.

I'm here to tell you today that you can totally nail the physical aspect today. Or at least start down the right path.

Training is the simple part. It's not easy, but it is certainly not complicated.

There are 4 things you have to do from a physical standpoint (nutrition notwithstanding):

1. Get brutally strong
2. Build strength through your natural sticking point (and everybody's got one)
3. Improve your lockout power, which — surprisingly — is vitally important on a lift that takes less than 5 seconds to complete
4. Improve your burst power

Each of these components requires specific training. Brute force is simple to achieve – lift more and more. While you don't need to perform MAX singles, you do need to get very good at triples and sometimes doubles. High intensity is the name of the game here: Use forced reps, negatives, rest-pause, and partials.

To build strength in your sticking point range, you have to train for it. Essentially, you do partial reps using boards.

Improving lockout power and endurance requires lifting in the lockout range. A lot of elite lifters in the bench press use chains, which I wholly recommend. Using chains makes the bench press a superior progressive resistance exercise. You can use bands, too. The idea is that the weight get "heavier" near lockout.

Finally, you have to work on your power, which is defined as force over time – increase the weight over the same time period or reduce the time it takes to do a lift with the same weight – either way, your power output has climbed. Try to explosively press the barbell up as quickly as possible. You obviously need to perform more reps with less weight to build this sort of explosive power, but it's essential to building a big bench press.

If you want to learn more, check out Bench Press Blueprint where Dave Delisle and I show you exactly what Dave does with his training (the physical aspect of ripping off a great bench) that's allowed him to improve his bench from a little over 300 pounds to well over 500 pounds in the span of less than one year.

And you can get pretty strong in the bench even doing nearly everything wrong. Hard work and persistence can take you a long way.

However, you will hit what we call in the lifting game a "sticking point."

There are two kinds of sticking points:

1) That point in any lift where your muscles seem to fail every single time when performing a max lift or a last rep of a set.
2) That point at which gains in a particular lift stop and no matter what you do, you cannot get "unstuck."

It is this last point that we're concerned with here today. My co-author of Bench Press Blueprint, Dave Delisle, got stuck at 345 for six months!

Rather than beat his head against the bench press wall by persisting with his current method, he found a way around it.

Today, 200 pounds better yet less than a year ago, Dave can tell you that changes in his training method got him through his nasty sticking point.

That, and a lot of hard work, of course.

Getting a big bench isn't complicated but it's certainly not easy! You have to lift TONS of weight to make any gains at all.

Plus, getting really good at the bench press takes smart work and a reliance on your training partners to help motivate you and get your technique right.

You'd think that technique wouldn't make much of a difference. But as Dave Tate says, "Benching problems always come down to 3 things: Physical, mental, or technical."

Of course, he's right! You can do the best bench press workout on the planet, but if your technique and head aren't into the game, then you're gonna fail as an elite bench presser.

However, get all of those right, and you'll be on your way to spectacular gains in this critical powerlifting move.

Dave Delisle and I wrote a book that we just published called Bench Press Blueprint where we show you exactly what Dave does with his training (the physical aspect of ripping off a great bench) that's allowed him to improve his bench from a little over 300 pounds to well over 500 pounds in the span of less than one year.

Everything's there – exercises, split routine, sets & reps, a few tricks and advanced techniques, nutrition. Eat it up, it's a great read!