ADD 50 POUNDS TO YOUR BENCH PRESS

Building a bigger chest ranks near the top of every guy’s list of training goals. So much so we’ll oftentimes go the extra mile in our eagerness to push past ordinary limits. So which of these approaches have you tried on chest day?

  1. Added in extra sets of a given movement
  2. Threw in additional chest exercises
  3. Spent a disproportionate amount of time training pecs
  4. Trained chest more frequently

If you’re like me, you’ve tried an all-of-the-above approach … with little to show for the effort.

But maybe you’ve simply been looking in the wrong places. Today I’m going to show you outside-the-box techniques that can resuscitate long-stalled gains in pec strength and development. It all starts with an examination of guys who make it their business to push past plateaus in chest strength: world-class benchers and powerlifters.

STRENGTH CURVES AND STICKING POINTS

Have you ever noticed the lower portion of the bench press is the hardest? Toward the end of your set, a spotter will give you a little help with the bar just off the chest, and from there you press to full arm extension. The so-called sticking point at the lower end of the range of motion (ROM) is a result of biomechanics, and it’s where you’re typically weakest.

The barbell bench press and squat are good examples of exercises that follow ascending strength curves – that is, you have less-favorable leverage at the bottom and it becomes more favorable toward the top. Every exercise has a strength curve, which depicts how much force (strength) you can produce at various joint angles throughout the movement’s ROM. For simplicity, think top, middle and bottom of each movement.

Movements with ascending strength curves feel easier as you near full extension (lockout). The muscle tension required decreases over the course of the movement arc. Conversely, exercises such as rows and leg curls with a descending strength curve feel more difficult as you near the fully flexed position. And movements like the biceps curl have a unique bell-shaped strength curve, which feels easiest at the endpoints and toughest in the middle.

Knowing the strength curve of the bench press allows you to selectively overload the movement along various parts of the ROM and apply techniques that challenge you at those sticking points. Get stronger at your weakest spots and improve strength where you’re already strongest – that’s the ticket to skyrocket your bench press.

1. USE CHAINS AND BANDS TO OVERLOAD THE TOP

Because the upper end of the range of motion is easier on the bench press, you’re not working that area as hard as you could be, which means you’re not realizing your full potential of muscle growth. The strategy here, then, is to increase the overload on the upper end of the ROM without significantly affecting the lower end. While you could do that with partial-rep training in a power rack (see tip 3), you can also try chains and bands in your chest workouts.

Bands are the more versatile choice because they can be used with almost any piece of equipment, but both training aids allow you to increase the overload the farther the bar is from the floor. Some hardcore gyms have chains, but bands are more practical for carrying around and come in various lengths and thicknesses, which can add up to 150 pounds of added resistance at the top of a movement.

Make sure you have a pair of bands to allow for symmetrical placement (important so the load is evenly placed on the bar) and ensure there’s a minimum level of tension when the bar is in the bottom position. You’ll also increase your negative-rep strength using these tools.

2. COME TO A FULL STOP AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH REP

You might not be the guy who bounces the barbell off his chest when benching, but that doesn’t mean you’re not otherwise getting a big assist out of the hole. To better understand the mechanism, let’s first have a quick physics discussion on the role of elastic energy.

Here’s how it works: When you lower a weighted barbell (without the bar touching your chest, of course), elastic energy builds up in the muscle, which assists in the initial stages of the lift when reversing direction. This process is known as the stretch reflex. If, instead, you stop the movement at the bottom of the rep for about two seconds (or, conversely, momentarily allow it to settle on the safety bars set to the bottom of your ROM just off your chest in a power rack), that aforementioned built-up energy dissipates. It can no longer help you out of the hole, which means you have to work harder to get the bar moving. That’s where a short-term dedicated training strategy can really help build up your strength out of the hole by making you work harder at your weakest point in the ROM.

3. PUSH HEAVY PARTIALS

There’s another way to overload the top portion of the rep where you’re strongest and that’s with partial reps. This can be done in a power rack in which you set the safeties so you’re only over a limited portion of the ROM, say the top third. This allows you to train with heavier loads than you could handle with full-range reps.

