About the Author:

Nick Nilsson, also known as the “Mad Scientist of Exercise,” has been training and innovating unique and powerful new exercises and training techniques for more than 18 years. He’s published 9 books on weight training, including his most recent - “The Best Chest Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of”

Visit his site now to learn more about how this book can take your chest development and pressing strength to a whole new level AND grab your FREE sample chest exercises!
=>http://www.hulsestrength.com/recommends/BigChest

Wide Grip Bench Press - Chest Exercise

Main Muscle Worked: Chest

Other Muscles Worked: Triceps, Shoulders

Equipment: Barbell

Mechanics Type: Compound

Tips: Same as the Barbell Bench Press but with a grip that is as wide as you can go safely. Keep your head on the bench and do not arch your back. Exhale on the way up.

Upper Back for the Bench

By Jim Wendler

For www.EliteFTS.com

Several years ago, in order to fully immerse myself into powerlifting, I changed my eating habits (from semi-shitty to all-out crappy), bought a truck load of Chuck Taylor’s (a fashion no-no, even for someone with such a laissez faire attitude towards fashion as I), and began my quest to become one of the most physically unappealing males world wide. It was a fun but difficult road. As John Stafford once said, “We work so hard to be so ugly.” Anyway, on the road to immersion I, like many of you have done, printed out Louie’s articles and engrossed myself in them. I had copies of his articles in my backpack, in my bathroom and next to my bed. I should point out that I was in college at the time, hence the backpack. After re-reading Lou’s article about 1000’s times, one of the things that I noticed was how important the upper back is for bench pressing. I was never a big bench presser, so when this knowledge was bestowed upon me, I was a little taken aback. Isn’t the bench all pecs, shoulders and triceps?

From all the years of deadlifting and doing Olympic movements, I had accumulated an impressive set of traps. I thought that this is all I needed to do to build the upper back for pressing. I eventually found out that this is not the case. Many of the movements below, unlike the deadlift and Olympic lifts are done so that the end position mimics the feel of how your upper back is when you bench press.

So why do you want to build a strong, thick upper back? There are a couple of reasons:

• Stability – I define this as being able to take a maximum weight off and NOT get flattened. You need to be strong and thick enough to maintain a good arch in your upper back to maintain the correct pressing position. If you take the weight off and immediately flatten out, you are in for a long day.

• Structural Integrity – Since the majority of us have done much more pressing than pulling and have a huge imbalance, making the upper back a priority will hopefully lead to fewer injuries.

I have classified upper back exercises into two categories; direct and indirect. I only do this to make things a little bit easier. Now the direct exercises, while not isolation exercises, are more directed towards the upper back. The indirect exercises target the lats and the upper back. There are two laws that I adhere to when training with these two kinds of movements:

• With direct upper back exercises, volume is king
• Train your indirect upper back exercises heavy.

So what do I mean by high volume? This is open for interpretation, but for me, it’s generally 4-5 sets of 10-20 reps. I like to perform 1-2 exercises from each category a week. For the heavier movements, 3-5 sets of 5-10 reps seem to work well.

Direct Upper Back Exercises

Face Pulls – This is one of the most popular upper back exercises. It works well and is easy to do. The face pull can be done with just about any kind of rope, triceps strap, straight bar…it really doesn’t matter. Just pull something to your face.

Seated DB Cleans – Next to the JM Press, this exercise is probably the most asked about. This has replaced the long lost (and let’s keep it that way, people) Paul Dicks Press in the category of, “Most likely to interpret wrong” category. The word “clean” does not make this movement an Olympic or explosive movement. Think about doing an external rotation but starting the movement with arms straight and down to the sides. This is usually done as one fluid motion, not broken up into stages. If you want to see it in action, get the EFS Exercise Index for the Bench Press DVD.

Rear Laterals – This is simple enough. You can do these with dumbbells, holding on to plates or by using a cable machine. I like to use two different hand positions: thumbs pointed towards the front (this is what is most commonly used) and thumbs pointed at each other. The latter is a little bit harder. Which one is better? Neither, they are just different. This is a good way of adding some variety in a fairly dull movement.

