The golden rule for determining if someone is strong or not is usually shown by the bench press. Whenever you talk to someone about fitness, the thing that will normally come out of someone's mouth is, "how much do you bench press?" Most people don't care much about your squat or your deadlift, but for whatever reason it is, everyone cares about the bench press. It is a staple of strength in the strength training community and it is what everyone is interested in. Today I will be teaching you how to bench 225 pounds.
Step 1: Get a training partner. I put this as number one because you need someone that is going to challenge you. Not only this, but you need someone that is going to be there to spot you if the weight is too heavy and it gets stuck on you. You have to be fearless in the bench press. If you are bench pressing alone and you are scared the weight is going to get stuck on you, then you will not use as much weight as you possibly can.
Step 2: Get on a program. A 225 bench press is not miraculous by any standards, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. If you tell someone that you have a 225 bench press, they will definitely be impressed to say the least. The reason that you need to get on a program is because you need to develop overall strength. You do not want to have toothpick legs while your upper body is the size of a house. Getting on a program will teach you the essentials for weight training. Whether this is switching up volume, sets, or reps.
Step 3: Start small. A big mistake that many people make when on the adventure of increasing their bench press is that they start too big. The idea of strength training is to make gradual gains every week. You may want to start each week by adding 5 pounds, after starting at a weight that you can easily manage. After this, you may want to add 2.5 pounds per week. It shouldn't be a surprise that many people should start with just the bar (45 pounds) and work up slowly from there adding 5 pounds per week. This will not only help you not plateau, but it will improve your form and avoid injuries until your muscles and joints get used to a heavier weight.
Step 4: Be consistent. This is the most important step. If you are not consistent with your training, you are going to end up with a lousy bench press. You have to bench press at least one time a week. This will improve your form and it will get you better at the movement. If you are not consistent with your training you will never make any progress. Even if you are not increasing the weight each week, that is okay. The key is to stay patient and keep hitting the weights week in and week out. Eventually your numbers will start to increase.
Step 5: Eat more. The more you eat, the more energy your body will have to lift heavy weights. Also, the more you weigh, the easier it will be to bench press the weight. With a heavier and wider body, you will have a better base to lift on the bench press. Most people will not be looking to gain weight in order to increase their bench press, so you can look past this step if this is not in your specific set of goals, unless you are really serious about obtaining a large bench press.
Step 6: Join a commercial gym. Many people will prefer to work out at home if they have the proper set up, but I believe that this is a mistake. You have to get out of your house and go somewhere to work out. This makes it a routine. If you are working out at home you can fall into lazy habits. Make sure to pack your bag the night before you head to the gym, and go.
Step 7: Supplements. This one goes off of eating more. If your wish is not to gain more weight, you can increase strength from supplements. Some of the most popular supplements include pre-workout, protein, and creatine monohydrate. Some say that there may be some possible side effects of creatine, but it has yet to be proven in science. In fact, your body naturally makes creatine. Protein will help to rebuild your muscles following your workout, so be sure to take your protein directly after your workout up to an hour after your workout. Your muscles will build during rest.
Step 8: Train other body parts. In order to get an impressive bench press, you have to be sure to train other parts of your body. You must do compound exercises. Some examples of compound exercises include squats, deadlifts, bench press, and the over head press. These are compound movements because they involve more than just one muscle in the movement. The more muscles you use, the stronger you will become. Also, exercises that involve moving a lot of weight, like the squat and deadlift, will help to increase growth hormone within your body, which will translate to a stronger bench press.
Step 9: Rest. This is probably one of the most important factors in improving a bench press. In reality, you only need to be training 3-4 times a week. The other days should be resting. As I mentioned, your muscles grow during the rest phase. Lifting the weights will tear your muscles, so they must rebuild during rest. During rest periods make sure to eat a variety of nutritious foods, and try to get in some stretching and try to roll out sore muscles with a foam roller. Make sure to roll out spots that feel extra sore and try to get all of the knots out.
Step 10: Have fun. If you are not having fun in the process, why would you be doing it at all? The more fun you are having, the quicker you will see results. You have to engage yourself in the process and you have to look forward to each session at the gym.
Have some gym courtesy and buy a water bottle! No one wants to be told you are still on a machine after you just took a 5 minute water fountain break!!! No matter how big your bench press is, you must always have a water bottle on hand. Order an Everyday Fitness water bottle here.
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