The bench press is a cornerstone exercise in strength training, well-known for building upper body strength and muscle mass. Whether you’re an experienced athlete aiming to break plateaus or a beginner seeking to improve your fitness regimen, understanding how to increase your bench press is crucial. As a trainer, I have had many clients share that achieving a bench press PR is also a priority in addition to their physique goals.
To help you increase your bench press numbers, we’ve explained exercise-focused tips for improvement, common pitfalls to avoid, and additional non-exercise-related factors that can influence your progress. Keep reading to learn more!
What muscles does bench press work?
The bench press is one of the most popular exercises that target the chest muscles (pectoralis major), helping to build strength and size. As you push the bar away from your body, your shoulders (anterior deltoid) and the back of your arms (triceps brachii) work in concert with your chest, giving you stability and power as you push through the reps.
Your upper back and forearms are also active at different points during the movement — they help to keep you steady. Hence, the bench press is beneficial not only for building muscle but also for upper body strength and coordination.
How much should you be bench pressing?
Bench press numbers vary greatly, depending on your experience and individual differences. Still, there are some common benchmarks to keep in mind. If you’re a complete beginner to lifting, a good starting goal is to work up to about half your body weight.
As you gain experience over one to three years, being able to bench roughly your own body weight is a solid milestone. Once you’re more advanced, with three or more years of consistent training, bench pressing anywhere from 1.5 times to even double your body weight is seen as a strong performance. These numbers aren’t set in stone, but they offer useful targets as you progress with your bench press.
Tips for increasing your bench press
Here are several exercise tips that experts suggest will increase your bench press.
- Progressively overload: Utilize progressive overload by gradually increasing the weight, reps, or overall training volume over time to challenge your muscles and instigate growth continually.
- Increase bench press frequency: Incorporate bench pressing (or its variations) two to three times per week to improve technique and optimize muscle and strength gain.
- Warm up properly: Begin with lighter sets before moving on to heavier loads. This prepares your muscles and joints and helps prevent injury.
- Perfect your form: Focus on maintaining proper technique by keeping your shoulder blades retracted, establishing a slight arch in your back, using proper grip width, and driving your legs through the floor. Range of motion is also important, as this 2022 study suggests that full bench press range of motion “maximizes neuromuscular improvements in recreational and well-trained athletes compared to partial range of motion.” Lower the bar or dumbbells as much as you can during the exercise before pressing back up. Remember to start with lighter weights to build strength in specific ranges of motion and avoid injury.
- Utilize accessory exercises: Strengthen your supporting muscles with exercises like dumbbell presses, dips, pushups, triceps extensions, and shoulder presses. These exercises train the secondary movers in a bench press — strengthening these muscles will likely translate into a big bench press.
- Use spotters and safety equipment: Working with a spotter or using a power rack allows you to push harder with confidence while staying safe.
- Train your core and stability muscles: A strong core and stable lower body help transfer force during the bench press, so include core work in your routine.
- Experiment with variations: Rotate among bench press variations (incline, dumbbell bench, and close grip, for example) to hit the muscles from different angles and avoid monotony.
- Monitor rest periods: Adjust your rest intervals between sets to ensure you recover enough to perform quality reps. “Enough” is typically two to five minutes for heavy sets.
- Be consistent and patient: Building strength takes time. Stick to your program, track your progress, and adjust as needed over the long term.
Common mistakes to avoid
You can better work towards a big bench press by learning some popular mistakes that people, including advanced lifters, make when benching. Here are some of these mistakes.
- Skipping the warm-up: Not adequately preparing your muscles with lighter sets or actively stretching can increase your risk of injury and hinder performance.
- Raising your feet: Failing to keep your feet firmly planted on the floor compromises stability and reduces the power transfer from your lower body.
- Neglecting scapular retraction: Not squeezing your shoulder blades together while benching decreases upper body stability and puts extra stress on your shoulders.
- Flaring the elbows too wide: Excessively wide elbows can lead to shoulder strain and improper muscle engagement. It’s best to keep your elbows relatively tucked in, and a 45-degree bend is advisable.
- Bouncing the bar off your chest: Using momentum instead of a controlled descent also increases injury risk.
- Not “breaking the bar”: Failing to rotate your wrists so the “pits” of your elbows point downward prevents you from properly engaging your back muscles and can lead to poor form.
Other factors that play a role in your bench press goal
Other non-exercise-related factors can also affect your bench press performance. Find some of them below:
- Nutrition: Adequate protein intake, overall calorie intake, and proper hydration support muscle repair and growth.
- Sleep: Quality sleep helps with recovery and hormone regulation. The American Council on Exercise has this to say about sleep: “Getting the optimal quality and quantity of sleep is one of the most efficient means of allowing your body to recover from one day’s workout and prepare for the next exercise session.”
- Recovery: Sufficient rest days help prevent overtraining and support muscle repair.
- Genetics: Inherited traits such as limb length, muscle fiber composition, and joint structure can impact lifting mechanics.
- Stress and mental health: Chronic stress and overall mental well-being affect energy levels, focus, and recovery.
- Encouraging training environment: Access to quality equipment, a supportive workout partner or coach, and a motivating gym setting can also enhance your performance.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 225 bench good?
A 225-pound bench press is a respectable milestone for many lifters. However, its significance varies based on factors like body weight and training experience. For instance, a 225-pound bench press is more impressive for someone weighing 150 pounds than for someone weighing 250 pounds.
Is it true only 1% of people can bench 225?
The claim that only 1% of people can bench press 225 pounds lacks concrete evidence. While it is a challenging weight that requires dedicated training, the exact percentage of individuals who can achieve this lift is not well-documented.
How rare is a 315 bench?
A 315-pound bench press is considered a significant achievement in strength training. It typically requires years of consistent training and dedication. While more common among advanced lifters and athletes, it is still a notable benchmark of upper body strength.