The idea behind doing heavy partials is that as you gain strength, you drop the safeties one or two positions in the power rack, so that you’re elongating the ROM. Over time, this allows you to push more weight over the entire strength curve of the bench press.

Board presses are another way to do partials, and they work in a similar fashion. While all heavy-weight movements should have a spotter, this one in particular requires your partner to hold one of two boards above just off your chest, again limiting the ROM to the top third or so. As you progress over time to using fewer boards, your range of motion increases until you approach doing full-range reps.

4. FOCUS ON BUILDING TRICEPS STRENGTH

No doubt the triceps play a key role in heavy bench pressing, especially toward the lockout position. While your current arm workouts may be focused on generating a deep muscle pump, let’s put that training aside for a while and instead concentrate on building triceps strength. You don’t do that with high-rep, muscle-pump training.

Put a greater emphasis in your arm routine on multi-joint triceps exercises including close-grip bench presses, weighted bench dips, weighted parallel bar dips (for triceps, remember to keep your body in a more vertical position and don’t allow your elbows to flare out), as well as the triceps dip machine.

But don’t stop there. Choose challenging weights, doing as few as 4 to 6 reps per set, early in your arm training before fatigue sets in. With single-joint triceps exercises like skull-crushers and overhead extensions, let the rep target drift a bit higher, but you’ll still build strength better with sets of 8 reps than with sets of 15.

5. FOLLOW A STRENGTH PROTOCOL

While bodybuilders and powerlifters use the same tools in the gym, their training methods are vastly different. To maximize strength as in the bench press, a number of training variables are altered from traditional bodybuilding protocol, including volume (the number of sets you do for a body part multiplied by the load), rest periods, training intensity (as defined by the loads you use in relation to your single-rep max, expressed as a percentage), and the concept of training to failure. Here’s a quick explanation:

>> To focus on gaining strength you typically use loads corresponding to, for example, your 5RM (that is, a weight you can do for five reps), 3RM and 2RM on your main (first) exercise, which for chest is the bench press. Such very heavy sets aren’t as effective at building muscle, but are requisite when focusing on strength.

>> When you increase intensity, you do not also want to increase volume. In fact, strength training involves far fewer total reps (usually about 10 to 20 total for all your working sets of bench presses) as well as fewer total sets in your workout. That is, after warm-ups, you may do four sets of benches, but the aggregate number of reps for all sets shouldn’t exceed 20 (four sets of five reps equals 20). When you get to even heavier weights, limit total reps to 10. That is, three sets of three, or four to five sets of two.

>> Workouts are arranged around building strength on a particular lift rather than building up a body part. Hence, the secondary exercises you choose after the bench should be ones that aid you in increasing your bench, not fully developing the muscle. Smart choices include dumbbell bench presses, incline presses, one of the techniques above that addresses a sticking point, and a multi-joint triceps exercise. These assistance exercises should be done for three to five sets, starting at the lower end and increasing volume over time, for four to six reps.

>> Between-sets recovery is usually about 60 to 90 seconds, bet when training for hypertrophy, but when following a strength-training protocol you don’t want any carryover fatigue from your previous set, which allows the nervous system to better recover. Hence, on your main exercise, take three to five minutes between sets.

>> Training to failure, the point at which you can’t do any more reps on your own with good form, is a bodybuilding technique that’s not used in strength training. In the latter, it’s counterproductive because of the cumulative stress it places on the nervous system. Always keep one to two reps left in the tank for each set. Have a spotter on hand but avoid forced reps.

6. MAXIMIZE YOUR NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT

All the above approaches can help you make incremental gains in chest strength in the gym that, over time, lead to significant changes in strength. But why limit your efforts to just training when science has shown eating right and smart supplementation can further boost strength gains? Here are the key supplements to consider to complement your training efforts.

>> Creatine Monohydrate. This musclebuilding, power-enhancing supplement has plenty of research to support its ergogenic role as a strength and size builder. Creatine works by increasing the availability of creatine and phosphocreatine (PCr) within the muscle, which helps you maintain energy during high-intensity activities like weightlifting. Research shows that creatine supplementation can lead to at least 5% to 15% greater gains in strength and performance.[1] Make use of these MuscleTech® products that include creatine: Cell-Tech, Cell-Tech Hyper-Build and Essential Series Platinum 100% Creatine.

