Bench Press for Maximum Muscle Growth | Targeting The Muscle

Renaissance Periodization2022-12-15

technique#mike israetel#chest#bench#growth#bodybuilding#form#mind muscle connection

244K views|1 years ago

💫 Short Summary

In this video, Dr. Mike provides a comprehensive guide for maximizing pec growth through the bench press, emphasizing the importance of arching the back, taking a pause at the chest, and finding the right hand position. He also highlights the individual variations in technique and the crucial role of the eccentric phase in stimulating muscle growth. Additionally, he stresses the need to focus on what feels right for the body rather than adhering to a one-size-fits-all approach.

✨ Highlights

📊 Transcript

✦

Dr. Mike introduces the bench press guide for hypertrophy and emphasizes the importance of arching the back and retracting the scapulae to engage the chest muscles more effectively.

00:05

Arching the back and retracting the scapulae in the bench press helps to bring the sternal pecs into play and reduces the strain on the shoulders.

Pre-stretched pecs increase the potential for muscle growth and reduce the involvement of the shoulder joint.

Arching the back and retracting the scapulae can be achieved by walking the scapulae towards the butt and then inwards, and by making sure the chest is kept high during the exercise.

✦

The key to maximizing chest growth in the bench press is to find the right hand position and grip that feels comfortable and allows for a deep stretch in the pecs.

03:46

Experiment with different hand positions, such as wide grip, to find what works best for you.

Focus on keeping the chest up and the scapulae tucked during the bench press to maximize pec involvement.

Controlling the eccentric phase of the bench press and focusing on the chest muscles can also help with hypertrophy.

✦

Elbow position in the bench press is not a one-size-fits-all approach, and it's more important to focus on finding a comfortable hand position and allowing the elbows to naturally position themselves.

07:05

There are different acceptable styles of bench pressing based on individual preferences and comfort, such as allowing the elbows to flare or keeping them more tucked.

The focus should be on finding a hand position and elbow angle that feels easy on the joints and hard on the muscles.

Controlling the eccentric phase and focusing on chest growth is more important than worrying about the specific biomechanics of elbow position.

✦

To maximize chest growth in the bench press for hypertrophy, it is crucial to focus on the eccentric phase, avoid dumping the bar on the chest, and concentrate on reaching the chest up and having the fibers pulled apart.

10:01

The sensation of the chest fibers being pulled apart during the eccentric phase stimulates growth.

Focus on reaching the chest up and pulling the chest fibers apart, then gently pause and press with a big reach and a slow, controlled lockout.

00:05 hey folks it's me Dr Mike for

00:08 Renaissance periodization and

00:10 you asked for it it's here the bench

00:14 press guide for hypertrophy hyperfectry

00:19 I perfect some people do really struggle

00:22 with that word and um

00:25 I don't struggle with words I'm quite

00:26 verbose but I do struggle with

00:31 definitely my sexuality I Scott the

00:32 video guy just pointed out

00:34 I'm addicted to

00:37 adult films

00:39 I just picked up smoking as a habit

00:42 um

00:44 this is really hard to say just

00:46 I'll just say it

00:48 I have a nasty habit

00:50 of picking up

00:52 truck drivers and truck stops

00:54 and like

00:56 you guys ever see that where the hyenas

00:58 get like one of the deer limbs off and

01:00 they just eight of them are pulling it

01:01 into that's me at a truck stop I'm the

01:03 deer Lim

01:05 it feels so good they don't tell you

01:08 that in sex ed class when they're like

01:10 respect your body but what if disrespect

01:12 is the thing that turns me on I want to

01:14 be a piece of meat in the wind in any

01:16 case why did you click on this video it

01:19 was to see bench press tips to make sure

01:21 your pecs grow better so let's get the

01:22 fuck into that

01:24 and I should just never say anything

01:25 outside of exercise ever again tip

01:28 number one

01:29 here we go

01:30[Music]

