The Equipment Needed
To perform the decline bench press you will need a good quality weights bench with decline adjustable features, the bench need to be at around a 30 degree decline. Also make sure your bench as the leg weights support or there is a danger of you sliding off and injuring yourself. Other obvious equipment required is the barbell itself, the amount of weights you intend to lift and maybe a spotter or a friend to stand there and help you if you get into trouble with the weights.

Performing the Decline Bench Press
To perform the decline bench press, place the desired amount of weights on the barbell, if you are inexperienced in this technique it would be a good idea to start off with a low amount of weights, when you feel comfortable you could increase the weights as you go on. You should then lie face up on the weights bench with the bench on a decline at a maximum of 30 degrees, also make sure you are stable, the leg weights can help you with this. When you feel ready, slowly lift the barbell off the fork and bring it down to your chest, it does not matter in the decline bench press if the barbell touches your chest, unlike the incline and the regular bench press, you will not be putting unnecessary pressure on your shoulders such is your position. Then push the bar up in a controlled explosive fashion, when you get to the top of the lift make sure not to lock your elbows, this could end up very uncomfortable, repeat this for as many repetitions as you like or as many as you can handle.

It’s worth mentioning that this exercise can be very dangerous if working out by yourself and lifting too many weights, because of your position, if you drop the barbell it could cause some serious injuries to your chest, neck or even head.

When performed correctly you will get used to the decline bench press relatively quickly, it gives your lower chest muscles and triceps a fantastic workout. To give the whole of your upper body a going over, you could do repetitions of the normal bench press, the incline bench press and the decline bench press all in one workout.

Equipment Needed
To perform an incline bench press you will need a weights bench suitable and comfortable for your size and which will hold the amount of weights you plan to lift, it is essential to have a weights bench that can adjust to the incline position, i.e. the top of the bench is able to rise and support your back.  You also of course will need a barbell and the amount of weights you intend to lift, although you may vary this amount as you go on and get used to the technique.  The bench must also be able to support the barbell and weights you intend to lift, if you prefer to perform an incline bench press with a wider grip, you will need a bench which has wider uprights on each side of the bench.  When you have all your equipment, you’re ready to go.

Performing an Incline Bench Press
To perform an incline bench press you will need to adjust the weights bench so the back support part is on angle upwards (inclined).  Make sure your back is supported at all times.  You may then proceed to lift the barbell from the support rack and slowly lower it towards your chest, make sure it does not actually come too low or you will be putting extra strain on your shoulders, then you should raise the barbell slowly, making sure you are in control at all times, do as many repetitions as you like or as many as you can handle.  If you are not overly confident with this exercise, you could get a person to stand there as a spotter to help you if you get into difficulties along the way.

The difference between an incline bench press and a normal bench press is that an incline bench press focuses more on the upper chest muscles, perfect if you are looking to improve this area of your body.  Remember not to put yourself in unnecessary danger at any time by doing too many repetitions, by not doing the correct technique or by trying to lift weights which are too heavy for you, you should also make sure all of your equipment is correct and safe to use.  Start low and gradually work yourself up until you get the hang of it.  If you are a member of a gym, you could ask a trainer or an expert to help you out or the trainer could give you some valuable advaice.

Equipment Needed
To execute a wide grip bench press you will need the same equipment as when you perform a regular bench press. This involves a good quality weight bench that is comfortable and suits your needs. You will need a barbell and weights, never go over your limits with weights, thats how injuries are caused. If you feel uncomfortable performing the wide grip bench press, always use a friend or a spotter to help you out if you ever get into trouble with the weights.

Performing the Wide Grip Bench Press
To perform the wide grip bench press you need to have your weights set up, only place the amount of weights you feel comfortable with on the barbell, if you are inexperienced start off with a low amount of weights, gradually moving up in weights when you get used to the technique. When you have the weights racked up, lie down on the bench and make sure you are comfortable, place your hand on the barbell, make sure your hand are much wider than shoulder width apart (around 55cm from one hand to the other). Slowly lower the barbell but make sure it does not get too close to your chest as this can cause pain and stress to the shoulders and cause an injury. So when the barbell is around 3-4 inches from your chest lift the barbell in a controlled yet explosive fashion, repeat these stages and compete as many repetitions as you like or as many as you can handle.

Safety Advice
When performing a wide grip bench press it’s important to keep your chest up, lowering your chest could cause discomfort. Also make sure you do not arch your back too much as this can de-stabilize the lift. It is advisable to use a spotter or a friend to help you with this lift because if you get into trouble on your own and drop the weights, you could do yourself a lot of damage to the shoulder, arms, chest and other areas of the body.

The advantages of the performing a bench press with a wider grip is that it is very chest intensive and perfect if you are looking to focus your workout on that area of the body, just remember to stay safe by not lifting too much and not performing too many repetitions.

Equipment Needed
The equipment required to perform the close grip bench press is similar to the equipment required for the standard bench press technique. You will need a flat weights bench which is comfortable and suits your needs and weights with sufficiently supported uprights. You will also require the barbell and sufficient weights on the barbell, placing too much weight for your ability on the barbell can cause an accident and even a serious injury.

