BENCH PRESS

HANDBOOK
COMPLETE GUIDE TO
YOUR NEXT BENCH PR!
 “BENCH IS MY WORSE LIFT”
I wanted to pack up my bags and storm out of the gym...

“Another failed bench!??”... I uttered out in frustration. It had been an entire year
since I had last seen progress in my bench press. That 315 lb milestone felt like a
brick wall that I just couldn’t break through despite my best efforts.

What changed? A lot. 5 years later I was able to secure a 440 lb bench in
competition, and a 820 lb multi-ply bench

Yes, I was eventually able to turn the corner, but it took time. It took learning from
some of the best powerlifters in the world, it took starting my career as a
powerlifting coach and amassing years of experience, it took me traveling the U.S.
working with powerlifters at clinics to broaden my knowledge of how individuals
respond to the lift.

What does this have to do with you and your personal struggles with this lift?

I wanted to take my knowledge from 10+ years coaching athletes across the world,
and give you solid actionable steps to get your bench press moving in the right
direction again

I’ve felt the frustration you may currently be going through. Whether it’s trying to
knock down that brick wall, or battling through injuries and limitations.

My promise is that if you apply the information in this handbook, I WILL have left
you in a better spot than before you read this book. I guarantee it

Before we get into the details that are going to change your bench for the better,
can we make a deal? If you’re ever confused on anything presented here, or have
questions, please message me @bigbenchas on Instagram or email me at
coachben@bigbenchas.com.

I want to help YOU break through that brick wall

 PRESS 3 PHASES
I have found that the easiest way to break down a complex
technical lift such as the bench press is to look at it in three

UNRACK separate phases

I depict a pyramid here because it represents the

SET UP
importance of each phase. The set up is your base, and
arguably the most important aspect to a successful bench.
From here we layer on additional technical components

SET UP
I’ve been on record saying that the set up portion of your
bench press is 80% your success. In this phase we not only
developing the best position possible to press from, but we
are creating 100% tension in the entire body to match

You know you have a solid set up when you feel exhausted
just completing this process. If a crane was to drop 300 lbs
in your hands out of nowhere, you would be in position
and ready to receive that

UNRACK
Another important piece of the technical puzzle here that
often times goes overlooked. You can have the best set up
process in the world and be foaming at the mouth to get
your hands on some weight...

However what happens between the bar sitting in the rack,

and how it transfers out into pressing position, can make or
break your entire set up process

PRESS
This is where everyone typically puts their focus, and I
believe that to be a massive mistake. When I receive
videos from lifters asking me to look at their bench, this
is all I see in a clipped format. What about all the other
things??

“Send me an uncut video” I send back. “I want to see

everything” The pressing process actually becomes
extremely simplified when the set up and the unrack
are dialed in!
THE SET UP
TOP CUES FOR SUCCESS
Make sure your bench offers traction. This one is first and foremost. I can’t tell you
how many times athletes have limited themselves and created injury just because
they did not properly prepare their bench. Check out this podcast I did on the
subject! Link

Leverage your set up process! Too many athletes make the mistake of simply
laying down on the bench and thinking they are ready to actually load themselves
with heavy weight. Use anything to your advantage to put yourself in the best
position possible. I have a really simple 3 step approach to this which I’ll share with
you here! Link

Many athletes make the mistake of looking at the bench press strictly as an upper
body driven movement. The bench press can be looked at just as much as a lower
body movement as it is upper. When you start seeing the bench press as a total
body powerlift just like the squat and the deadlift, you will unlock more strength.
With that being said, how you utilize leg drive, and your lower half is key. Attached
are some of my top tips to dominate this portion of the lift! Link

My athlete Jeff has gone from a 315 lb

raw bench to 400 lbs raw, and is now
pushing 700 lbs Multi-Ply
THE UNRACK
THE BRIDGE TO SUCCESS
One of the simplest things an athlete can do to ensure success in the transfer of
the bar is making sure they are positioned on the bench correctly. If you ask a lifter
where they set up on the bench, the default answer is typically “eyes under bar”.
This may work for some, but I find this wildly pulls lifters out of position. Check out
my video on this here. Link

Hand off communication is grossly underrated when it comes to discussing the

unrack. If you’re in a public gym, you need to be able to communicate the hand off
to random people. In a meet, you need to be able to communicate the hand off to
random people. This may be one of the biggest technical reasons for a missed lift
when everything else is on par. Don’t let that be your fate. Check out my thoughts
on hand off communication here Link

The MOST important thing when it comes to this phase is how well you keep your
shoulder position retracted. It is incredibly easy to release your shoulder position in
an effort to do most the work on the unrack yourself, using improper leverage
techniques, or simply just chasing the bar to feel the weight early. Learning how to
avoid this is going to slather lbs on your best bench! Link

My athlete Adam has gone from a 365 lb Raw

Bench to a 430 lb Raw bench, and 600 lb
Mulit-Ply bench in our time together
THE PRESS
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Like I mentioned previously, once you have the elements of the set up and the
unrack down, this becomes pretty simple. The first thing I’d like to share with you
that I’ve found to make a huge impact in my athletes lifts is the idea of holding the
weight for 2-3 seconds and retracting your back HARD. This will set the appropriate
tension in the back we are looking for, and help spare the shoulders. Link

Next when it comes to the press, we should discuss touch points, and how various
grip widths can influence this. If you use a wider grip, you’ll need a higher touch
point. With a closer grip, you’ll want a lower touch point. All in an effort to develop
what I call “forearm cannons”. Which is simply making sure your forearms align
with where you want to press the bar. Avoiding what I call a “dump touch” Link

Lastly I want to stress the concept of staying in shoulder retraction as you press.
Many lifters have the tendency to immediately shift into their chest/shoulders
when they press the bar, losing all the back tension they worked hard to create.
This will not only create more distance you have to move the bar, but will make the
lockout harder to manage. Link

My athlete charleen went from a 180 lb raw

bench and 225 lb single-ply bench to a 205
lb raw bench and 275 lb single-ply bench

While wininng $2500 and becoming

USAPL Pro Series Champion!
TIME TO BREAK THROUGH!
If you remember, at the start of this handbook I said...

“My promise is that if you apply the information in this handbook,

I WILL have left you in a better spot than before you read this
book. I guarantee it”

The cues and videos you’ve seen so far is how I help hundred of
my athletes have the break throughs you’ve seen throughout this
book!

BUT, technique alone won’t always account for that next 20 lbs on
your bench. It’s important, but how you train is important too

With that being said, I wanted to make this the most impactful resource you could
get your hands on. So I wanted to include the 2 week program I use to help athletes
break through bench plateaus instantly!

The results speak for themselves. Below is an image of the results from just our past
TWO challenge groups!

The key is applying the technical resources presented in this book, and working
through our 2 week program designed to help you display 1 rep max strength quickly

The result has been a solution that has taken athletes

who have been stuck on the bench for YEARS, and allow
them to see dramatic increases very quickly!
ACCESS THE PROGRAM

BIGBENCHAS2WEEK

This is completely FREE.

I hope it helps!
I hope this book helps your bench press become
one of your favorite lifts to train!

One small ask...

If you got value out of this book, or you were able to

get great results from the content inside, let me
know!

Please message me on Instagram @bigbenchas OR

email me at coachben@bigbenchas.com!