Excerpt f rom Josh Bryant’s eBook Bench Press: The Science (http://www.elitef ts.com/view/?sp=6249)

I have been reading about the bench press since 1983 and have been coached by many of thebest Powerlifting coaches in the world. I have spent the better part of my life living, learning andPassing on what I know about the Bench Press. I even wrote an eBook on training the bench pressand more articles than I can remember. Josh has put together an EXCELLENT book! It remindedme of MANY things I have forgotten and also taught me things I didn’t know. There is no doubt inmy mind this is the best book ever complied on the bench press, it’s science and how to train it. –Dave Tate founder Elitefts.com Inc

Compensatory Acceleration Training (CAT) Reigns Supreme

Okay, so this “CAT” idea sounds great, but what does science say? Glad you asked. This study examined theef f ects on strength af ter training f or three weeks of the bench press with maximal speed (CAT) and a self -selected slower pushing speed. There were 20 total subjects, 10 trained in a CAT style on the bench press,the other half with a self -selected speed. Both groups trained with 85 percent of their one repetit ion max twicea week.

Prior to the commencement of training and af ter cessation of the three weeks of training, pushing speed andone repetit ion max were measured. The group that trained in a CAT style increased their bench press speed by2.2 percent and strength by 10.2 percent, the self -selected group showed no improvements in either category.

Padulo, J. J., Mignogna, P. P., Mignardi, S. S., Tonni, F. F., & D’Ottavio, S. S. (2012). Effect of different pushingspeeds on bench press. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 33(5), 376-380.

Practical Application

This again is one more study conf irming the importance of explosive power in the raw bench press. CAT styleis required to continually ellicit gains in the bench press in trained subjects. I have seen this happen manytimes. Once an athlete, regardless of experience, learns to truly bench press with max f orce, strength goesthrough the roof . To reach your maximum strength levels in the bench press, you have to train in acompensatory acceleration style.

Lif t ing Maximal Weight Increase Force Production in Subsequent Sets

Post Activation Potentiation (PAP) is a strategy used to improve perf ormance in power activit ies and ref ers tothe enhancement of muscle f unction f ollowing a high f orce activity. Legendary Russian Sports Scientist YuriVerhoshansky explained PAP in layman’s terms as f ollows, “When you perf orm a 3-5 Rep Max f ollowed by alight explosive set…to your nervous system it ’s like lif t ing a ½ can of water when you think it ’s f ull.” Theweight f eels lighter and moves f aster.

This study set out to determine if power during bench press exercise was increased when preceded by onerepetit ion maximum (1RM) in the bench press prior to lif t ing submaximal weights with maximal f orce, and it alsoaimed to determine the optimal rest interval to optimize PAP response.

The f our experimental sessions were composed of a one repetit ion max f ollowed by CompensatoryAcceleration Training (CAT) sets with rest intervals consisting of 1, 3, 5, and 7 minutes, perf ormed on dif f erent

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days, and determined randomly. Power was measured via peak power equipment (Cef ise, Nova Odessa, SãoPaulo, Brazil).

The study determined there was a signif icant increase in PAP in concentric muscle contractions af ter sevenminutes of recovery af ter a max weight was used. The results suggest that seven minutes of recovery hasgenerated an increase in PAP in bench.

Ferreira, S., Panissa, V., Miarka, B., & Franchini, E. (2012). Postactivation Potentiation: Effect of Various RecoveryIntervals on Bench Press Power Performance. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (Lippincott Williams &Wilkins), 26(3), 739-744.

Practical Application

I wrote about reverse pyramiding inMuscle Mag International a couple yearsago. The idea is to start of f with yourheaviest sets, and then perf ormsubmaximal sets. This takes advantageof the PAP ef f ect. If a f ootball player isgetting ready f or a combine with a 225-pound rep bench press rep max, I willhave him bench press 275-315 poundsf irst, the end result is he alwaysperf orms more reps. “You f eel like youare lif t ing half of a can like it ’s f ull,” inDr. Verhoshansky words.

