10/20/Life 4-Week Big Bench Program

Some of us are genetically gifted, and some aren’t. When it comes to bench pressing, the ideal build would entail having a thick chest and back, with short, stubby arms. If you take a look at the top bench pressers in the world, most of them are built that way.

You may not be, but that’s okay. There are still many things you can do for your bench press that’ll take it from being a weak point in your arsenal to a strength. Here, I’m going to show you four very import-ant things you can do to help your bench press.

These are the things that worked for me. It didn’t happen overnight, but I took my bench press from a weakness to a strength with pa-tience, a plan that attacked my weak points, and by taking advan-tage of everything I possibly could.

Your Four-Step Bench Attack

1. FIND SOMEONE GREAT AT IT. The first move I made was to go to the best bench presser in the world for help. The year was 2006, and my teacher was Shawn Frankl. After training with Shawn and some of the best benchers around, I learned how to use my entire body, and how to use my lats to take the weight.

My takeaway here was to make every rep the same. Bend the bar in half to activate your lats. This will also remind you to get up on your traps and drive your heels. All good benchers use more than just their upper body, so be aware that you’ll need to use your hips, leg drive, and hip placement to move big weights.

2. HAVE AN INGRAINED ROUTINE THAT YOU DON’T DEVIATE FROM. This means you’ll need a mental checklist going in. I used to hate the bench so much that I’d just go do it without putting much thought into it. Here’s what I do now instead:

Your setup is the foundation on which your bench is built. You need to pour a foundation first before you frame a house, and benching works the same way. Here, you need to picture yourself as a tripod—traps, one foot, other foot.

You don’t want your back or butt flush on the bench. Instead, hover on the bench with your feet rooted, driving your heels into the ground whether you use a tucking style or a wider base with your feet in front of you.

Here’s your checklist:

A. Lock your feet in like a monkey, grip the floor, and push your traps into the bench like you’re a tripod. Make sure your back isn’t sweaty, and dry off the bottoms of your shoes.

B. Get your breathing right, and be stiff and locked-in. Don’t move excessively under the bar, and take your last breath BEFORE you get the handoff.

C. Wait until you have control of the bar before you descend. Flare your lats and take the bar with them as you bend the bar and sink your traps into the bench. Also, drive your heels.

D. Stay as tight as possible while lowering the bar in a controlled manner. Once the bar is on your chest, drive your heels through the floor, and drive your traps through the bench. You’ll be pushing yourself away from the bar, and pushing the bar back at an angle through to lockout.

3. GET JACKED. Once I maximized my technique and setup, I needed to add some chest and triceps size. I have pretty long arms, and I needed to fill them out. Making my chest and back thicker shortened the distance I needed to press the bar, and it gave me a better base to drive from.

After that, I got more serious about my diet and went up one weight class—and then another. I explain how to attack these weak points in 10/20/Life, but doing things like close-grip benching, floor presses, board presses, dumbbell pressing, heavy rows, and shrugs will help. In the book, I explain ex-actly where to fit these into your program.

4. MAKE UP YOUR MIND THAT MEDIOCRITY IS BEHIND YOU. I decided one day that I just didn’t want to suck at the bench press anymore. This mentality is crucial with any lift you do. If you think you suck at a lift, you will. If you decide to get better, you’ll get better.

Have a great plan, and keep your mental game on point. In 10/20/Life, I go into great detail regard-ing the mental approach to getting stronger and lifting heavy. Don’t be afraid to fail, but don’t be afraid to try, either.

Remember, iron sharpens iron. A lackluster attitude will breed more of the same. If your lifts need work, break them down, apply these four steps and attack them with tenacity, and make your weak-nesses your strengths.

10/20/Life will show you the way.

The Workout:

Here's your free four-week plan that'll blast you through your sticking points and get you on the road to a bigger bench. If you like what you see here, pick up a copy of 10/20/Life, and check out the accom-panying video series. I go into far more detail there, including world-class programming and coaching that'll get you stronger than you've ever thought possible.

WEEK ONE: Laying the groundwork for a new personal record in four weeks.

EXERCISE SETS REPSPush-ups (warm-up) 3 10Empty Bar Bench Press 3 15Bench Press 5 3* (final heavy set of 3)Close-Grip Bench Press 3 6**Dumbbell Overhead Press 3 10**Triceps Pushdowns 3 25**

WEEK TWO: Building on week one, hitting bigger weights, and pushing harder.

EXERCISE SETS REPSPush-ups (warm-up) 3 10Empty Bar Bench Press 3 15Bench Press 5 2* (final heavy set of 2)Close-Grip Bench Press 3 6**Dumbbell Overhead Press 3 10** (same weight as last week)Triceps Pushdowns 3 25**

WEEK THREE: Light day, recharging for next week.

EXERCISE SETS REPSPush-ups (warm-up) 3 10Empty Bar Bench Press 3 15

Bench Press: Five (5) working sets of one (1) rep with 50% of your one-rep max. This will be very light weight, but the idea here is to move it explosively.

Close-Grip Bench Press 3 10** (very light)Dumbbell Overhead Press 3 10** (very light)Triceps Pushdowns 3 20** (very light)

WEEK FOUR: Take a new max. Work up in 10-15% jumps until you make your final attempt.

EXERCISE SETS REPSBench Press: Work your way up to a new personal record.

Close-Grip Bench Press 3 6**Dumbbell Overhead Press 3 10**Triceps Pushdowns 3 25**

Notes

* Leave at least one (1) rep in the tank at all times. For example, if you're working up to 225x3, you should be able to do 4-5 reps if you had to. This is called underloading, and it helps you build positive momentum going forward without mental burnout.

** Leave 1-2 reps left in the tank for your assistance work, too.

LIGHT DAYS: On your light day, the idea is to work on your speed and explosiveness. This isn't heavy work, but it'll prepare your mind to get aggressive and smash a new max the following week. The key here is to avoid taxing your body too much. Staying fresh to get stronger is one of the key principles of 10/20/Life.

WARM-UP: When you work up to a max, or a top set for a particular idea, it's a good idea to take 10 percent jumps. Remember, though, your worksets for the day don't count until they're over 50 percent of your max. Anything lower than that is still considered a warm-up set.

TAKING A MAX: When you reach week four, your primary focus is to set a new personal record in the bench press. Once you reach 50 percent of your max, you're only doing singles.

For more information, and the most effective strength training system ever devised, pick up your copy of 10/20/Life today!