>> Whey Protein. Because it’s fast digesting, whey is optimal post-workout as it stimulates muscle protein synthesis rapidly compared to other types of protein such as casein.[2] A review article published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that supplementing with protein for longer than six weeks when combined with  resistance training led to significantly greater increases in muscle mass and strength, when compared to resistance training without a dietary protein supplement.[3] What’s more, in a six-week clinical trial, subjects taking whey protein along with their training regimen gained 5.1 lbs. of lean muscle and added 14 lbs. to their bench press.[4] You can’t beat the Nitro-Tech® family when it comes to scientifically advanced whey proteins – and no matter what your goal, there’s a Nitro-Tech formula to help you get the results you’re after.

Some whey formulas also contain carbohydrates that are collectively known as mass gainers, ideal for a bulking phase. For those, you’ll want to consider
Mass-Tech® Extreme 2000.

> > Caffeine. As a stimulant, caffeine aids in both endurance activities as well as highly intense exercise. Caffeine is among the most studied ingredients in sports nutrition and can support increases in mental focus, intensity, energy and even thermogenesis.[5] Muscle-Tech features a wide range of cutting-edge pre-workouts that utilize this powerful ingredient.
Pre-Workout Collection

>> Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs). BCAAs, especially leucine, stimulate muscle protein synthesis, suppress protein degradation and may help speed workout recovery. In a 2011 study, a 4 gram daily dose of L-leucine taken over 12 weeks, along with a training program, was shown to help subjects increase their 5-rep max lifts by over 40%.[6] Check out Amino Build Next Gen (with betaine and electrolytes) and Amino Build® Next Gen Energized (with added caffeine).

GYMS ARE REOPENING: HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

After months of living room lunges, backyard burpees, and milk jug curls in the kitchen, the moment we’ve all been waiting for is finally here.

GYMS ARE REOPENING!

And while we can’t tell you which ones are back up and running, we can help make sure your reunion runs as smoothly as possible. A lot has changed since your last visit to the gym and there are a few things you need to know before you go. Lucky for you, we did all the legwork and compiled a comprehensive guide to help you prepare for post-quarantine gym life.

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WHAT TO DO BEFORE YOU GO

Call ahead to make sure you understand your gym’s new policies and procedures as well as what precautions they’re taking to keep you safe. Here are some important questions to ask before you go:

  • Are you offering/requiring online reservations and check-in systems?
  • How are you spacing out people and equipment?
  • Are you limiting how many people can be in the gym at once?
  • Is access to locker rooms limited?
  • Are your employees wearing masks?
  • Do you have disposable masks if I want one?
  • What’s the ventilation like?
  • How often are you disinfecting the equipment, and do you have disinfectant available for members to use?
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WHAT TO DO WHILE YOU’RE THERE

Regardless of your gym’s rules, it’s always a good idea to use extra precaution when breaking a sweat in a public area. During your workout, use the following guidelines to keep you, and those around you, safe.

USE SOCIAL DISTANCING AND LIMIT PHYSICAL CONTACT

  • Wear a cloth face covering at all times.
  • Stay at least six feet away from other gym goers.
  • Limit attendance at indoor group training sessions.
  • Don’t shake hands, give high-fives, do elbow bumps, or touch others.

TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS WITH SHARED EQUIPMENT

  • Wipe down machines and equipment with disinfecting wipes.
  • Use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol before using machines.
  • Do not share items that cannot be cleaned, sanitized, or disinfected between use, such as resistance bands and weightlifting belts.

WHAT TO DO ONCE YOU’RE HOME

Make sure what happens at the gym, stays at the gym. Use these guidelines to keep you and your loved ones safe once you’re home.

  • Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer after you’ve finished your workout.
  • Wash your clothes and face mask once you’re home.
  • Disinfect your gym bag, shoes or any equipment you brought with you.

10 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT ROELLY WINKLAAR

HUMBLE. DECORATED. LEGENDARY.

This is Roelly Winklaar — a bodybuilding boss who’s no stranger to championship titles. ­In fact, he’s brought home so many wins that fans worldwide have adorned him with the nickname, “The Beast.” And with The Olympia in his sights, he’ll be spending this year bringing that nickname to life in the gym. Because in his mind, winning isn’t an option — it’s the only option.

