Spring Power Surge: 3 Overlooked Exercises to Add 10lbs to Your Bench Press by Summer

The bench press has served as a go-to strength test for decades. There’s a reason “How much do you bench?” became a universal measuring stick.

The problem is that progressing on the bench press isn’t easy. As a personal trainer with almost two decades in the trenches, I can attest that most lifters hit a rut on the bench press within a few weeks.

Contrary to what most people think, grinding through endless bench press sets won’t move the needle. What you need are three often-overlooked exercises that can help you add 10 pounds to your bench press by summer.

In this article, I pull back the curtain on the three best accessory lifts that’ll help you unlock new gains and share a workout you can implement into your routine today that’ll help kickstart your progress.

Why the Bench Press Plateau Happens

You’ve probably heard that doing more of something makes you better at it. You are asked to practice your skills more often to improve your output.

However, it doesn’t work this way when it comes to strength training.

As a personal trainer who has trained several elite athletes, I can attest that a lack of exercise variety and overlooking accessory lifts are two main reasons most lifters hit a wall.

It might sound logical that training the bench press more often can make you stronger, empowering you to lift heavier weights. Truth be told, there is no faster way of hitting a plateau than doing the same exercises over and over again.

When you perform the same movements each week, your muscles start adapting to the lift and stop growing. Switching up your workouts every few weeks, depending on your experience level, is the only effective antidote when it comes to igniting new growth.

On the other hand, the bench press is a compound movement, meaning it involves several muscles, including the chest, triceps, and shoulders.

Strength imbalances and ignoring secondary muscle groups like triceps and shoulders can hamper your bench press performance.

If you have been in a rut for an extended period, I would suggest skipping the conventional bench press for a few weeks and prioritizing accessory lifts to bring up the lagging supporting muscle groups.

Adding new movements into your training routine introduces new stimuli, igniting new strength and muscle gains. When programmed correctly, these can help break through the most stubborn plateaus.

Remember, the key is to use targeted accessory exercises that help break through the bench rut. Performing isolation exercises just because they feel easier won’t do you any good.

3 Exercises For a Bigger Bench Press

You don’t need a long list of accessory exercises to unlock new gains. Three effective movements can do the trick. Plus, you don’t have to join a fancy gym with the latest machines. I’m talking about tried-and-true movements that have been building serious strength for decades.

Without further ado, here are the accessory exercises that should be a part of your exercise arsenal:

Heavy Close-Grip Bench Press

I’m shocked that only a few people perform the close-grip bench press. But the thing is, I don’t blame them. It is a challenging movement that makes people avoid it altogether.

Since this lift involves a close grip, most trainers can use slightly heavier weights than the conventional bench press. Remember, overload is essential for consistent gains and breaking through overhead ceiling, and the close-grip bench press has that baked into it.

How To Perform Heavy Close-Grip Bench Press

This is how to perform this lift with a picture-perfect form:

1. Lie down on a flat bench with your back slightly arched, and position your hands on the bar shoulder-width apart.
2. Unrack the barbell with a spotter since you’ll be lifting heavy, and position the bar so that the bar and your wrists, elbows, and shoulders are stacked.
3. Bring the bar slowly towards your lower chest while keeping your elbows tucked in slightly.
4. Pause slightly in the fully lengthed position to eliminate momentum and ensure maximum muscle fiber recruitment.
5. Explode back to the starting position, focusing on contracting your triceps as hard as possible.

The great thing about this exercise is that it mimics the conventional bench press, allowing you to get more comfortable with the movement mechanics while handling heavier weights. It helps strengthen the triceps and is one of the best exercises to improve overall pressing power.

Weighted Dips

Dips are a functional exercise that can improve your performance in day-to-day activities and sports.

Bodyweight dips are an excellent exercise on their own, but I recommend using additional resistance on this lift to crank up the training intensity and volume if you’re trying to break through a plateau.

How To Perform Weighted Dips

Executing parallel bar weighted dips with proper technique is essential for maximizing their benefits. Here is a step-by-step guide:

1. Fasten a weight belt and add the appropriate weight. Alternatively, you could use a weighted vest.
2. Grab the parallel bars with an overhand grip and jump up so that your body is hanging between them.
3. Your elbows should be fully extended in the starting position.
4. Lower yourself toward the floor by flexing your elbows while keeping your torso upright. Aim to go as deep as possible, ideally until your shoulders are below your elbows.
5. After a brief pause, push back up to the starting position.
6. Repeat for the recommended reps.

When you are at the bottom of your range of motion during this exercise, you need raw pushing power to return to the starting position. This overlords the pressing muscles in a way that very few other exercises can, making it one of the best lifts to supercharge your bench press.

It doesn’t end here. Since both your feet are suspended in the air, this movement can improve shoulder stability, which is crucial for heavy bench pressing.

Skullcrushers

You must focus on your lockout power if you’re trying to add 10 pounds to your bench press. Adding skullcrushers to your exercise regime is one of the best ways to work on this aspect.  This isolation exercise targets the complete tricep muscle, with a focus on the often overlooked longer head, which plays a crucial role in pressing movements.

How To Perform Skullcrushers

1. Lie on a flat bench with your feet flat on the floor and grab a bar with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width.
2. Extend your arms towards the ceiling so your arms are perpendicular to the floor.
3. Without moving your upper arms, slowly lower the barbell toward your forehead by flexing your elbows.
4. More advanced lifters can aim to touch the bar on the bench slightly behind their head for a deeper tricep stretch.
5. Squeeze your triceps forcefully to extend your arms back to the starting position.

Programming Your Spring Power Surge

Now that you are armed with the knowledge of the three most important exercises for breaking through a bench press plateau, it is time that you learn how to fit them into a training program.

Haphazardly throwing different exercises into a routine and expecting magical results is a recipe for disaster and disappointment. Programming your workouts optimally is key for unlocking your maximum strength potential.

Let’s assume that you are following a powerlifting program that focuses on the three big lifts – bench press, squat, and deadlift. I will also talk about how you can perform these exercises as accessory lifts after doing the barbell bench press for the best results.

The beauty of these three exercises is that they complement your main bench press work and can help iron out any strength and muscle weaknesses that might be holding you back.

Sample Bench Press Day:

You perform the heavy close-grip bench press right after the conventional bench press. The training volume and rest duration will be similar to the first exercise as the main objective here is to go as heavy as possible without compromising safety.

We perform the skullcrushers as the final exercise and keep the rest time as short as possible to maximize training intensity.

Replace the skullcrushers with weighted dips during the second workout. This will keep your workouts fresh while ensuring supporting muscle development.

Beginners should scale the workout listed above to allow their bodies enough time to adapt. Conversely, advanced lifters can consider adding more variations and increasing the training volume to shock their muscle into growing. (1)

Conclusion

Close-grip bench presses, weighted dips, and skullcrushers will help you add 10 pounds to your bench press by summer. However, the gains don’t come overnight. Stick with these exercises for at least 8 to 20 weeks to achieve your transformation objectives. Best of luck!

References:

1. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Van Every DW, Plotkin DL. Loading Recommendations for Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy, and Local Endurance: A Re-Examination of the Repetition Continuum. Sports (Basel). 2021 Feb 22;9(2):32. doi: 10.3390/sports9020032. PMID: 33671664; PMCID: PMC7927075.

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