If you want to get better at the bench press, you have to do several things:
- Get stronger throughout the range of motion from lock out to rib cage
- Build explosive force throughout the range of motion
- Blast through natural sticking points
- 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.
