Almost every body builder working out his chest will know something about the bench press. Unfortunately, most of these body builders use the wrong technique while performing the bench press leading to no gain or at least sub-maximal gains ate the very best. Being a cardinal exercise for the chest, among the best actually, the bench press should be emphasized if your chest will ever be perfected in mass, strength and definition. This article describes therefore, the best form, technique and performance of the bench press, in such a way as will make gains greater and faster.
Physiologists advise body builders to use the bench press since it trains the chest comprehensively unlike many chest exercises, which can only workout a part of the chest. Again, the bench press works out the triceps in the process of stimulating the chest, giving additional gains in one workout routine. The bench press targets the overall chest. As well as the triceps muscles, and is performed either with dumbbells or with a barbell.
Dumbbells are better however, since they recruit more stabilizing muscles during the lifts, which are useful in keeping the weights steady. This helps you to lift much more weight than when you are using a barbell. If especially you do not have a spotter at the standby, dumbbells will definitely be safer than using the barbell, since if dropped accidentally or after reaching absolute muscle failure dumbbells will fall at the sides while the barbell will crush your chest, probably trapping you under the bar.
The final consideration to make before you start the bench press is the angle of the bench's inclination. You can adjust the inclination level so as to target the different parts of your pecs muscles. If you use a flat bench, the overall chest will be targeted while if you use an inclined bench, the focus will be more on the upper pecs. However, don't incline the bench beyond 45 degrees since by then you will have shifted the focus of the weight load from the chest to the shoulder muscles, specifically the anterior deltoids. So let's get working now.
Start the bench presses by first lying on your back and face upwards on the bench. Spread the feet and plant them firmly on either side of the branch from the floor. After that, tighten your abdominal muscles until your back is totally flattened out against the bench's surface. The flatter the back gets the safer it will be during the bench presses, if you lift it up in an arc like posture, you will get injured on the lower back, so take caution.
Next, keep both the shoulder blades at a straight line, pinched together. This helps maximize the focus to the movement of the weight and the resultant effect on the chest. If however you push the shoulder blades forward, the weight load will loose focus and start working out the shoulders' front muscles instead of the chest. Push the weight upwards while squeezing your chest muscles all along as the weight rises in a straight line. Avoid locking the elbows when the weight gets to the top, else you will strain the joints.
Hold the weight for one or two seconds, for static effect, before lower the bar gradually. The movement, eccentric one that is, should come down as far as the position in which your upper arms run parallel to the floor. Don't lower any further, else you will severe and strain the shoulder joint excessively. Start the raise again for the second rep and keep going until the set is done.
