How to Increase Bench Press Weight with the EASE program
If you are tired of all the normal, boring chest and bench press building routines, you may want to try something new. You may want to discover how to increase your bench press weight with the E.A.S.E program. E.A.S.E stands for "explosion, agility, speed and endurance"--the four elements needed for superior athletic performance. This type of program can be tailored to virtually any sporting endeavor, including increasing your bench press weight. What makes the E.A.S.E program different from probably any chest or bench press workout you have ever seen is the way it focuses on building agility, speed and endurance into your bench press workout.
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Instructions
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Perform a proper warm-up. Warming-up is essential to preventing injury and also allowing you to develop a range of motion to comfortably perform the exercises. To warm-up properly, you should choose an extremely light weight for the barbell bench press. You should perform two sets of about 25 repetitions with light stretching of the arms, shoulders and chest in between the sets.
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Find some space on the floor to do some push-ups. This is where the real work starts. Get yourself in the push-up position. Lower yourself slowly till your chest touches the floor and then explode upward as quickly as possible before lowering yourself back down. This is part of the explosion aspect of the E.A.S.E as well as the endurance aspect. You should perform three sets of push-ups and do as many repetitions as you possibly can.
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Perform a version of the bench press called the Smith Machine bouncing bench press. The push-ups will make it more difficult for you to do the amount of weight that you may be accustomed to. Get comfortable on the bench under the Smith Machine. You will need to place the thick towel, folded at least once, maybe twice, on your chest. Lower the Smith Machine bar down to your chest, resting it on the towel. At this point you will want to explode upward, stopping at the halfway point of the repetition. Lower the bar somewhat quickly, letting it bounce a little off your chest and towel and power the bar back to the halfway point. Perform 3 sets of 15 repetitions.
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Grab some relatively heavy dumbbells to perform incline dumbbell presses. These you will do as you normally would. You will not be able to do your normal amount of weight, because of the endurance and explosion exercises completed before. With dumbbells in hand, pull them up to your shoulders as you lie back on the incline bench. Push each dumbbell through the range of motion slowly allowing them to touch at the top before lowering them slowly back down to your shoulders. You are trying to work on your power in this exercise, so go with fewer repetitions. Perform 3 sets of 5 to 8 repetitions.
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Grab your training partner and do some decline bench medicine ball tosses. This exercise is to cap off your routine and will focus on the speed and explosion aspect of E.A.S.E. Lie down on a decline bench. Have your trainer partner or a spotter stand over you with a medicine ball, preferably on a block at least 2 feet high. You will want to have your arms stretched out as your spotter drops the medicine ball into your hands. As you catch the ball lower it down to your chest and then extend your arms explosively upward, tossing the ball back to the spotter. Perform 3 sets of 30 repetitions.
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Tips & Warnings
Try to perform the Smith Machine bouncing bench presses as quickly as possible.
If you are good at push-ups, you may want to clap at the top of each repetition. This will add more to your agility and create more resistance to the bottom of the push-up, while at the same time allowing you to explode more fully out of the bottom of the push-up.
When tossing the medicine ball, alternate sets of keeping your elbows in with sets of letting your elbows move out to the sides. This will change the emphasis of each of the exercises and work different areas of your chest, shoulders and triceps.
Always wear your weightlifting belt on all of the exercises performed in the E.A.S.E program.
When performing the Smith Machine bouncing bench presses, do not bounce to hard. You want a little bounce, but it should be a controlled bounce. If you bounce to hard you can injure your shoulders, chest and could even crack a rib.