01:32 okay so the first tip in the bench press

01:35 to hit the PEX better is to Arch the

01:38 back not a ton just a little bit works

01:41 take your scapulae and retract them what

01:45 that does is it brings your sternal pecs

01:47 into play and puts you in a real power

01:49 position for the chest and it also by

01:52 retracting the scapulae pre-stretches

01:54 the chest so that when you're down here

01:56 it's way less shoulders way less

01:59 shoulder joint and pre-stretch pecs

02:02 means your chance for muscle growth

02:04 induction is just much higher a lot of

02:07 people who

02:08 bench flat backed and with their

02:10 shoulders flared out that's like the

02:12 football program and high school bench

02:15 press they're the ones that are like

02:17 yeah man I used to bench my shoulders

02:18 got the better of me I was a competitive

02:20 poweller for years don't worry don't

02:22 bother Googling it I was never very

02:23 strong and I benched for my entire

02:27 powerlifting career and other than in

02:29 high school before I was a powerlifter

02:30 before I learned how Archer attract I've

02:32 never one single time hurt my shoulder

02:34 in the bench press ever

02:37 so how you would do this in real life is

02:40 you would get down onto a bench which I

02:42 will demonstrate

02:44 gladly for YouTube

02:48 first thing you do

02:50 is you walk your scapulae towards your

02:53 butt this arches your back again you

02:55 don't have to have crazy Arch just a

02:57 little bit and as you walk them back you

03:01 also walk them in it's going to take a

03:03 couple walks really tuck them in there

03:05 and then you'll grab the bar notice the

03:08 bar is going to lay pretty low if you

03:10 reach up you lose all that shit so you

03:13 should set the bar low

03:15 grab the shit

03:17 hopefully you can get a spotter to help

03:18 you

03:19 unrack push the bar over to the position

03:23 and then sometimes especially if you're

03:26 doing higher repetitions what you want

03:27 to do is kind of tuck it again a little

03:30 bit to reinforce that pattern as the bar

03:33 descends you keep your chest stuck way

03:35 in the air and you press

03:38 and way in the air and then you press

03:41 and while I'm down here let's just knock

03:44 out tip number two so tip one is Archer

03:46 retract

03:48 tip number two is to take a pause at the

03:51 chest

03:52 especially with slow eccentric control a

03:55 pause at the chest to make sure you

03:57 really milk out

03:58 the unbelievable amount of tension

04:00 through your stretched pecs that will

04:03 help you grow a ton so you hear your

04:06 chest is stuck out you bring down just

04:08 to around your nipple line pause not

04:11 caving over

04:13 chest still big everything's stretched

04:16 this will not feel good this pause does

04:18 not feel like a rest it feels like holy

04:20 shit my pecs are going to blow up and

04:22 then press to a full lockout chest up

04:24 and pause and press as you do more reps

04:27 you'll get tempted to collapse and Cave

04:29 over so remind yourself to keep your

04:31 scapulae tucked reach your pecs out to

04:34 touch and press reach your pecs out to

04:37 touch pause and press just like that

04:40[Music]

04:43 next tip hand position

04:46 what you want out of your hand position

04:49 is for your wrists to feel good

04:52 your elbows to feel good your shoulders

04:55 to feel good

04:56 and also for you to get a nice gnarly

04:59 deep stretch in your pecs and feel the

05:02 movement in your pecs

05:04 Some People based on their build will

05:06 have a relatively close grip and that's

05:09 how they'll feel chess the most

05:11 some people can even do a very wide grip

05:13 and that's how they feel chess the most

05:15 other people if they try wide grip it

05:17 just kind of feels like a ton of pain in

05:19 their shoulders nothing else is

05:20 happening so with your grip play around

05:23 to find out what's best for you start

05:25 with just outside of shoulder width grip

05:27 try one fist length out you guys are

05:30 used to fist lengths I'm sure so fist

05:32 length is like here and here now we're

05:35 out here fist length in is here another

05:37 fist length then is here so on and so

05:39 forth play with this Links at first

05:43 if one of them feels almost good you're

05:46 like you know this feels great

05:48 this feels a little bit worse but this

05:52 doesn't feel ideal

05:54 play with finger links instead between

05:56 those two you will find a really really

05:58 good pressing point the way you can tell

05:59 again is all of your joints feel great

06:01 and your pecs are getting torn to shreds

06:04 at the bottom that's how you find hand

06:07 grip and again there's not one right

06:08 answer it could be multiple answers you

06:10 can say oh I like the wide variant that

06:12 feels great it also feels a different

06:13 kind of great to go a little closer no

06:15 wrong answers just make sure you're

06:16 paying attention to those cues if your

06:18 joints feel good and your muscles feel

06:20 like they're getting really really

06:21 fucked up

06:21[Music]

