Is your Bench Press sticking point the only thing that's keeping you from lifting heavier
weight?
Well, I'm going to show you today how to fix for that.
You might just be lifting lighter weights.
What's up, Guys?
Jeff Cavaliere, ATHLEANX.COM.
I talked about it in the open, sometimes, when you're trying to get a bigger bench press,
or to break through a plateau you've been stuck at for a while, we can't really start
right here.
What we have to do is start right over here at the board.
I want to show you something really quick about why the board,
the whiteboard, is going to explain everything of what we need to focus on, and it's right
here.
FORCE=MASS X ACCELERATION.
So, now, we know when we're trying to build a bigger chest or to be able to increase our
bench press, we want to be able to generate more FORCE.
The more force that we can generate, we're going to start to activate our Type II fibers
more efficiently.
Right?
The more force that we need to generate, the more we have to recruit extra muscle fibers
dipping into, again, this higher level Type II which will be the ones that will hypertrophy.
You can see that we can increase our FORCE 2 different ways.
We can either increase the MASS, or weight that we're lifting,
so, if you're a guy going after a 300 pound Bench Press, or a 400 pound Bench Press, you
can increase the weight there, OR
you can increase the ACCELERATION of the weight, the speed at which you move the weight.
So, why is that important?
Let's go over here and I'll show you exactly why that's important.
Because, even if you're an athlete, one of the more efficient ways to do this is to actually
work on that second component which is the acceleration of the weight.
So, if you look at a traditional Bench Press, I fell down here.
Now I'm doing this on a Smith Machine
so that I can show you another technique after this that actually can really help you in
trying to do this.
First, if I'm going to go in here and do a Bench Press, and again, I'm down here.
My sticking point is usually in this area here.
Ok.
Right in that area.
From here to here.
And a lot of guys, once they get past here, they're ok.
They can move more weight.
So, some guys will stick to working out in partial ranges, to work on increasing their
Bench Press, but especially from a functional standpoint,
if you're an athlete, you don't always get the luxury of working in a partial range out
here.
A lot of times, you'll have to get all the way down, to be able to come out of it.
So, how can we train you to be able to get through that?
Well, we want to introduce the ACCELERATION component.
So, when you're in your Bench Press, the biggest component, what you should be working on,
is trying to accelerate that bar off of your chest all the way through.
From the sticking point, all the way through the top.
So, it would look like this on, for me 135 pounds load.
Ok.
All the way up and control on the way down.
Accelerate it up, down, accelerate it up.
Ok.
Now, watch what happens when I put extra weight on there.
It's going to go a lot slower, but in my head, I'm going to treat it as if I'm moving it
just as fast.
So, if I put 225 on there, and I get under the bar.
That's as fast as I was moving the last time.
Ok.
So, those reps, I feel as if I'm moving it just as fast as I was prior.
That's the effort I'm trying to exert.
Remember, the sticking point.
Newton's Law of Motion, right?
An object in motion tends to stay in motion.
An object at rest, tends to stay at rest.
If you find that you're sticking here, the best way to overcome a sticking point is to
get that thing in motion quicker.
Learn to train your acceleration before the sticking point so that you can accelerate
through the sticking point and never get stuck there.
One last tip for you guys if you do have access to a Smith Machine.
If you don't, you can use your Dumbbells and do the same thing.
ACCELERATE your weight.
It's an important concept.
If I have a Smith Machine, and I'm a bit more of the advanced trainer, I wouldn't start
with this.
Only, again, these I, kind of, reserve for my top level athletes.
But, here's the drill.
You can actually accelerate by letting the bar go.
It's a good way to train yourself to get that bar off your chest and through the sticking
point.
I'm here, and now I literally throw it.
And decelerate on the way down.
So, I'm accelerating all the way up until I let it go.
Ok.
So, again, an advanced technique, but a great way to teach yourself to become more explosive
and more accelerative to then
obviously not just break through your sticking point, but that will increase the force based
on that equation I showed you.
Remember, it doesn't always have to come from increasing the weight, and what you're going
to find is,
the more force you can generate, the more weight you'll be able to lift over time, so
don't always use weight.
And stacking it up is a way to measure or to gauge the way that you're going to progress
to higher and higher weights on your Bench Press.
Guys, these are just some of the things that we cover in AthleanX.
Remember, we don't want to just approach things, you know, without taking a scientific look
at how to do it.
These are equations that have stood the test of time long before me or other meatheads
out there have sort of invented them and applied them to the gym.
They're laws of physics.
But we can apply them to what we do in the gym so we can get bigger, stronger, and faster.
And that's what AthleanX is all about.
I'll see you guys over at AthleanX.com.
If you haven't already, guys, go over there and grab the 90-day training program.
Start utilizing real principles to start not just increasing your Bench Press, but functionally
increasing your entire level of strength and power
and becoming a much better developed and more effective athlete.
I'll see you guys again in 7 days.
In the meantime, if you like this video, and this helps you increase your Bench Press,
make sure you leave a comment and a Thumbs Up below.
I'll see you guys back here next week.