Standing Cable Cleans – This is exactly like the seated DB clean, only that you use a cable and a single D attachment. Start by holding the handle, performing an upright row, and finishing in an external rotation.

Band Pullaparts – Another very simple movement done with the aid of Jump Stretch bands. Usually a mini or light band is used. Give it a tug and hold it for a few seconds. You can move your grip in/out for more/less tension. You can also pull from various angles; you can raise or lower your arms for a different feel. I like to keep my arms straight throughout the entire movement. I also think this movement will help you realize how tight your upper back needs to be during a squat or bench press.

Rear Delt Machine – This one is pretty easy because it’s a machine. This makes it fairly hard to screw up.

High DB Rows – These are best done while lying on a bench. This is very similar to a chest supported row, but you simply pull the dumbbells to a higher position. Lie down on an incline bench, grab two dumbbells and with your elbows out, pull the dumbbells to your face or slightly lower.

Muscle Snatch – I think this is a great exercise and I should probably do it more often, but somehow, the ease of the face pull always beckons to me. To do this exercise, grab the bar with a wide grip. What’s wide? To start with, try putting your index fingers on the rings of the power bar. You can go narrower or wider as you see fit. With no leg drive, begin by doing an upright row. Make sure you keep your elbows higher than the bar. Once the bar reaches (approximately) your chin, being rotating your shoulders until the bar is overhead with your arms locked out. Your final position should be the same as a snatch: arms overhead and fully locked out. This does not (and really cannot) be done with heavy weights.

Indirect Upper Back Exercises

Chest Supported Rows – This is one of the best lat and upper back exercises you can do. Plus, there is little lower back stress.

DB Rows – Just pick up any bodybuilding magazine for pics of this exercise. You can do these with several different hand/elbow positions. For example, you can have your elbow tucked or straight out to the side. You can bring the dumbbell high to your upper pec area, or you can tuck your elbow and bring it lower. The farther your elbow is out (generally) the less weight that you will do. What you can do is do a few lighter sets with your elbow out and as the weight becomes heavier, tuck it in.

Bent Over Rows – This is a staple of any lat/upper back workout. This exercise has been described to death, so I don’t think there is much need for me to do it. Like the dumbbell row, you can vary where you pull the bar; high up on the chest (elbows out) or brought low to your stomach (elbows tucked).

Pull-ups/ Chin-ups – This exercise is a favorite of mine and one of the best overall upper body exercises one can do. Even if you cannot do 8-10 reps, multiple sets of low reps (2-4) work very well. When I first began doing these, I would perform 6 sets, all with different grips. Each set consisted of 3 reps with about 30 seconds rest between sets. I would do this two times through with about 2-3 minutes rest between groups. The 6 grips that I did were:

• Wide grip pronated
• Medium grip pronated
• Narrow grip pronated
• Narrow grip supinated
• Medium grip supinated
• Neutral grip (palms facing)

I hope that this article introduced you to some new movements or reinforced the idea of how important the upper back is to your training. If anyone has any more great exercises for the upper back, please let us know. I’m always looking for some variety.

Copyright© 2006 Elite Fitness Systems. All rights reserved.

Close Grip Bench Press - Chest Exercise

Main Muscle Worked: Chest

Other Muscles Worked: Triceps, Shoulders

Equipment: Barbell

Mechanics Type: Compound

Tips: Just like the Barbell Bench Press but with your hands only 12 - 14″ apart, centered over your body. Works more of the inner pectorals and triceps.

Making the Max Effort Easy
By Jim Wendler
For EliteFTS

There are a ton of questions on how to work up to a 1RM on max effort day. While many lifters don’t use percentages, it certainly makes it easier on coaches and novices on how to pick attempts. Since many people who are new to doing these movements are not familiar with their maxes, use the following to help guide you.

• 2 Board Press – 105% of 1RM of raw bench press
• 3 Board Press – 110-115% of 1RM of raw bench press
• Floor Press – 90-95% of 1RM of raw bench press

• All of these movements are done with a medium grip (pinky on the ring of the power bar) and all 1RM on the raw bench press are done with a maximum legal grip. If you use different grips, then I have no idea of the approximate percentages.

