Keys for Unlocking Your Maximum Potential to the
Ultimate Upper Body Strength and Muscle Building Exercise

If you train regularly you have undoubtedly experienced the forth coming scenario and marveled at its dual ferocity and serenity. This story transpires in many gyms across the country every day. A rugged looking individual is making his way for the bench press. He seems very intense and focused in his undertakings. His chest is enormous as are his ripped arms and his rounded shoulders. He places one forty-five pound plate after another onto the bar. After warming up sufficiently he adds another. And still yet another. The ease and control at which he performs these repetitions looks peaceful and almost machine-like.

You find yourself staring in amazement at the raw strength this individual has to lift this immense amount of weight so effortlessly. He gets up after completing one of his last sets and casually looks around and happens to look right at you. You quickly look away in fear of your life and of the possibility that this guy might think that you have some sort of crush on him or something of that nature.

Well, there is no need to feel this way because I’m sure that we have all at one time or another marveled at this spectacle. Having a big bench seems to get a lot of attention and respect in the gym and even outside of it. Why else do you suppose that the most commonly asked question to someone with a muscular physique is, “what can you bench?” I’m sure that most of the individuals who are asked this question would like to have a large and legitimate number to answer it with. The reality is that most bodybuilders can’t bench more than 250 pounds without a spotters help.

The bench press may be the most popular exercise in the gym but is also the most over-trained and incorrectly performed as well. By committing yourself to following a proper training routine and using perfect form, anyone can add a significant amount of weight to their bench press. This in turn will add tremendous size to your chest, shoulders and arms. Having a big bench, while keeping your body-fat to a minimum, will make you want to take your shirt off at every given opportunity. It will also get you a lot of respect among your fellow gym rats.

The problem with getting a big bench is that not many people truly know how to go about getting one. One easy way would be to use a lot of steroids. This, by the way is the most probable explanation for the freaky looking guy explained in the beginning of this article having a big bench. Luckily, you don’t have to go this route, because top drug-free power lifters have been utilizing scientifically proven techniques to increase their bench press amounts for years. And best of all, the principles that help them to construct these routines are fully backed by scientifically proven research and documentation.

The first scientific principle utilized by these individuals is that of using proper form. How
is using proper form considered scientific when bench pressing you may ask? The theory is as follows. To move a heavy object in the most efficient manner and over the shortest distance possible will decrease the total amount of work performed. Efficiently performing work will decrease energy expenditure and leave some force and energy to spare. You can use this extra energy to therefore lift a heavier weight (resulting in a bigger bench press). The following description of proper bench pressing form is used by the elite in the iron game. Utilizing this information will improve your bench press dramatically.

PROPER BENCH PRESSING TECHNIQUE EXECUTION: Lie on the bench with the top of your head just below the level of the bar. Set a medium-wide grip using the lines on the power bar as a guide. Place your feet flat on the ground and glutes (butt) lightly touching the bench while tight and grounded to the floor to create a strong foundation. Stabilize your lower body by keeping it tight and motionless. Arch your back and squeeze the muscle in your upper back to get it tight. Squeeze the bar firmly and remove it from the rack. Take a deep breath and hold it. Then in a controlled motion lower the weight down to your chest. Your elbows should be midway between the body and the bar at the bottom of the lift. When the weight touches your chest, without bouncing it, forcefully push it straight up to starting position. Let out your air upon completion of the ascent. The bar should always remain parallel to the floor and move in a controlled machine-like motion.

In addition to using proper technique, elite lifters also incorporate scientific principles into their training routines. One such example of this is the utilization of periodization in the construction of their lifting routines. Periodization is the systematic long-term planning of an athletes training program using progressive resistance training. The key words to this definition are long-term and progressive resistance training. By progressively increasing the resistance of weights used over a period of time you can coax small but continual gains in muscle mass from week to week throughout the course of a training cycle. The aforementioned elite drug-free power-lifters that utilize these training principles continually add substantial poundage’s to their maximum lifts year after year. The following example utilizes these principles and is a routine that has been used by the most successful bench pressers of all time.

The first step used in applying this routine to your lifting regimen is by finding your current one rep max on your bench press. This max attempt is to be performed with no assistance for one complete repetition. The following routine utilizes a max lift of 250 pounds as the example. To make it work for you, substitute your current one rep max in the bench for the specified weight of 250 pounds. If your maximum lift is 350 pounds, multiply it by .55 and you get 192.5. Perform this weight then for 3 sets of ten reps for the first week of workout. Do this same procedure for the remainder of your routine construction. Remember that the largest drug-free bench presses in the world were obtained from using these principles.