06:24 what to do about elbow flare

06:27 a couple things to say about this

06:30 some people will bench press Guillotine

06:33 style where they take a higher position

06:35 on the chest and they'll let their

06:36 elbows come up they feel a huge stretch

06:39 in the pecs their shoulders feel amazing

06:41 no problem correct answer

06:44 other folks will touch a little bit

06:47 below the nipple line actually on their

06:48 abdomen and they will tuck their elbows

06:51 on the way down you'll see this from

06:52 shirted pressing back in the day from

06:54 equipped power lifting

06:56 if that is what hits your pecs the most

06:58 and it makes your elbows and shoulders

07:00 feel nice and comfy and safe

07:02 beautiful

07:03 right answer

07:05 what I don't want you guys to get caught

07:07 up in is people on the internet who say

07:10 this is bad because biomechanics

07:13 I don't know where the fuck they say

07:14 that because if you go out here notice

07:17 my packs are getting more stretched as I

07:20 pull out there's lots of people saying

07:22 you got to tuck in the elbows to do more

07:23 chest that's fucking backwards if you

07:26 tuck in the elbows the line of pull

07:27 aligns better with the front delts and

07:29 it's more triceps front delts and

07:31 triceps is more like tucked The Wider

07:33 you go all the way up till here is more

07:35 pecs however not everyone can handle

07:38 wide and it can fuck your shoulders up

07:40 my best recommendation for you is this

07:43 don't worry about where your elbows go

07:46 at all

07:48 set up a comfortable hand position

07:49 Archer retract

07:51 focus on your chest

07:54 your elbows will naturally position

07:55 themselves

07:57 to a point that is easy on your joints

08:00 and hard on your muscles

08:02 if it takes a little bit of finagling by

08:04 all means do it so if you do naturally

08:06 and you're like I don't know my

08:07 shoulders feel kind of mad try a little

08:09 bit more in just a tad

08:11 all shoulders feel great even more in

08:13 shoulders feel amazing but I don't feel

08:15 my chest Much Anymore boom you found it

08:17 that's the right answer but if you want

08:19 a flare no problem at all as long as you

08:23 gently pause there is a very minimum

08:26 risk of injury yes if you're crashing

08:29 down with a trillion pounds and you're

08:30 not pausing and you're using sets of

08:32 four or five benching like this will

08:34 fuck you up but then benching like this

08:36 will probably fuck you up too just in a

08:38 different way

08:39 be measured

08:42 feel your body out

08:44 start with a natural elbow angle adjust

08:46 a little bit see how it affects your

08:49 shoulders your elbows Etc

08:51 back

08:54 10 years ago

08:55 when I was geez already on my way to

08:58 getting a PhD it was in a PhD program

09:01 I

09:03 thought there was correct technique that

09:06 was basically identical for everyone

09:09 and then I fucking took one of our balls

09:11 out and hit it with a hammer to punish

09:12 myself because that was fucking stupid

09:14 because everyone's built a little bit

09:15 differently some people are built a lot

09:17 differently different ratios of lower

09:21 and upper arm lengths different

09:23 intracromial widths different shapes

09:25 subtly of pecs and shoulders and triceps

09:27 different slight variations in design of

09:30 the shoulder joint so that if you tell

09:32 people everyone should do this or

09:33 everyone should do this it's out of the

09:35 gate fucking wrong

09:37 it could have a grain of Truth it could

09:39 have a lot of truth to it but don't just

09:41 be like oh this is optimal but my

09:43 shoulders hurt I don't feel my chest but

09:44 this is optimal because biomechanics

09:46 fuck all that noise start with the

09:48 basics play around with some variations

09:50 your body will find the right thing for

09:52 you to do and if it doesn't I guess your

09:54 body's just fucking stupid and wrong I'm

09:56 kidding I hope all right last tip coming

09:58 up

10:00[Music]

