The 10 Best Exercises to Improve Your Bench Press Strength

Exercises to Improve Bench Press – Introduction

What are the best exercises to improve bench press strength?

Very few exercises capture the imagination like the bench press.

Bench presses are the second strength test in powerlifting, and bodybuilders use them to increase chest size.

Average gym-goers spend plenty of time bench pressing, and Monday in many gyms all around the world is often known as National Bench Press Day.

Get a couple of exercisers together, and inevitably the topic of “so, how much can you bench?” will crop up.

Contrary to appearances, the bench press is a surprisingly technical exercise, and good form is vital if you want to lift the heaviest weights or otherwise get the most from this exercise.

So, if you’ve yet to master the bench press, this is NOT the article for you!

But, if you’re a good bencher looking to increase your bench press strength, this article reveals the best exercises to use.

Bench Press Assistance Exercises 101

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

To bench press to your full potential, you need to identify and fix your weak points using assistance exercises.

Assistance exercises, also known as accessory exercises, are movements designed to directly or indirectly boost your performance.

For example, there are assistance exercises that will improve your bench press form and others that strengthen your triceps.

There are also exercises to increase explosive power and develop upper back strength.

If your bench press progress has stalled, adding some well-chosen assistance exercises to your workouts should get things moving again.

There are lots of bench press assistance exercises to choose from, and each one serves a different purpose.

The trick is to select the movements that will improve your bench press.

You don’t need to do all of them!

For example, if you have a hard time driving the bar off your chest, you need to increase pec strength.

But, if you struggle to lock your elbows and complete your reps, it’s your triceps that need more attention.

So, don’t try and do all the exercises in the following section.

Instead, honestly assess your bench press performance, and choose the exercises that will strengthen your personal weak links.

Meanwhile, continue to bench press hard and heavy as that should always be the cornerstone of your bench press workouts.

The 10 Best Exercises to Improve Your Bench Press Strength

Increase your bench press strength and performance with the following exercises:

#1. Wide grip bench press

Target muscles: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps

The wide grip bench press increases chest and shoulder engagement.

If your bench press stalls with the bar close to your chest, this exercise will help.

How to do it:

1. Lie on the bench and hold the bar using an overhand grip.
2. Your hands should be placed in a 12-18 inches wider grip than your regular bench press grip.
3. Pull your shoulders down and back and brace your core.
4. Drive your feet into the floor and lift your chest up toward the bar.
5. Unrack the bar and then lower it to lightly touch the high point of your sternum.
6. Drive the bar back up and repeat.

#2. Paused bench press

Target muscles: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps

A lot of bench pressers lower the bar fast and then bounce it off their chests.

While this may help to lift more weight, it’s your muscle and joint elasticity that’s responsible and not muscle strength.

Adding a mid-rep pause eliminates bouncing and forces you to raise the bar from a dead stop.

This is MUCH more challenging and a great way to increase strength and power off your chest.

Powerlifters have to pause for their lifts to count, so this is a valuable exercise if you want to bench press in competition.

How to do it:

1. Set up as usual with your preferred grip.
2. Unrack the bar.
3. Bend your arms and lower the bar smoothly to your chest.
4. Without relaxing or resting the bar on your sternum, pause for 3-5 seconds and then drive the bar back up.
5. The longer the pause, the harder the exercise becomes.

#3. Narrow grip bench press

Target muscles: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps

If you find it hard to lock out your elbows at the end of a bench press rep, your triceps could be your weak link.

Narrower grip bench presses increase triceps recruitment for a stronger lockout.

How to do it:

1. Lying on the bench, reach up and hold the bar using a shoulder-width, overhand grip.
2. Do NOT place your hands so close together that your thumbs are almost touching.
3. That’s too narrow and puts unnecessary strain on your wrists and elbows.
4. Unrack the bar and lower it to the high point of your chest.
5. Drive it back up and repeat.
6. You can also do this exercise with a mid-rep pause to increase explosive power.

How To Close Grip Bench Press

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#4. Spotto bench press

Target muscles: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps

Eric Spotto was one of the best benchers in history.

While he was built for bench pressing, he was also very particular with his training and developed this exercise to improve his already legendary bench press performance.

Spotto presses increase chest strength and explosive power.

How to do it:

1. Set up as usual with your preferred grip.
2. Unrack the bar.
3. Lower the bar as usual but then stop with the bar about 8-12 inches above your chest.
4. Pause for 1-2 seconds and then drive it back up.

#5. Bench press with chains or bands

Target muscles: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps

Benching with chains or bands increases the load on your muscles as you approach lockout.

This increases triceps activation and also means you can really drive the bar powerfully off your chest, blasting through any potential sticking point.

This is a very specific assistance exercise for bench presses.

How to do it:

1. Attach a chain or band to both ends of your bar.
2. Start light as benching with chains and bands can be very challenging.
3. Set up as usual with your preferred grip.
4. Unrack the bar.
5. Lower the bar to your chest and then drive it back up to full lockout.
6. You can use bands or chains with all of the other barbell bench press variations described above.