I’m going to point out that these numbers are approximate values and should be used accordingly. These are not set numbers. So if you are reading this article and already have a calculator in hand and find some kind of discrepancy, it is ok and you will live. Everyone is different. Also, you will notice that there is no numbers for the incline press or the reverse band press. This is because there are a ton of different angles of incline presses and there are too many discrepancies on how to set up a reverse band press.

If you are guessing your 1RM, always err on the side of too light. So now that you know an approximate number for your 1RM on each movement, use the following set/rep scheme. Notice that the percentages start at 50%. This is NOT your first set. Warm-up to that first set anyway that you want. Many times, it could be 2-3 sets and you are ready for the 50% set. For a stronger, more experienced lifter (“experienced” is code word for always beat up and hurting), it may take 5 or more sets to be ready for your 50% set.

• 1×5 @ 50%
• 1×3 @ 60%
• 1×2 @ 70%
• 1×1 @ 80%
• 1×1 @ 90%
• 1×1 @ 95%
• 1×1 @ 100% or new PR.

Here’s how it would work in a real life example. The lifter has a best 2 board press of 450lbs.

• 225×5
• 275×3
• 315×2
• 365×1
• 405×1
• 425×1
• 455 or 460×1

Now let’s say that you don’t know your best performance on a floor press, but you know your 1RM on the bench press. Your best bench press is 315lbs. 90% of 315 is 285. So your goal is to do perform a floor press with 285, thus 285 = 100%

• 145×5
• 170×3
• 200×2
• 230×1
• 255×1
• 270×1
• 285×1

Because this is your first time performing the floor press, I would advise you to stop. Don’t worry if this isn’t a true max effort. It’s not going to kill you if you don’t work up. You’ve got another week of the exercise. The next week, you have a new goal to shoot for. Because your new goal is probably going to be fairly close to 285, I would advise you to use the same weights or fairly close for your warm-up sets as used before. If you feel like you were good for at least 300, then base the percentages on that number (300). The %’s will become a thing of the past the more experienced you get. You will begin to know instinctively how to work up to a 1RM. These percentages are great for the beginner to this program as well as coaches and trainers that would like a more concrete way (and something they can put on paper) for their athletes.

With the squat and deadlift variations, we have found that it is very difficult to find any kind of % carryover between lifts. For example, if you can parallel squat 500lbs. doesn’t mean that you are able to squat 475 with a SS Bar on a parallel box. There are way too many variables with the squat and deadlift. My advice to you is simply estimate some very reasonable goals for each movement. In fact, if you are completely new to the SS Bar or any other movement, simply use a couple training sessions to familiarize yourself. Don’t try to work up to a 1RM. Learn how to do the exercise correctly and safely. So let’s say that you squat 500lbs and are trying the SS Bar for the first time. This is how you would use the bar the first couple of weeks; (for all you number-freaks and statisticians out there, we always count the bar as being 45lbs. because it’s easier this way! Plus it doesn’t matter how much you do on these movements as long as the way that you track it is consistent.)

Week One

Bar x 10
95×5
135×5
225×5
275×3
275×3

Week Two

Bar x 10
95×5
135×5
225×5
275×3
315×3

After the second workout, set a goal (say 365×1) and use the set/rep/percentage scheme as outlined above.

Some notes to help you:

• Once you establish a record with a certain grip, STAY WITH THAT GRIP! While it’s nice to use different grips and more variation, you won’t ever know how you are progressing if you constantly use different grips. The box height is the same concept as the grip; use the same box height when using a certain bar. While you can have a low box, parallel and high box record for each bar, this can get confusing for some. Just stick with a parallel box for now.

• When you are beginning, you will probably break more records than the PMRC. (A little Tipper Gore humor…) This is typical and very fun. Run with it but not at the expense of bad form. A bruised ego is better than a bruised sternum.

• Use a grease board to chart your progress. If you are in a home gym, proudly display your records in the garage/basement/family room. If you put it up in your house, make the max effort movements appear to be stock exchange symbols and impress your neighbors.