This allows you to build strength veryef f ectively because the most importantstrength building set is the f irst set inthis rep scheme. You are 100 percentf resh! What most people don’t look atis the f act that you will produce greaterf orces on your CAT sets f ollowing yourheavy sets. Many studies on PAP aregenerally done on things like heavysquats f ollowed by an explosive activitylike a vertical jump. Countless studiesshow the ef f ectiveness of PAP, but it ’scool to see what I’ve known andadvocated f or years to be validated byscience. We have learned the sameef f ect holds true when moving f rom amaximal weight to a sub maximal weight.In layman’s terms, bench 500 f irst then400 f eels lighter and it will move moreexplosively.

CAT Training Continually Reigns Supreme

Division 1 f ootball players training in a compensatory acceleration style (CAT) upper body strength regimen

were compared to a tradit ional regimen in their of f -season. The CAT group was instructed to perf orm thepositive rep as explosively as possible. The tradit ional group perf ormed repetit ions at a tradit ional tempo.

At the end of both of f -season training programs, both power and strength were assessed. Power was testedwith a seated medicine ball throw and a f orce platf orm plyometric push-up test. Strength was assessed by aone rep max in the bench press.

Both groups increased strength and power. The group that trained in a Compensatory Acceleration Training(CAT) style improved their bench press by nearly double the amount of the tradit ional group. Average power,as expected, increased signif icantly more in the group that trained explosively.

Jones, K. K., Hunter, G. G., Fleisig, G. G., Escamilla, R. R., & Lemak, L. L. (1999). The effects of compensatoryacceleration on upper-body strength and power in collegiate football players. Journal of Strength & ConditioningResearch (Allen Press Publishing Services Inc.), 13(2), 99-105.

Practical Application

Fred Hatf ield was ahead of his t ime advocating Compensatory Acceleration Training. It is simply superior! Training adaptations are not just a result of weight on the bar. Adaptations f rom training are a byproduct oftension and duration. You respond to how much f orce produced, how f ast the f orce was produced, how longyou produced it, and how many times you produced it. Force=mass x acceleration. More tension is result ofgreater bar speed. Maximal strength training and power adaptations can result f rom lif t ing weights withmaximal f orce; one more reason to compensatorily accelerate weights.

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Table of Contents

About the Author

The Bench Press

Compensatory Acceleration Training (CAT)

Elimination of Sticking Points: A Scientif ic Approach

The Power of Posit ive Benching

Explosive Bench Pressing: Plyometrics and Throws

Sound Science or Bro Science?

Partials f or Raw Bench Pressers

Bands and Chains f or the Raw Bench Presser

Bench Press: Muscle Activation, Technique, and Volume

Science and the Sling Shot

Miscellaneous Bench Press Science

Building Bottom End Power

Take Home Points

Link to Full Table of Contents - View the table of contents here (http://www.elitefts.net/ebooks/bps-sample.pdf)

About Josh Bryant

Along with ISSA certif ications in f itness training, nutrit ion, and conditioning, Josh has been awarded theprestigious tit le of Master of Fitness Sciences (MFS). He was also recently named the ISSA Director of AppliedStrength and Power Development. In addition to being certif ied by the NSCA as a Certif ied Strength andConditioning Specialist (CSCS) and by NASM as a Perf ormance Enhancement Specialist (PES), Josh completedhis Master ’s degree in Exercise Science, with an emphasis in Perf ormance Enhancement and Injury Preventionat Calif ornia University of Pennsylvania. He is the co-author of the elitef ts™ best-selling eBook, Metrof lexGym Powerbuilding Basics.

As an athlete, Josh won many national and world t it les in both powerlif t ing and strongman. At 22 years of age,he was the youngest person in powerlif t ing history to bench press 600 pounds raw. He squatted 909 pounds inthe USPF, of f icially bench-pressed 620 pounds raw, and of f icially deadlif ted 810 pounds raw. In 2005, he wonthe Atlantis Strongest Man in America competit ion.

Josh has been f ocusing on providing outstanding personal training in person as well as via the Internet. He hascombined his education along with his in- the-trenches experience to develop The JoshStrength Method. Thismethod has provided countless clients the road map to success.

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