Warm up sufficiently before performing the following routine. Perform only the amount of sets and reps necessary to prepare your muscles for the following routine. The program below uses 250lbs. as the current maximum bench-press of the lifter. The new max after the program should be between 270-290! Use the percentages and try it out for yourself!

Chest Routine
Current Max = 250 lbs. / Projected Max = 270-290 lbs.

WEEK SETS REPS WEIGHT 1 3 10 55% of 250 lbs. = 137.5 lbs. 2 3 9 60% of 250 lbs. = 150 lbs. 3 3 8 65% of 250 lbs. = 162.5 lbs. 4 3 7 70% of 250 lbs. = 175 lbs. 5 3 6 75% of 250 lbs. = 187.5 lbs. 6 3 5 80% of 250 lbs. = 200 lbs. 7 3 4 85% of 250 lbs. = 212.5 lbs. 8 3 3 90% of 250 lbs. = 225 lbs. 9 3 2 95% of 250 lbs. = 237.5 lbs. 10 New max attempt = 270 – 290+ lbs.

Notice how the weights gradually increase as the repetitions decrease. This will coax small but definite increases in strength. At the end of the 10-week cycle these small increments of strength increase will have amounted to a 20 - 40 pound jump on your bench press. This routine works very well so try it! After completing this cycle, create a second routine based on your newly achieved one repetition max.



To be performed after flat bench press routine

Incline Dumbbell Presses:

2 sets of 8 - 12 reps

Assistance Exercise Instruction
(utilize progressively increasing weight and decreasing reps) Large muscle groups are directly trained by this bench press cycle. Smaller muscle groups that contribute to the bench press should also be trained. Three days after completing the previous chest routine you should train your triceps, biceps and shoulders (day 4). Then, four days later, your back should be trained (day 5). Then Legs should be trained to complete the weeks workout on (day 6). While performing these assistance exercises keep in mind the progressive resistance theory. Perform each exercise by gradually increasing the weights from week to week while decreasing the reps. Perform the following exercises to assist your bench press:

Shoulders:
Military Press: 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps
Front Dumbbell: Raises 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps
Side Delt Raises: 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps
Rear Delt Raises: 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps

Arms:
TRICEPS
Close Grip Bench Press: 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps
Cable Press Downs: 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps
1 Arm Cable Extensions: 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps

BICEPS
Preacher curls: 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps
Hammer curls: 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps
Concentration curls: 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps

Back:
Bent over rows: 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps
Pull downs: 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps
Cable rows: 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps
Barbell Shrugs: 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps

Abdominals:
Leg Raises: 3 sets of 15 - 20 reps
Sit-ups: 3 sets of 15 - 20 reps

Legs:
Squats: 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps
Leg Press: 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps
Leg Extensions: 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps
Leg Curls: 2 sets of 8 - 12 reps
Calve Raisies: 3 sets of 8 – 10 reps

Utilize all of the components of this article in your newly devised bench-press routine. At the completion of this training cycle new peak levels of strength and performance will be achieved. This systematic approach to training will add slabs of muscle to even the most stubborn of all hard gainers. When you have completed your first couple of cycles you may catch someone staring at you in amazement as you get up from performing your top sets on the bench press. Chances are that he is probably not staring at you because he thinks that you are cute but rather because he is extremely impressed with your newly found raw bench pressing power and massive upper body musculature.

Lets sum up the article for you. Train hard with proper form and technique within a pre-planned training cycle to increase maximum workout strength and ultimate muscle size. Follow the guidelines in the routine provided and also the diet recommendations. Take powerful supplements such as The Continuous Cycle by Fizogen, which includes ON CYCLE and OFF CYCLE. To multiply the results of this endless stack we highly recommend MID CYCLE to be utilized. It may in fact be the most sophisticated product available for increasing strength and size and greatly boost the effectiveness of The Continuous Cycle. Lastly be sure to utilize
a high quality protein supplement such as is available through GNC’s Pro-Performance brand. The brands hailed in this article are the only products of this category recommended for practical use as to insure you are getting high quality for a great price!

It is that easy! Stay committed, train hard, follow the program outlined above and you will be fast on your way to getting a...

BIG-ASS BENCH!