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How To Do The Perfect Bench Press Rep Learn the secrets to bench press form that will send your strength and muscle development through the roof!

The Flat Barbell Bench Press is one of the most popular exercises in the gym, yet how many people know the most important techniques for maximizing strength and power during each rep?

In this article, you will find solid tips without the fluff. These tips will instantly help you to improve your bench press RIGHT NOW! You don't need any special equipment to use these techniques, just a willingness to learn.

Several of these tips will be further demonstrated with pictures (there will be a link to this picture page at the end of the article).

1. The perfect bench press rep starts without any weight on the bar. Why no weight? The first thing you need to do is determine your proper hand spacing on the bar.

Lie down on the bench and unrack the bar as you normally would. Lower the bar to your chest and have a partner take note of the orientation of your forearms. For optimal power, your forearms should be as close to vertical at the bottom of the rep as possible. Adjust your grip accordingly and take note of where your hands are in relation to the smooth rings on the Olympic bar.

The reason for this is simple: if your hands are placed wider, some of your pushing power will be expended pushing outwards rather than upwards. If your hands are placed closer, power is expended pushing inwards. When your forearms are vertical, the vast majority of your power goes to pushing the bar directly up.

2. Now that you have your grip properly positioned, put some weight on the bar. Lay back on the bench and plant your feet firmly on the floor. Your knees should bent at about an 80 degree angle (I will explain the reason for this later - this tip has an accompanying picture). DO NOT place your feet up on the bench. You will lose stability and potential power by doing this.

Place your hands on the bar in the grip width that you determined previously.

A technique that I like to use to lock my shoulders into the position for maximum strength and stability is as follows:

Instead of placing your palms on the bottom of the bar, place them on the back of the bar (this tip also has an accompanying picture).

Now, without removing your grip, rotate the bar down so that your palms are now directly under the bar. This has the effect of placing your shoulders into their most stable and strong position. It will almost feel as though you are "locking down" your shoulders.

As you are rotating the bar and locking down your shoulders, lift your torso slightly off the bench and force your shoulder blades together tightly underneath your torso.

This will force your shoulders back and puff your chest out, placing the pectorals in a position where they have a more effective line of pull. It also has the added bonus of making your torso thicker, reducing the distance you need to press the weight.

Keep your shoulder blades squeezed tightly behind you for the duration of the set.

3. Remove the bar from the racks and tighten up the muscles of your torso. Begin lowering the bar under complete control to a point at the bottom of your sternum (about even with the bottom of your sternum, a.k.a. the breastbone). Imagine as though your muscles are springs storing up all the energy of the weight lowering and getting ready to explode it all back out. Inhale as you lower the bar and feel it tightening up your chest.

Lightly touch the weight to your chest. DO NOT bounce the weight off your chest! This can cause injury in the form of cracked ribs or even snapping the tip of the sternum (a little bony protrusion known as the Xiphoid Process). It also diffuses the tension you've built up in the pectorals, reducing the effectiveness of the exercise for building strength and muscle mass.

4. As you start to change the direction of the bar and begin the press up, drive with the legs. This is a technique that most trainers do not know about. It's strange to think about it but your leg power can actually help you bench press more weight!

This technique should be practiced with an empty bar before attempting it during a regular set. Start by planting your feet flat on the floor with your knees bent about 80 degrees. This angle is very important as it is what allows you to push with your legs.

Lower the empty bar to your chest. The moment you start to push the bar back up, push hard with your legs as though you are trying to slide your body up the bench.

With an empty bar you probably will be able to slide yourself up the bench. When you have a loaded bar, however, the weight will keep you from sliding and the pushing power from your legs will get transferred through your body and into pushing the bar up.

This is what's known as driving with your legs. It can really beef up your power out of the bottom of the rep.

5. Exhale forcefully through pursed lips as you continue to push the weight up. This will help maintain your torso stability better than simply exhaling all at once.

Keep your feet firmly planted on the floor even if you start to struggle with the weight. The moment you lift your feet off the floor, you break your base of power and the odds of you completing the lift diminish greatly.

If you have a tendency to shift your feet around, try placing 2.5 pound plates on your feet. This is not to weigh your feet down but to help you be more aware of what is happening with your feet. If a plate falls, your foot has moved. Strive to keep those plates in place.

The bar should follow a slight backwards arc as you press it up, moving from your lower rib cage to over your face at the end of the rep.

Be aware of your sticking point and try to drive the bar through it rather than letting the bar slow down as you come up to it. There are many training methods for working on sticking points that I will delve into in a future article.

6. Power the weight up to lockout. You have just completed the perfect rep! Now do it again!!

Using these techniques can add immediate poundage to your bench press. Your chest will thank you for it!