#6. Dumbbell bench press

Target muscles: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps

If you want to be a better bench presser, you need to do plenty of bench presses.

That said, always using a barbell could lead to shoulder aches and pains.

Dumbbell presses allow you to continue working on your strength while avoiding repetitive movements that can lead to shoulder injuries.

Use dumbbell bench presses to add variety to your workouts.

How to do it:

1. Lie on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand, arms straight, and palms facing down your body.
2. Brace your abs, pull your shoulders down and back, and drive your feet into the floor.
3. Bend your elbows and lower the weights to your shoulders.
4. Push them back up and repeat.

Add variety to your dumbbell bench press workouts with these variations:

• Incline bench press to target your upper chest
• Neutral grip bench press to reduce stress on your shoulder joints
• Single-arm bench press to develop muscular balance on both sides of your body
• Paused dumbbell bench press to increase time under tension and explosiveness
• Alternating dumbbell bench press to strengthen your chest, triceps and even your clavicle (collarbone)

See How to Bench Press with Dumbbells: Chest Exercise Guide + Workout for more details on this bench press variation.

#7. Parallel bar dip

Target muscles: Triceps, pectoralis major, anterior deltoids

If your triceps are your bench press weak link, dips can help.

They’re also a useful chest exercise.

Because they use a different movement pattern, dips are also helpful for adding variety to your upper body workouts.

How to do it:

1. Grip the bars with your palms facing inward.
2. Support your weight on straight arms.
3. Bend your legs and cross your feet if you wish.
4. Bend your arms and descend until your upper arms are roughly parallel to the floor.
5. Push yourself back up and repeat.
6. Use just your bodyweight or, if you need a more intense workout, add weight by wearing a weighted vest, chin/dip belt, or holding a dumbbell between your legs.

#8. Push-up

Target muscles: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, triceps

The humble push-up is a useful bench press assistance exercise.

Because no equipment is required, you can do it almost anywhere and anytime, so it’s a convenient way to increase chest, shoulders, and triceps training volume without having to go to the gym.

How to do it:

1. Squat down and place your hands on the floor, fingers pointing forward and slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
2. Walk your feet back, so your body is straight.
3. Brace your abs.
4. Bend your elbows and lower your chest down to about an inch above the floor.
5. Push yourself back up and repeat.

Add variety to your push-up workouts with these variations:

• Close-grip push-ups
• Paused push-ups
• Decline push-ups
• Clapping push-ups
• Deficit push-ups using push-up bars

#9. Face pull

Target muscles: Mid-traps and rhomboids, posterior deltoids, biceps

A big bench press requires a stable platform.

That doesn’t mean the bench but your upper back muscles.

A strong upper back will add a lot to your bench press performance and reduce your risk of acute and chronic injury.

Face pulls are one of the best upper back exercises for bench pressers.

They’re also very good for shoulder health.

How to do it:

1. Attach a rope handle to an adjustable pulley machine set to about shoulder height.
2. Hold the handles with your thumbs touching the end stoppers.
3. Extend your arms and step back into a staggered stance.
4. Pull your shoulders back and down.
5. Keeping your torso upright, bend your arms and pull the handles into the side of your head.
6. Imagine you are trying to put your thumbs in your ears.
7. Straighten your arms and repeat.
8. You can also do this exercise using a resistance band.

#10. Band pull-aparts

Target muscles: Mid-traps and rhomboids, posterior deltoids, biceps

Like face pulls, band pull-aparts target the muscles of your upper back.

However, all you need is a resistance band to do this exercise, so it’s ideal for home workouts.

Do a few sets of band pull-aparts every day to strengthen your upper back and preserve shoulder health.

How to do it:

1. Hold a resistance band with an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
2. Raise your arms out in front of you.
3. Pull your shoulders back and down.
4. Open your arms and stretch the band out across your chest.
5. Return to the starting position and repeat.

How to Program Bench Press Assistance Exercises

You have a couple of options when it comes to adding bench press assistance exercise to your upper body strength workouts:

1 – Bench press sets followed by 2-3 assistance exercises

For example:

This is a good option if you bench press once a week.

2 – Do your assistance exercises on a separate day

For example:

With this option, you bench press one day, e.g., Monday, and then do your assistance exercises a couple of days later, e.g., Thursday.

Which approach is right for you?

That’s impossible to say because the answer depends on how you respond to training, your age, experience, recovery abilities, commitment, and how much time you want to dedicate to improving your bench press.

Choose the one that works best for you, and be prepared to try them both to see which has the most significant impact on your bench press performance.

Best Exercises to Improve Bench Press – Wrapping up

The training principle of specificity states that to get better at something, you need to do it regularly.

So, if you want a bigger bench press, you need to bench press heavy weights at least once a week and keep at it until you reach your training goals.

That said, in addition to the bench press, there are several exercises that will help improve your bench press performance, either directly by increasing chest and triceps strength or indirectly by developing a more muscular upper back and a more stable shoulder joint.

Remember, though, while the bench press is a good compound movement, and many people have an emotional attachment to it, you need to train the rest of your body too.

So, don’t neglect those squats, deadlifts, and pull-ups to build overall strength for your entire body!

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