What's Best for Bench Assistance?

Training Powerlifting
1

So, what are the different bench variations that you feel have benefitted your bench press the most? Incline bench, specific board work, close grip bench, dumbbell work etc. What has worked for you the best?

Also what are your opinions on weighted dips for bench assistance? Has it worked for you?

2

Floor presses have helped me a lot and dips kill my shoulders

3

Pause benching (1-3second hold then explosive push)
Band benching (great resistance)
Chains
Floor presses

Building your back :wink:

“You can’t shoot a rocket out of a rowboat”

4

Crazy Bell Bench
Reverse Band Bench
Manpon press
DB Press
Westside-style DB extensions
Seated DB clean
Reverse KB Military

Dips kill my shoulders too.

5

Breathing Pullovers helped my arch the most, Floorpress combined with Rack Lockouts help me break through my plataues and otherwise I just switch tricep extention and lying dumbell crushers.

6

Heavy, heavy, heavy tricep work.

7

Board Presses
Speed Bench Press with Bands

8

Aside from a lot of lat work, I think you’d be best at identifying your specific weakness in the lift.

9

I get the most from heavy close-grip bench press, and heavy flat DB’s.

10

I like flat back floor presses and any sort of full ROM bench.

11

[quote]B rocK wrote:
Pause benching (1-3second hold then explosive push)
Band benching (great resistance)
Chains
Floor presses

Building your back :wink:

“You can’t shoot a rocket out of a rowboat”[/quote]

bolded worked for me, I dont own any chains or bands so I can’t answer.

I’m thinking of adding reverse close grip bench on the smith machine. Anyone care to share some results with the reverse grip bench?

12

military press, incline db press…because my shoulders are my weak point

13

Weighted dips
Reverse Bench

14

I find dips painful to my shoulders as well. For (raw) bench assistance I prefer heavy close grips, paused incline presses, heavy nosebreakers, heavy hammer curls, H Rolls for rotator cuff stability…

To build off-the-chest strength I have been doing Paper presses (Benching with a sheet of paper on your chest, you lower the bar until it just touches the paper and pause it there for 3-5 seconds before pressing up).