• Don’t use a ton of different movements; pick about 5 different max effort movements for the bench press –

1. 2 board press
2. 3 board press
3. Close grip bench press
4. Incline bench press
5. Reverse band press

And the following exercises for the squat and deadlift -

1. Safety squat bar box squat (parallel box)
2. Manta Ray box squat (parallel box)
3. Cambered bar box squat (parallel box)
4. Deadlift off of 3” elevated platform
5. Rack pulls from below the knees
6. Reverse band deadlift

To sum it up:

1. Find your goal weight of the day for the exercise.
2. Figure out which weights to use for each %’s.
3. Train and establish a 1RM.
4. Use new (and correct) 1RM for upcoming workouts.

Flat Bench Press - Chest Exercise

Primary Muscle: Chest

Secondary Muscle: Shoulders, Triceps, Back

Equipment Needed: Flat Bench, Barbell

Mechanics Type: Compound

Proper Exercise Technique:

Lie down on the bench with your feet, butt and shoulders firmly planted on the ground. Space your hands evenly across the bar slightly wider than shoulder width. Un-rack the weight and lower the bar until it makes contact with the lower portion of your chest. Drive the weight back up into the starting position and complete this motion until you have reached muscular failure.

Tips: The bar should always come to a complete stop after it touches your chest. It is very important that you do not bounce or jerk the weight up using momentum. You should also make sure to keep your butt planted on the bench at all times throughout the lift, and also try not to arch your back too much. In order to avoid injury and stress, do not lock your elbows out at the top of the movement. Obviously if you are competing in the bench press you will want to arch your back to shorten the distance the bar travels and you’ll have to lockout your triceps for a good lift or rack command.

There has been some talk lately about how bench presses are not sport specific and that football players should not do them. I say that’s bullshit! Everyone knows that a huge, massive upper body is essential for football strength and the best way to do this is with heavy weights the best exercise for moving heavy weights in a pushing manner is the bench press. The bench press not only builds a massive and strong chest but it is an incredible exercise for the triceps and shoulders also. If you are not bench-pressing heavy weights you are truly missing out.

I’m sure I don’t have to spend too much time convincing you to bench press as everyone loves to do it, but the majority of athletes and coaches put too much emphasis on this movement and are usually performing it improperly.

1. I like to have my athletes take a slightly wider that shoulder width grip; also I prefer that they wrap the thumbs around the bar. Another little trick is to grip the bar as tight as possible; you’ll notice that when you do this all of the muscles in your arms tense up.

Also, I teach my athletes to draw their feet under them and squeeze their glutes. This is a technique that I learned from power lifters, it really adds to the force production when pressing.

Another little benching trick is the draw your shoulder blades together and ‘sit’ on your traps. This will raise your chest up a bit higher and allow for less room for the bar to travel. Also, make sure that your elbows are at a 45-degree angle from your body, not straight out the sides.

Sure, I can hear you now… Elliott, I want my athletes to get stronger why are you teaching them how to cheat in the bench press? Well, if you consider that the way we are going to build super strong athletes is with heavy weights then wouldn’t it make sense that we do everything in our power to have our athletes lift the heaviest weights possible? These are tricks, yes, but I assure you that they will allow your athletes to lift heavier weights and get stronger than using the typical bodybuilding bench press form.

2. Once the bar has been lowered under control, simply push it straight back up. Forget the whole push back in an arching pattern. Just press straight up! And repeat.

For variety you can also perform bench presses with rubber bands and chains. This will add some ‘accommodating resistance” as well as offer a different stimulus to the muscles to allow for continued progress. Remember that we want to change exercises every 3 weeks or so, this just adds to your arsenal of exercises. You don’t need them but they are a great addition, especially with athletes who have been lifting for a while.

Stones and Kegs Loading: Strongman Exercises

Stone loading is a classic strongman exercise. There is nothing more RAW and Primal than picking up a heavy stone. In this video I am completing a “Medley” of strongman stones and kegs onto a 48″ platform.

Technique: Just pick it up! Seriously, some pointers for lifting stones are: make sure you can get your butt low! If you’ve got poor flexibility or are weak coming out of a low squat position, you’ll have problems with this exercise. Also, “rocking” the ball to one side so that it rolls into the palm of your hand and then squeezing it with your arms to pick it off the floor helps a ton. Be prepared to have the skin on your forearms torn to shreds too!

