3 Quick Tips to Instantly Bench Press More Weight

Employ the three strategies discussed below to instantly improve your bench press. Adherence to these tips can result in a mind-blowing increase in your bench press.  The fact is you may be able to bench press more than you ever thought you could.

Take Longer Breaks between Sets

Lifters often move too fast between warm up sets and try to rush through to get to the big working sets of bench presses.  Once it’s time to perform the working sets benchers often rest just a minute or two between sets. 

Limiting the amount of rest time between sets of bench presses has certain benefits such as keeping the heart rate elevated, building muscular endurance and stimulating muscle growth.  If the goal is to bench press as much weight as possible, plenty of rest should be taken between all sets, including warm ups. 

Try taking no less than three minutes between warm up sets and five to ten minutes between heavy working sets.  This allows for adequate recovery and maximal force generation during a heavy bench press.

What is Considered a Good Bench Press?

Don’t Burn Out Too Early

I’ve seen countless lifters perform far too many warm up sets consisting of 10 to twelve reps.  It’s not uncommon to see benchers work up to their big working sets using warm up sets of 12 reps. This results in wasting energy for the big bench numbers.

A proper warm up is important for injury prevention and nervous system stimulus.  However, warming up too much will kill your efforts at benching big numbers. 

If you must perform warm up sets with a lot of reps, do so with the lightest weight possible.  This will help get you loose and warm without expending too much energy. 

Once you’ve gotten the blood flowing and the heart rate slightly elevated, only perform sets of three to five repetitions up to your big sets.  Take bigger jumps in weight to ensure you’re not using up all your energy to warm up. 

Once you get within a set or two of your big one-rep sets of bench presses, only do one or two reps per set.  This will allow you to feel the weight and stimulate your nervous system without burning out too soon. 

One Exercise for a Big Bench Press

Eat a Carb-Rich Meal before Lifting

Many so-called nutrition and fitness experts advise not to eat too many carbohydrates before lifting, or at any other time of day for that matter. 

While it is true that careful meal planning and carbohydrate restriction can benefit fat burning efforts, carbs must be eaten before a big max bench press attempt.

My favorite pre-workout bench meal is a big bowl of pasta with a peanut butter sandwich and a whey protein shake.  Eating this meal about an hour to an hour-and-a-half before a big bench workout provides just the right amount of fat, carbohydrates and protein to get the job done without feeling bloated or stuffed. 

Apply these three tips to your next heavy bench press day and watch your numbers sore. 

Also Read:

Add 10 Pounds to Your Bench Press in One Month Using One Easy Trick

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