Performing the Close Grip Bench Press
In order to perform the close grip bench press you will need to place your desired amount of weights on the barbell, start off low if you are inexperienced in performing this particular lift. You will then need to lie down flat on the weights bench and place your hands on the barbell at around 12 inches apart. Slowly lift the barbell of the support hooks and lower the barbell to your chest, then lift the barbell up whilst keeping your shoulders close to your body and making sure you do not lock your elbows at the top of the lift as this can cause a lot of discomfort. Repeat these steps for as many repetitions as you feel comfortable with. Whilst performing the close grip bench press you will need to make sure you are stable on the weights bench, the best way to do this is to have your feet flat on the floor and widely separated from each other, and this will give you much more stabilization whilst lifting weights in the close grip bench press position.

Safety Advice
The best piece of advice is only lift what you can manage, and only do as many repetitions as you can manage, over eagerness and over confidence is accountable for a lot of injuries caused in these types of exercises. It is also advised the lifter has a spotter to support them whilst lifting just in case you get into some trouble.

The benefits of the close grip bench press are that you can usually lift more than you normally would when using the standard bench pressing technique. The close grip is very useful for building up the chest, but the area it concentrates the most on is the triceps. So if you are looking to develop those areas of the body, the close grip bench press could be the perfect exercise for you.

Benefits of Bench Pressing with the Smith Machine
Beginners usually find bench pressing with the Smith machine to be much simpler than bench pressing with a free weight barbell, the reason being that the Smith machine only moves up and down the steel runners, which means stabilization is not a problem. Not having to worry about the exact technique of bench pressing enables the lifter to bench press much heavier weights compared to what they could lift by doing free weight bench pressing. Using the Smith machine is also much safer to use, you don not have to worry about the barbell and weights falling forwards, backwards or even worse dropping on your chest which could cause major injuries. This danger is avoided because of the hooks that run doth both sides of the steel runners. Because the Smith machine is considered much safer, the lifter doesn’t really need a spotter or trainer to aid him/her, if the lifter does get into a bit of trouble, all it requires is for the lifter to lock the barbell into place one on of the hooks.

Disadvantages of Bench Pressing with the Smith Machine
The Smith machine is usually preferred to by beginners because of the safety aspects it has to offer, the machine however does not enable the lifter to establish or develop any stabilization skills required if they were ever to move on to free-weight bench pressing. Many people also consider the Smith machine’s vertical movement to be ‘unnatural’ as it does not mimic the body’s movement accurately; most weight lifters prefer to have an arc in the movement as it gives a greater overhaul of the upper body. Some users have also reported unusual strains occurring whilst using the Smith machine. The lifter must also make sure the bench is in the perfect position as you cannot reposition the barbell’s position.

To summarise, the Smith machine is a perfect and safe way for beginners and casual lifters to start bench pressing, also if you are an experienced bench presser on free-weights, there is nothing wrong with using the Smith machine due to its ease of use because you already have the proper technique mastered and there is little chance of you loosing it. So why not head over to your local gym and try one out for yourself.

As you can see he did it quite easily, let's hope he can crack 750 soon!

The Bench
When choosing a weight bench, the bench itself is an important factor to consider for many reasons. You need to choose a bench which fits your size, benches come in different forms, there are small ones and large heavy duty ones, if you are a larger person or you are looking to lift a large amount of weights, you should consider a larger bench which is better enforced in order to hold you weight and the weights you intend to lift. Before purchasing the bench, if possible you should try it out to see if it suits your needs and if it is comfortable. Some benches are adjustable in order to perform a wider variety of exercises. You should also set a budget and stick to it, only purchase a bench which is perfect for your needs to get the most out of it.

The Upright
A weight bench usually has an upright included, the purpose of the upright is to support the barbell in-between lifts. If the bench is a heavy duty version, usually the uprights are also better supported in order for the lifter to lift higher weights, the stronger the upright the more weight it can support. Some benches have wider upright also, these are essential if the lifter is looking to use a wider grip on the barbell when lifting.

Other Factors to Consider
You should always take the price of the whole package into consideration, especially if you have a budget; it is not advisable to go over your budget. Also, take into consideration the actual barbell and weights, check if these are included in the package, if not, you will need to check the additional cost of purchasing these extra items, only purchase the weights you will need and take the quality of the weights into consideration, some come in plastic, whilst others are solid steel.

The most important thing to remember when purchasing a weights bench is to make sure it is comfortable to use and that it suits your needs perfectly, there is nothing worse than purchasing something which is short of your requirements. It is advisable to do some research before purchasing, such as asking an advisor at your gym or local fitness shops, there is also a wealth of knowledge available on the internet.

We do not recommend you to use reverse grip in order to achieve physical strength. You will hurt yourself due to this and it is banned too. And the most important reason being it will consume too much time before you become an expert with this “banned” reverse grip method.

The grip with your thumbs pointing out is called the false grip. This grip goes well with its name and it is suggested that people avoid this too. With this false grip your triceps, forearms, and your fibres won’t get activated. Also, you might injure yourself while using false grip. Stats says that mostly lifter were hurt because they were using the false grip and so it is recommended that you stay away from such grips. Hold your bar properly so as to hold on to your health!