Some pointers for the keg. As you noticed in the video, I missed my first attempt at the load because I didn’t “re-wrap”. Basically that means that I tried to retain a “staggered grip”, which usually works for lighter kegs, once I realized that this 315 lbs SOB was not gonna load with the staggered grip I “re-wrapped” it.

Tips: You can make your own stones buy purchasing a “Stone Mold” from http://www.lordofthestones.com/. You can make a platform from wood like in the video, or use a “scafold shelving” like I use with my fitness clients and athletes at Strength Camp.

Incline Bench Press: Chest Exercise

Main Muscle Worked: Chest
Other Muscles Worked: Triceps, Shoulders
Equipment: Barbell
Mechanics Type: Compound

Tips: Set the incline bench at about a 45 degree angle. Sit on the bench with your feet flat on the floor a little more than shoulder width apart. Position your back firmly against the bench. Using a grip slightly wider than shoulder width, hold the bar over your upper chest with your arms straight. Slowly lower the bar and make slight contact with your upper chest area. Drive the weight straight up over your chest until your elbows are locked, or close to it.

Exercise Definition Credits To:

Blast Strap Push Ups: Chest Exercise

This is a great variation on the push up exercise. I use “Blast Straps” in the video below, you can get these somewhere on the internet just search for em’. My athletes and fitness clients use this exercise on our upper body repetition or bodybuilding days. We usually perform this for high reps and burn out sets, great for getting jacked!

Tip: Ive seen people create their own Blast Straps with some chain and PVC pipes. I’m all about making your own stuff or getting it for cheap. Underground Style!

DB Swiss Ball Bench press - Chest Exercise

Main Muscle Worked: Chest

Other Muscles Worked: Triceps, Shoulders

Equipment: Dumbbells, Swissball

Mechanics Type: Compound

Swiss Ball Dumbbell Press

You will need to purchase a heavy-duty Swiss ball for this exercise or hopefully your gym has one, they can usually be found in the Aerobics room. Lie on the Swiss ball with the shoulders and upper torso on the ball and the hips and legs off the ball placing your feet in the same position as if you were on a bench doing presses. Have 2 people simultaneously hand heavy dumbbells to you. Start with the dumbbells at the top, and then lower until the arms touch the ball.

With practice, the lifter can use the ball as a spring-like mechanism to aid in the initial phase of the pressing of dumbbells. This ballistic action will allow heavier weight to be lifted as well as additional reps to be performed. Do 1 set timed for reps with as heavy dumbbells as possible. Time for one set is 1 minute. Get a stopwatch or have your partner watch the clock for you. This repetition method will aid in muscular endurance. Personally, I utilize these in developing my bench program too, along with band work. Don’t jump into these with what you usually use on a flat bench, remember the ball moves around, get used to it first I started with 40-pound dumbbells. Within three weeks you should have graduated to close to max weight. I did 80-pounders for 1 minute 42 reps! Talk about a burn!

Barbell Pushups - Chest Exercise

Main Muscle Worked: Chest

Other Muscles Worked: Triceps, Shoulders

Equipment: Barbell

Mechanics Type: Compound

This is a good supplementary exercise to any of the barbell or dumbell chest exercises. This exercise works very good in high rep format from 20 and above for a good pump.

Key points to remember ar e to keep your elbows at 45 degree angles, touch chest, and lockout elbows on each rep.

Dumbell Floor Press - Chest Exercise

Main Muscle Worked: Chest

Other Muscles Worked: Triceps, Shoulders

Equipment: Dumbells

Mechanics Type: Compound

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This one is a winner for many reasons:

It is a great lockout builder for the bench press.

It is great for those who have shoulder problems because of the limited range of motion and full shoulder stability (the floor is wider than a bench).

It is great for developing starting strength because of the pause and release at the bottom. You go from a static to dynamic contraction.

It is a great chest builder because most the work is done in the pec building zone of the dumbbell press.

Taken From EliteFTS.com

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