For picture demonstrations of several of these tips, go to:

http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue11-bench-tips.htm

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"The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of" Is A Hit!! In this book you'll find 53 completely new and revisited exercises that will deliver shocking results. Listen to what others have to say about "The Best Exercises": "Dear Nick: I thought the book was awesome! Some of the exercises I have tried were great...in particular the ab exercises. They really targeted my ABS like no other ab exercises I've tried. I am a natural bodybuilder and I have performed numerous exercise variations. These exercises were new to me and really isolated the specific muscles. Great job... great book! Thank you," Georgette P. "Nick, I really love the course. I highly recommend it to others and consider it the best $20.00 I ever spent." Bob F. "I recently purchased your e-book on the best exercises and it's fantastic! It's easy to navigate through and the exercises are clearly explained. Having pictures of the exercises really helped. My favorite exercises are in the abdominal section and I just have one word to describe them - DYNAMITE! I'm looking forward to reading more of your e-books in the future. Thanks!" A. Virginillo ""The Best Exercises You've Never Heard of" is the best hands-on guide to exercises I've ever seen. The detail into how each exercise is done is second to none. Try to find a store bought book that even comes close - I dare you! After getting this book you'll want to kick the authors a-- for sending you into a new hemisphere of muscle growing pain!" A. Hargest You can experience the tremendous results these people are getting in a matter of minutes--this book is available for download IMMEDIATELY after purchase!! Go the following URL for more information and find out what "The Best Exercises" can do for you! http://www.thebestexercises.com

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Escape the Fat-Free Diet Trap by Cymber Quinn Fat-free foods are not necessarily as healthy as people tend to believe.

THE FAT-FREE DIET TRAP

Today, supermarket shelves are packed with food that call to dieters with the words "Fat Free." But as conscientious weight waters load up their shopping carts with fat-free foods week after week, many discover this alarming fact: their weight is going up!

GETTING FAT ON FAT-FREE

Since the beginning of the fat-free craze, statistics show Americans have grown fatter and fatter. Although we've been taught to think of fat as the culprit in the in the weight-loss battle, clearly this is only part of the whole diet picture. Just because a food is fat-free doesn't mean it's calorie-free. Many fat-free foods are actually very high in sugar and carbohydrate calories.

Too many carbohydrates will make you gain weight,especially if you ingest them in the form of sugar (refined sugar and corn syrup). Sugars are found in enormous amounts in packages or cans that indicate being "fat-free." Since fatty foods usually taste good, their absence is often compensated by the addition of sugar and salt. And these calories, when eaten in excess, become converted into the one thing we've been taught to avoid Fat!

LOSE THE FAT FROM YOUR BODY, NOT YOUR DIET

Ironically, in order to burn fat and lose weight, you need a certain amount of good quality fat. That's why a reputable high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet should stress the importance of a well-balanced diet that includes enough "good fats," such as those found in fish and olive oil together with nutritious low-calorie, low-fat meals and meal replacements such as shakes and snacks.

By avoid the fat-free craze and giving your body the complete nourishment it needs with proper foods, shakes, supplements and weight management products, you'll lose weight steadily and feel healthier as you do.

Cymber S. Quinn is a nutrition consultant and business coach for Gr8Living. Please contact her for more information on weight loss and tips on changing your eating habits, at cymber.quinn@verizon.net, 408-353-9775.

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Secret Training Tip #504 - Breathing Backwards - Supercharge Your Back Workout NOW! If you've ever had a hard time feeling your back muscles working this technique is for you. Discover how breathing backwards will SHOCK your lats into new growth!

Every experienced weight trainer knows that the proper way to breathe during a set is to inhale during the negative (lowering) phase and exhale during the positive (lifting) phase. But is this the best way to breathe in all exercises?

As a matter of fact, it isn't. I am going to show you exactly how and why you should breathe BACKWARDS during many if not most back exercises. I will use the lat pulldown exercise to demonstrate this powerful technique.

Fact: the pulldown movement is more effective when done with an arched lower back and puffed-up (expanded) chest.

This body position more fully activates the latissimus dorsi muscles. In fact, if your lower back isn't arched, it is extremely difficult for your lats to contract. The straight-back position throws more tension on the biceps and upper back muscles.

Expanding your chest helps to accentuate this arched-back position.

Fact: exhalation (breathing out) makes your chest contract. Inhalation (breathing in) makes your chest expand.

Fact: the typical breathing pattern of the pulldown consists of breathing out as you are pulling the weight down and breathing in as you are letting it back up.

What this means to you is that the typical breathing pattern is caving the chest in when you should be puffing the chest out!

Take a deep breath in and notice what happens to your chest. It puffs out and expands. This is the optimal position for your torso during the pulldown exercise.

Now carry this logic over to the pulldown movement. As you pull the weight down, take a deep breath in. Your chest will puff up to meet the bar automatically and your lats will engage strongly.

If you've ever had a hard time feeling your lats working when you do back exercises, use this technique and you will certainly feel an immediate difference.

This amazingly simple technique can be applied to almost any back exercise from pulldowns to chin-ups to seated cable rows. Try this technique the next time you work your back and you'll see just how powerful breathing backwards can be!

For a visual demonstration of how your body position changes with breathing, go to

http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue11-pulldown-tip.htm

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Stupid Sports Quotes - So how much do these guys get paid? These are actual quotes said by various coaches, athletes and commentators throughout the sporting world.