But that’s not all there is to Roelly. During his most recent visit to BPI Sports headquarters, we sat down and got a little more personal with the world-renowned bodybuilder to bring you the inside scoop.

  1. He’s a natural and he’s got the win to show it. He won his first competition without any supplements, nutrition plans, or much background on the sport at all. We guess you could say he was built for bodybuilding.
  2. When he’s off-the-clock he’s on island time, visiting his family on his native island, Curaçao.
  3. Before he hit the stage he played the field, living out his dream of being a fútbol player with professional clubs.
  4. That M&M’s rumor you’ve been hearing about may not be all it’s cracked up to be. The real story?
    A famous German photographer captured him behind the scenes eating some M&M’s during a competition. The next day the same photographer gifted him with a duffel bag full of them. Now whenever Roelly goes to Germany, people bring him bundles of M&M’s. But if you ask him, he could, “take ‘em or leave ‘em, it’s not really a thing.”
  5. He’s got moves on and off the stage. Not only can he backflip, he’s known to cut a rug to his favorite R&B classics — his go-to music in the gym.
  6. His favorite food could just be his secret weapon. Yambo, or what he describes as a “slimy seafood soup” made with okra, is a national dish from Curaçao and is believed among islanders to bring power to those who eat it.
  7. Bodybuilding runs in the family. His younger brother Quincy “The Q” Winklaar is also a pro competitor. Roelly inspired him and helped mold his training routine, which led to Quincy receiving his pro card back in 2011.
  8. When it comes to pets, he prefers a slither to a snuggle. Avoiding the pet hair drama that comes with most furry friends, Roelly used to spend his days with his favorite snake instead.
  9. He’s known to hit the snooze button — but for good reason. During training season, Roelly recovers with 12 to 13 hours of sleep a night.
  10. Even he can’t resist a good cheat day. While he was here, we had him take on a chicken sandwich taste test challenge between Popeye’s and Chick-Fil-A. In the end, his favorite came out on top – Chick-Fil-A all the way.

Credit – BPI SPORTS

DROPPING THE QUARANTINE 15 PART TWO: ABS WITH STEVEN CAO

WELCOME BACK TO WEEK TWO OF DROPPING THE QUARANTINE 15!

This week, we’re busting some of the most common 6-pack myths with Steven Cao. Then, we’ll show you some of his favorite exercises for toning and strengthening your core.

Before you jump into your washboard ab journey, it’s important to understand what will and won’t work. Join Steven Cao below as he answers some of the most asked questions and debunks the most common myths about achieving the perfect 6-pack.

6-PACK MYTH NUMBER ONE: YOU CAN’T HAVE ABS WITHOUT STRONG AB MUSCLES.

FALSE. According to Steven, with the right diet you won’t have to train as hard as you think to get a toned core.

6-PACK MYTH NUMBER TWO: CARDIO IS REQUIRED TO GET ABS.

TRUE. Steven highly recommends cardio because it will put you in a calorie deficit, which will help you lose fat and look more toned.

6-PACK MYTH NUMBER THREE: YOU CAN GET ABS OVERNIGHT.

FALSE. In Steven’s words, “it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

6-PACK MYTH NUMBER FOUR: THE BEST WAY TO GET A 6-PACK IS BY DOING CRUNCHES.

FALSE. He’s said it before and he’ll say it again. Diet is the most important factor in getting a 6-pack. In other words, the less munching you do, the less crunching you’ll do.

6-PACK MYTH NUMBER FIVE: MEN CAN GET ABS EASIER THAN WOMEN.

TRUE(ish). Steven says that while he thinks the average man would have an easier time getting abs than the average woman, he’s seen some female competitors that are “sharper than some of the guys.” For him, this one’s debatable.

6-PACK MYTH NUMBER SIX: “MAGAZINE COVER” ABS ARE ACHIEVABLE.

TRUE(ish). While Steven says this one is debatable, it is possible with the right genetics and a strong work ethic.

Now that you’ve got the knowledge of Steven Cao under your belt, let’s get to work toning up the muscles under there too. Watch below and follow along as Steven Cao takes us through some of his favorite ab workouts.