The bench press is a classic strength training exercise that's been around for decades, and it's one of the best ways to strengthen your chest and shoulders. But, like any other exercise, there are ways to perfect your technique to get the most out of each rep. Here are my top tips for achieving a stronger bench press:
The concept of perfecting your bench press is relative.
Perfecting your bench press is relative. What one person considers perfect may be insufficient for another, but the goal is always to lift more weight than you did last time and ensure that each rep is done with proper form.
To achieve a stronger lift, you must build up your strength and muscular endurance by doing as many repetitions as possible while maintaining good form. You also need to keep track of how much weight was used during each set so that you can gauge whether or not you are progressing over time.
Body angle and contact point
The body angle and contact point are two important factors contributing to your ability to press heavy weight. The body angle should be approximately 45 degrees with the floor, while your chest should touch or nearly touch the bar when you lower it to your chest. This will allow you to achieve full range of motion in each rep and maximize muscle contraction at both ends of the bench press movement.
- Good example: Body angle 45 degrees with the floor; contact point at the bottom of rep (bar on chest)
- Bad example: Body angle 30 degrees with the floor; contact point above chest level
Use a tight grip
The bench press is a complex lift, and it's important to understand how to grip the bar properly. If you don't, you may find yourself injured or unable to complete your set.
There are two types of grips: an overhand grip (palms facing up) and an underhand grip (palms facing down). An overhand grip allows you to lift more weight than an underhand one because it creates more stability in your wrists, but it also requires more strength from them since they're supporting all that extra weight without help from other muscles in your upper body like they would be when lifting with an underhand grip. If you're using this type of grip, then make sure that both hands are gripping tightly around their respective sides and that no part of either hand touches any other part outside its own little section--this will prevent any unwanted shifting during execution!
Elbows stay tucked
- Elbows should be tucked at a 90-degree angle. This is the most basic of all bench press tips, but it's important to remember that your elbows should always stay in this position.
- Tuck in your elbows at the start of each rep. When you receive the barbell and prepare for your first lift, tuck those elbows! If you don't do this, there's a good chance you'll injure them or cause other problems with your form later in the set.
- Tuck in your elbows at the bottom of each rep (and during). Once again: keep those arms tucked tight as if they were glued into place! Don't let them flare out or collapse inward--keep them straight and strong throughout every repetition until you're done with all five sets (or whatever number works best for you)
Feet placement and foot drive
You want to keep two things in the back of your mind when foot placement is concerned. First, your feet should be on the floor rather than on top of your bench. This will help prevent injury and give you better stability during lifts. Second, make sure that your knees are slightly bent so that they're pointing straight down into the floor (this will vary depending on how low you go). If this doesn't feel comfortable for you, try placing some towels under each knee so they don't hit against anything hard as they bend at an angle toward one another--you might even find that there's enough room between them and where they rest against each other that nothing needs to be added or removed!
The next step toward improving strength is learning how to use foot drive effectively during presses: When pressing upwards into position after lowering yourself down onto a bench press barbell set up with weights ranging anywhere between 40 pounds per hand up to 100 pounds per hand depending on skill level/strength goals; push off with one leg while keeping both feet firmly planted flat upon the solid ground beneath them rather than lifting them up off flooring surfaces entirely like most people tend to do while performing repetitions during workouts."
Focus on a powerful squeeze at the bottom of each rep.
The end of the lift is the most important part. Before you can generate maximum power, you need to get into a strong position. This means having your feet firmly planted on the ground and keeping your back flat (think about bringing your chest up as much as possible).
This also applies when lowering the weight back down to your chest. You want to focus on squeezing at this point because it's where you generate most of your strength, so if there's any time during this exercise when you need extra control over how much weight you're lifting or lowering, now would be it!
Conclusion
The bench press is a foundational exercise that can help you build muscle and strength in your upper body. It's important to note that there are many variations of the exercise, and each one has its own benefits, so it's up to you which variation works best for your goals. However, if your goal is improving at the basic form of bench pressing, these tips will help take your lifts from good to great!
