By Mike Westerdal
Have You Ever Wondered Why People Are So Obsessed With The Bench Press?
I used to ask myself, what's the big deal with the bench press anyway?
It didn't matter if it was at school with my friends... at work with my co-workers... or at the gym with my lifting buddies... everyone would always ask me, "How Much Do You Bench?"
But over time, as I became more informed about exercise and muscle growth... I soon learned that the benching did a lot more for your body than just about any other exercise.
3 Reasons Why You'll Want to Focus on Increasing This Lift
1. As you probably already know... having a big bench press is like a badge of honor. Plain and simple... it gets you respect and attention in almost every area of your life. It's a measuring stick that you use with your buddies. The one with the biggest bench is usually the most respected. The strongest is usually the most respected (and most feared!)
2. Having a big bench usually means you're strong and in shape. In fact my football coaches in college were dead serious about knowing how much I could bench press and tested it several times a year. You see they knew something that most people don't.....
3. Increasing your bench press will also increase the amount of muscle mass you have on your entire body! It's true... and it's because of 2 reasons. First, when you keep lifting more and more weight, your body must add muscle mass so that it can handle that additional stress (weight) you're placing on it. And second, heavy intense lifts like the bench press releases anabolic hormones into your bloodstream... things like testosterone and human growth hormone. These are the male muscle builders that help you pack on muscle.
The bench press is not just about boosting your ego, having a head turning upper body, or about the ability to push people around on the field.
When done correctly (which most people don't) the bench press uses every single muscle in your body. You stimulate the chest, shoulders, triceps, biceps, your back and even your LEGS.
It's a fact that compound exercises that involve the most muscle groups give you the most results in the least amount of time. It's because you're using ALL of your muscles at the same time.
And honestly... no upper body exercise involves more muscles and becomes more of a full body exercise then the bench press. So if you don't have a lot of time you can spend in the gym... focusing on the bench press is a sure-fire way that you're getting an intense, good workout in for your whole body!
Why Many People Fail To Focus On Improving Their Bench...
Maybe you know someone that struggles with this exercise. And the way they deal with it is by ignoring it. Or they say it's an over-rated lift.
The problem with this mentality is that by skipping this mass building exercise... they're depriving their body of anabolic hormones that could be helping then pack on muscle mass. And they're not placing enough demands on their body so that they can gain muscle.
Foolish, if you ask me.
When you train the bench press the right way... you trigger a release of testosterone and growth hormone that helps all your muscles grow bigger and stronger.
And as a result... you'll pack on more muscle mass... which will help you feel more confident in your appearance.
We all know that jacked, muscular guys usually get attention, turn heads, and get others to notice.
The #1 Mistake People Make When Failing To Bench Press More Weight
I want to let you in on a little secret:
Because there are SO many muscles involved in the bench press... you don't want to neglect and forget them.
In order to up your bench press max and start packing on muscle mass... you'll need to pay close attention to the other muscle groups that are involved in the lift.
For example, just bench pressing more often will NOT help you gain strength or muscle. In fact, the opposite occurs... you actually lose strength and muscle if you start to benching too often. It's because you're OVERUSING the chest muscles... but UNDERUSING your other muscle groups.
I used to ask myself, what's the big deal with the bench press anyway?
It didn't matter if it was at school with my friends... at work with my co-workers... or at the gym with my lifting buddies... everyone would always ask me, "How Much Do You Bench?"
But over time, as I became more informed about exercise and muscle growth... I soon learned that the benching did a lot more for your body than just about any other exercise.
3 Reasons Why You'll Want to Focus on Increasing This Lift
1. As you probably already know... having a big bench press is like a badge of honor. Plain and simple... it gets you respect and attention in almost every area of your life. It's a measuring stick that you use with your buddies. The one with the biggest bench is usually the most respected. The strongest is usually the most respected (and most feared!)
2. Having a big bench usually means you're strong and in shape. In fact my football coaches in college were dead serious about knowing how much I could bench press and tested it several times a year. You see they knew something that most people don't.....
3. Increasing your bench press will also increase the amount of muscle mass you have on your entire body! It's true... and it's because of 2 reasons. First, when you keep lifting more and more weight, your body must add muscle mass so that it can handle that additional stress (weight) you're placing on it. And second, heavy intense lifts like the bench press releases anabolic hormones into your bloodstream... things like testosterone and human growth hormone. These are the male muscle builders that help you pack on muscle.
The bench press is not just about boosting your ego, having a head turning upper body, or about the ability to push people around on the field.
When done correctly (which most people don't) the bench press uses every single muscle in your body. You stimulate the chest, shoulders, triceps, biceps, your back and even your LEGS.
It's a fact that compound exercises that involve the most muscle groups give you the most results in the least amount of time. It's because you're using ALL of your muscles at the same time.
And honestly... no upper body exercise involves more muscles and becomes more of a full body exercise then the bench press. So if you don't have a lot of time you can spend in the gym... focusing on the bench press is a sure-fire way that you're getting an intense, good workout in for your whole body!
Why Many People Fail To Focus On Improving Their Bench...
Maybe you know someone that struggles with this exercise. And the way they deal with it is by ignoring it. Or they say it's an over-rated lift.
The problem with this mentality is that by skipping this mass building exercise... they're depriving their body of anabolic hormones that could be helping then pack on muscle mass. And they're not placing enough demands on their body so that they can gain muscle.
Foolish, if you ask me.
When you train the bench press the right way... you trigger a release of testosterone and growth hormone that helps all your muscles grow bigger and stronger.
And as a result... you'll pack on more muscle mass... which will help you feel more confident in your appearance.
We all know that jacked, muscular guys usually get attention, turn heads, and get others to notice.
The #1 Mistake People Make When Failing To Bench Press More Weight
I want to let you in on a little secret:
Because there are SO many muscles involved in the bench press... you don't want to neglect and forget them.
In order to up your bench press max and start packing on muscle mass... you'll need to pay close attention to the other muscle groups that are involved in the lift.
For example, just bench pressing more often will NOT help you gain strength or muscle. In fact, the opposite occurs... you actually lose strength and muscle if you start to benching too often. It's because you're OVERUSING the chest muscles... but UNDERUSING your other muscle groups.
What's the Solution? Click below to find out:
