Follow these tips to a better bench press PR
Master Coach Craig
January 30, 2025
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve been asked “how much do you bench”, I’d be a very rich man.
As soon as you’ve built a little bit of muscle, this is the question you’re going to hear. Now, we both know that bench isn’t the end all be all of training and peak physical fitness, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t something a little extra cool about a big bench. I’ve benched with the absolute best. From the guys at Westside Barbell, to training with Josh Bryant at the original Metroflex, to learning from Bill Kazmaier (the first man to bench 300 kg) when I lived with him in Alaska. After all my time learning from the best benchers in the world, I’ve gathered five tips that are fool proof for increasing your bench PR.
1. Don’t just grab the bar - crush it!
When it comes to gripping the bar, most lifters lay down, put their hands around it and just get to work. The best benchers though? They make sure to set the bar fairly low in their palm so it lines up over the bones in their wrist and forearms and then they SQUEEZE. The more intentionally, and forcefully, you can squeeze the bar while you’re benching the more activation you’ll achieve (especially through your triceps) and the more strength you’ll have access to.
Of all the tips on this list, this is the one that can add pounds to your bench within the same set.
2. Triceps, triceps, triceps
Usually the bench is seen as a chest exercise, and it definitely works your pecs, but if you want maximum power… triceps are what you need. The best benchers always have big triceps which not only add pounds to the bar but allows them to maintain proper form. This means they can maintain the proper bar path (more on that next) and not overload the pecs and risk injury.
Some tricep exercises work mixing into your routine are:
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Rolling DB Extensions
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Dips
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Williams Extensions
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Band Push Down
3. Stay on the straight and narrow
The optimal bar path for bench press is a highly debated topic, but it shouldn’t be. Your bar path should be straight up and down. What this means is you’re not touching low on your chest only to press the bar back over your face, or any other option that isn’t straight up and down.
If this is a bit weaker for you at first, that’s ok - you just need more triceps. Regardless, this is the most efficient way to press and will help to keep you safe from the pec and shoulder injuries that plague the barbell bench.
4. Bench with your whole body
This sounds a bit strange but stay with me here… If you want to get the most out of your bench press, you want your whole body involved. From the bottom up this means your feet are planted and stopping any side-to-side movement, especially as you take the bar out. Your legs are pushing into the floor to generate more force back into the bench to maximize the support you get from it. Your lats are flexed with your shoulder blades pulled down and together.
From there, it’s the normal bench press muscles you already think about - but get everything else in on the action and you’ll be surprised how much more you’re capable of.
5. Get aggressive
I’ve got a very simple rule when it comes to loading weights on the bar. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first day in the gym, or if you’re the third strongest man in the world, and I’ve used this with both of those groups and everything in between.
The rule? If you load a weight on the bar you should be willing to make the following bet with me: If you hit the weight I’ll give you $10 but if you miss it, you have to give me $100. That’s how confident you should be in the weights you choose.
Once you pick a weight where you’d make that bet though, it’s time to get aggressive and confident. When you lay down on a bench there shouldn’t be any thoughts in your mind outside of your form, making sure everything is tight (from the feet all the way up) and then absolutely dominating the set. Whatever you need to do, whether it’s music, visualization, whatever… do it. The bench is at least as much of a mental game as it is a physical one and you never want to take the bar out unless you’re ready to give it 100%.
Practice these five tips to get a bigger bench in a shorter amount of time.