The best suggested way is to use regular grip and do hold the weight firmly. This way you won’t get hurt and will gain strength quickly.

How to construct a board?

Check the Home Depot for some quality 2x6s. One board will reduce the ROM by 1.5 inches (considering the fact that one 2x6 is 1.5 inches thick), two board by three inches and so on. You can always buy the second hand material if you have a lower budget. Chop the board to the desired length and nail them or screw them. You can always create a handle on the board so that your partner can easily grab it. IF you don’t have any helping hands then why not adjust the board inside your shirt? You always need two gentlemen to hold the ends of bar and one to lift the bar. Similarly it is always recommended to arrange for someone who holds the board on your chest.

Partial range of motion is one of those old tricks which has been tested by experts and always recommended for training purposes. It is best suited for deadlift rack pulls as these don’t possess any eccentric before the lift. If you plan to lower the weight to pins and later on pressing them up again then just to inform you that this isn’t fruitful as you loose tightness during this process.

In case of bench press the board press is always considered the better option over power rack pin press as in board press the weight lifter stays tight, lowers the weight, establishes proper groove, and develops some necessary reflexes. Pin press can cause long lasting shoulder problems and elbow problems when one tries to start a dead stop weight. It always depends on the particular human to choose some sort of technique but it is always recommended to prefer board press over power rack pin press.

The upper end of the Bench Press is overloaded by board press. Board press also helps you to recruit all the fibres in the triceps. One can always have some travelling boards and some boards which remain at the gym. All this depends on the taste of the person. In case you have longer arms then you will need the 5 board set. The three general grips for board press are:

• In first kind the pinky (finger) lies on the ring marking the maximum legal grip width.
• In close grip the index finger touches the smooth part of the bar.
• In third type of grip the max legal grip ring on the bar is covered by the index finger. It is also called as meet grip.

It depends on the lifter when it comes to choosing the best approach for board press. We have found max effort workout and the assistance work out to be the best options for the lifters. In max effort workout the lifter warms up and then goes to the board for heavy singles. One may try various grips during this process. It is recommended to keep a record of every grip and the corresponding weight. One must analyse why he missed some weight and which grip seems to be the most favourable for him?

One should remain at a single board height for a day (using staying around the meet sticking point) if he follows the raw process. Try dropping down to 90% of your best day for a triple, then 80% and so on. This depends on the volume which you are capable of handling in one week. If you miss some PR then you must check with the next wider grip PR and try that. It is all about trying everything yourself so as to know the best process. If in case you are using a shirt then it’s suggested that you use the meet grip. It works!

If you miss something then you should try the same stuff again so as to know what actually went wrong. Now try to complete 4-6 reps on your weak point. You can perform the max effort exercise for around three weeks straight (this will help you learn the basics). Once you are familiar with this then it is suggested that you change your exercise on weekly basis.

Personally I do a max effort day and a speed day on alternate basis on every Monday. Thursdays are for raw process. You must remember to work the most on something on which you need to improve.

We will wrap this up with a trick from George Halbert, the best Bencher I have known. He requests people to feel their triceps drive correctly and he requests that people should know the right way to lower the bar. He recommends a close grip with around four boards on your chest. Now, bring the weight down towards your feet and not towards your head. You will feel your triceps driving as you push the weight back up. Remember this feel and if you don’t get this feel then try single arm pushups. You will surely get the feel which George is pointing out. Once you get the feel in your triceps then its time to start bench pressing!

One last point which you need to know is that you must concentrate on your lats too along with your Bench Press. Work on your lats constantly as this will surely help you in the future.

• Please don’t work too hard: Hard work for a couple of times every week is fine but one must not regularly work very hard to gain strength quickly. This will be harmful and will bring back no gains.
• Eat tons of food: Well, you might think eating too much will disturb your metabolic system but that isn’t true. You need to eat a lot in order to keep up with the energy which is spent while bench pressing.
• Concentrate hard on your triceps: You must strengthen your triceps as they play a major role when you bench press daily. So every alternate day work on your triceps before you start bench pressing and after you are done with bench pressing.
• All work will kill you. Take some rest: Your muscles get the chance to self repair when you take rest. So it is very necessary to take rest after you have worked hard for a couple of hours. At least 8 hours sleep daily is a must.
• Big sets of close grip bench press: This is by far the best method to improve your triceps. Do try it!
• Give priority to bench press: Eat, sleep, and drink bench press. This should be on your priority list of daily workouts.
• Change your routine regularly: Your muscle growth tends to slow down if you continue with the same schedule daily. So change your schedule every alternate month and you will notice a sudden change in the speed of muscle growth.
• Bench press boards: Bench press boards are said to be very useful to improve your weak points and improve your bench press workouts on overall basis. Do use bench press boards.
• Less cardio and more weights: It is better to concentrate on one exercise at a time. Better work on weights regularly and give least days to cardio. You can get your cardio training later on.
• Work till your body starts shouting a big NO: Keep increasing the weights till you cannot move even an inch.