When it comes to lifting weights and looking to ensure your bench press continues to improve, bench pressing is seen as a hugely important exercise for boosting chest strength. Not everyone bothers with it as they prefer to use isolated movements within their workout, but a lot enjoy the challenge of improving this compound movement. People are often asked how much they bench, and it feels great to tell people how well you’ve done over the years regarding this significant lift.
It’s quite annoying, then, when you don’t really progress and stick at the same weight for ages. This kind of plateau happens to the best of us, and it’s something that can be overcome if you just keep at it. You also need to make sure you do a few things right around your sessions in order to make the improvements really work. Here are a few things you can do to ensure your bench pressure consistently improves:
Stick To A Plan
When it comes to things like chest days and the bench press days, it can be very easy to slack off and just do a few sets. When you’re first starting out, you’ll improve quickly, so you’ll be able to do a few half-hearted sets here and there. When you reach the intermediate stages of your muscle-building and strength, however, that’s when things need to change a little. Incorporate an actual plan of action that focuses on your bench press. Record your results and analyze what might need to be done. It might seem a little boring if you haven’t done this kind of thing before, but if you focus energy on it, then it’s going to pay off in the long run.
Don’t Force It
It can be easy to train your chest and work on your bench a lot more frequently than you used to in order to build it up. While it might work for a little while, your body needs to rest and build while you’re away from training. Don’t push it too far – your body needs space to breathe and rebuild. If you feel as though you want to overload on volume and training, be sure to do so for a short time – overdoing it will only cause you to get injured or plateau even more frustratingly.
Build The Secondary Muscles
It’s obviously not just your chest that pushes the weight up. Your core, back, triceps, rear and front delts, and many other areas are all complicit in the movement. Be sure to work on the other areas of your body, too – including your legs as they, too, help with your overall body strength.
Eat A Little More
While you shouldn’t bulk too much if you’re looking to steadily build muscle and strength, it’s wise to add a few more calories to your daily intake. Eating matters a lot, and you won’t get very far if you stick to the same diet or are in a deficit. Take in a little more protein if you can, too, as that will only help you in your pursuit of strength and muscle.