5 Tips to Increase Your Bench Press

If you want to increase your bench press, then you're at the right place. Here are 5 tips to increase your bench press.

#1 Set a Bench Press Goal

Write down your ideal bench press weight goal on a piece of paper, and place it in a highly visible place. This will help you visualize success and reach your bench press goal faster. Your bench press goal should be S.M.A.R.T. : Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.

#2 Keep Increasing the Weight

The fastest way to a bigger bench is to progressively overload your muscles during each set and each session. From set to set, find the weight you're going to use for the final set. Work your way backwards to the first set, where each set is 10 - 15% more than the previous set. For example, your final weight may be 405lbs. Start with 320lbs, then 360lbs, which is 12.5% more than the first set. During the last set, use 405lbs - 12.5% more than 360lbs. If you're brand new to strength training, aim to increase the final set weight 10lbs pounds a week. If you've been lifting for a while, aim for 5 pounds a week.

#3 Eat, Eat, Eat

You must feed your muscles to increase your bench press. Heavy lifting, with no food, equals overtraining. And overtraining leads to no gains in your bench press. The most important time to eat is during 2-hour window right after your workout. Load up on protein, mono and poly-unsatured fats, complex carbohydrates, and drink plenty of water.

#4 Get Plenty of Rest

Don't bench everyday. "Rest" is something I can't stress enough, because during this time is when your muscles actually grow. Benching tears down your muscles, but during sleep is when they grow back stronger than before. Workout no more than 3 times per week with at least 48 hours of rest in between bench press workouts.

#5 Add Pushups to Your Chest Workout

Pushups are an excellent total body workout, but can also lead to bench press gains in the weight room. Perform pushups throughout the day when you have free time and see how many you can do in a row. When at the gym, pump out a quick set of pushups after your bench press workout. This will place your chest muscles under additional stress and lead to bigger gains once you recover.

Follow these 5 easy tips to increase your bench press in no time!