Bench

Here is a question for all you powerlifters. I have been weight lifting for 15 years but it has always been predominantly a body building routine. I just had a friend talk me into competing in a bench press contest at work in two months. How should I train to improve my bench the most in the next two months. I realize I won’t be setting any records but any help would be appreciated.

The best way in my opinion is to start doing some heavy weight and lower reps. i like to do about 6 sets of 3 on flat bench and then some sort of fly exercise. also something that can help if you dont allready do it is close grip bench press. that is a very good tricep exercise and i beleive that can make a difference of 10 pounds or so if you don’t allready have really strong triceps. a lot of the time you will see lifters get the bar up half way and then give out. this is mainly due to lack of tricep strength. also, there is an article in one of the issues of t-mag about what to do to improve your bench. i cant remember what it is called, but it really does a good job of explaining the best technique when maxing out. hope this helps, Nic

NOTE FROM MODERATOR: Two helpful articles would be Tate’s article in issue #115 and King’s in issue #101.

Charles Poliquin had a great routine in his book that specialized in developing the bench press. I used his Advanced specialization workout and it worked awesome. I would definitly consider looking into that. Good luck!