Powerlifting

Warming Up for the Bench Press


Written by

Marisa Inda demonstrates a simple warmup to utilize before your Bench Press training sessions.

An effective Bench warmup entails raising the core temperature, facilitating the muscles that will be used during the movement and priming the nervous system to maximize force output. Here is a sample Bench Warmup that moves through all these goals:

Upper Back Cat/Cow

-Hands Stacked Under Shoulders

-Drive the Upper Back High, As If A String Is Pulling From Between Your Shoulder Blades Toward the Ceiling

-Drop Your Chest Between Your Shoulders, Feel Your Movement Come from Your Scapula

-10 Reps In Both Directions

Bear Crawl Shoulder Touches

-Hands Under Shoulders. Knees 1” Off Ground

-Move With Control and Intent

-Keep Hips Level Like Balancing A Glass of Water on Your Low Back

-5 to 10 Reps Each Hand

Iso Hold Pushups

-Straight Line from Head To Heels

-Pause Halfway Done for 2-3 count

-Pause At Bottom for 2-3 count

-Pause Halfway Up for 2-3 count

-3 to 5 Reps

Couch Stretch

-Elevate Back Foot On Box/Bench

-Sit Deep Into Split Squat While Keeping Torso Upright

-Push Butt Towards Foot For More Stretch

-Hold for 30-60 Seconds Each Side

Band Pullaparts

-Grip Band with Overhand or Underhand Grip

-Pinch Scapula Together As If Squeezing a Pencil b/t Your Shoulder Blades

-Pull Band Apart with Straight Arms

-Band Should Contact Chest In Same Spot That Bar Does in Bench

-Perform 10-20 Reps

Cuban Press

-Maintain A Neutral Trunk Position w/ Ribs Stacked Over Hips

-Raise Elbows w/ Minimal Shoulder Shrug

-Externally Rotate w/ Control

-Press While Maintaining Neutral Spine

-Internally Rotate w/ Control

-Perform 10-15 Reps

You may also like

Powerlifting A.I. (spreadsheets)

Powerlifting A.I. (spreadsheets)

The Juggernaut Artificial Intelligence Coaching program, powered by SkyNet (patent pending), will take Chad Wesley Smith’s coaching logic and design a program totally individualized for …

Scientific Principles of Strength Training
Powerbuilding

Scientific Principles of Strength Training

Understanding the principles upon which effective Powerlifting Programming is built is critical to being able to create effective strategies to help athletes improve their strength.

All About The Squat
Powerlifting

All About The Squat

Technique, Mobility and Program Design for the Squat, all right here for you.

Maximizing Leg Drive in the Bench Press
Powerlifting

Maximizing Leg Drive in the Bench Press

Cover Photo by 9for9 Media It’s hard to believe, but I wasn’t always a grumpy, frail-looking strength coach. I was once a very jolly and lovable …

Interview with Robert Oberst, The Newest ASC Pro Strongman
Training

Interview with Robert Oberst, The Newest ASC Pro Strongman

Check Out Kalle Beck's Training Log Here Robert "OB" Oberst earned his ASC pro card at the Dallas Europa after about 14 months of training and …

Reflections on Westside
Powerlifting

Reflections on Westside

Last year in February, I pulled a personal best 535 deadlift at about 190 lbs. In the months immediately following, I tried out the Smolov …

A Guide to Shoulder Pain-Part 2
Training

A Guide to Shoulder Pain-Part 2

By Ryan Brown Check Out Ryan's Training Log Here Last week in my post about shoulder mobility, I covered some of the common dysfunctions and inefficiencies that we …

Getting the Most Out of Your Off-Season
Training

Getting the Most Out of Your Off-Season

From being involved in various strength sports for this long one of the big mistakes I see is that guys never take time to have …

}
Shopping cart
SuperTotal: Club$47.00 every 4 weeks
1
-
+
-
+
-
+
-
+
-
+
-
+
-
+
-
+
-
+
-
+
GuidedAI$127.00 / month
1