Are you popping some blood vessels in your face in an all out effort to improve your bench press? Have you heard the word around the gym that you need to push heavy weights and low reps!

While that is true there is still so much more to improving your bench press and hopefully this article will bring some clarity to the most quintessential of all strength exercises. Before we get going, just a quick disclaimer, the goal of this article is to increase your bench press, not to increase your muscle mass. While you will have some muscle growth when training to increase your strength, the training method for increasing muscle mass is different

Determining Your Max

The first step whenever you want to improve your fitness or strength is to determine the starting point. For this we are going to use the 1RM (Rep Max). In addition to this, the 1RM will also provide you with guidance on the training loads you should be using to increase your strength. The protocol for testing the 1RM is below.

I have my 1RM, Now What?

More recently the training methodology for increasing strength has changed. Previously, to increase strength, the theory was to increase muscle mass. The more muscle fibers you have the stronger you are, right? While this is still true, the focus for maximum strength training now focuses on training the neurological system that is involved in contracting the muscle. Before you write this off and rush back to the gym to increase muscle mass, let me explain the 3 main benefits of this type of training.

• An increase in nerve impulse strength to the muscle results in a stronger muscle contraction.

• An increase in motor neuron recruitment results in more muscle fibers getting involved in muscle contraction.

• An increase in motor neuron coordination results in more motor neurons firing at one time and therefore a stronger contraction.

That is the Why, Now for the How

Principle 1 - Load

This refers to the amount of weight we will be lifting and is expressed as a percentage of 1RM. So 70% of a 100 kg 1RM bench press is 70 kg . The accepted training load to increase strength is 70% - 80% 1RM. As you can see this is not maxing out as much weight as possible but has the best effect on the neurological system.

Principle 2 - Tempo

This refers to the speed of the lift. Different lifting tempos will have different training effects. The tempo for max strength is expressed as 3.0.1. This means you should take 3 seconds to lower the bar to your chest, a 0 second pause and a fast 1 second return of the bar.

Principle 3 - Recovery

Due to the high neural load of this type of training, rest becomes more important. If we don’t recover enough between lifts the neural system becomes fatigued and doesn’t fire on all cylinders. Basically you will be wasting your time. The best time frame for rest is 2 - 3 minutes. Even if you are feeling fully recovered your nervous system isn’t, so rather make sure you get the rest. In addition to rest between sets we need rests between training sessions as well as between training weeks.

The fatigue accumulated from a training session can last for 48 hours so it is best to have at least two full days of recovery from max strength between sessions. In addition to this, the high training load of max strength means that we should have a reload week every third week. This doesn’t mean that we don't train but rather just lower the training load to facilitate recovery and prepare for the next loading period. In week 6, this reload week will be a taper week to allow you to “peak” for your next 1RM testing.

This once again is not just a test of improvement but to allow you to readjust your weights for the next training program as you should now have improved your 1RM.

Can Form and Breathing Make a Difference?

Just by getting your breathing patterns right and using the correct form, your bench press 1RM could also increase. Here is a checklist to make sure you are doing it correctly.

• Lie flat with your back flat on the Bench, with your eyes below the bar

• Grab the Bar with the palms of your hands just wider than shoulder width

• Straighten your arms to unrack the bar and position the bar above your chest

• Slowly inhale as you lower the bar towards your chest so that your forearms stay at 90 degrees to the floor and the bar touches just below the nipple line

• Stop an inch above your chest and without pause exhale forcefully to push the bar back up to the starting position.

If red faces and heavy weights are not helping you improve your 1RM max then try implementing the principles of load, tempo and recovery into your program by following our 6 week program and achieve that higher 1RM. Share your 1RM’s with us on social media!

Written by guest author Brendan McBirnie.

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Tags: Equipment > Benches ; Equipment > Bars and Weight Plates ; Exercise Type > Strength