10:01 last tip for the day for getting a lot

10:04 out of chest growth in the bench press

10:06 is to make sure that you are controlling

10:09 the eccentric

10:11 this will bring you no love

10:14 and how much you can bench for reps but

10:18 so if you want hypertrophy you don't

10:21 care

10:23 slow eccentric does not mean five

10:25 seconds or 10.

10:27 but it means you don't dump the bar on

10:29 your chest

10:31 it means that you take a few seconds

10:34 to really lower and while you're

10:36 lowering I want you to think of reaching

10:39 your chest up while having the fibers

10:41 pulled apart

10:43 that sensation of the fibers pulling

10:46 apart as you reach up is not something

10:48 you should try to avoid

10:51 and I know that sounds weird because

10:52 normally in real life if your shit is

10:55 getting pulled apart you're like I

10:56 shouldn't be here I should get out I

10:58 should Rush this

11:00 remember you're here to get them pull

11:02 apart because that's what stimulates

11:03 growth so you're going to reach up the

11:06 whole time and your chest is going to be

11:07 pulled apart pause gently press

11:11 big reach big chest slow and up and as

11:16 you reach close to failure don't start

11:17 going faster it is not a rep counting

11:19 competition

11:20 from week one in your mesocycle big

11:23 chest slow gentle touch and up on the

11:28 way up go fast fuck yeah produce some

11:30 Force

11:31 slow lock slow lock control lock notice

11:36 it's not super slow

11:37 this is a perfectly fine Cadence

11:41 and it will fuck your chest

11:45 into some planet of the solar system now

11:49 which planet

11:51 Mars

11:55 Neptune no that was a production company

11:58 back in the early 2000s

12:00 what's up Pharrell

12:03 Uranus

12:05 I'm sure you have one folks thanks for

12:06 tuning in sorry for all the derogatories

12:08 featured earlier I don't know what

12:09 happened to me I'll see you next time

12:11 for more exercise instructions learning

12:13 about exercise science Sports Science

12:15 and more of my perversions see you next

12:18 time

12:21[Music]

💫 FAQs about This YouTube Video

1. What are some tips for better pec growth in the bench press for hypertrophy?

To achieve better pec growth in the bench press for hypertrophy, it is recommended to arch the back, retract the scapulae, and take a pause at the chest to maximize muscle tension. Hand position and grip should be adjusted to ensure the movement is felt in the pecs, and controlling the eccentric phase is also crucial for stimulating chest muscle growth.

2. How can one optimize the bench press for pec growth?

Optimizing the bench press for pec growth involves focusing on the hand position and grip that allows the lifter to feel the movement in the chest. Emphasizing the eccentric phase, maintaining proper form, and choosing a grip width that is comfortable and targets the pecs can help maximize the exercise for pec growth.

3. What is the importance of hand position and grip in the bench press for hypertrophy?

Hand position and grip in the bench press for hypertrophy are important for targeting the chest muscles. The appropriate hand position and grip can help maximize pec involvement and ensure the movement is felt in the chest, contributing to more effective muscle growth and development.

4. How does the eccentric phase of the bench press contribute to pec growth?

The eccentric phase of the bench press is significant for pec growth as it allows the lifter to focus on the chest muscles, maximize the stretch on the pecs, and stimulate muscle growth. Controlling the eccentric phase and emphasizing the chest engagement can lead to better results in terms of pec hypertrophy.

5. What are the key factors to consider for increasing chest size and strength with the bench press?

To increase chest size and strength with the bench press, it is important to consider factors such as scapular retraction, arching the back, and focusing on the mind-muscle connection with the chest. Emphasizing proper form, hand position, and the eccentric phase also play a crucial role in maximizing the bench press for chest growth and strength.

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