Stretching before your session warms and lossens your joints, muscles and ligaments, while stretching after your workout helps to aid in recovery.  Stretching the muscles you just worked will help to remove the lactic acid that has built up in those muscles.  Stretching helps in the removal of waste from the muscles, and supplies them with much needed oxygen and nutrients.

  At the beginning of a weightlifting workout, warm up for 5 minutes on the stationary bike or treadmill.  Keep the warm-up light and low-key, loosening up your body.  After the warm-up comes the stretching.

  The main muscle groups that you want to stretch before any weightlifting workout are the chest, shoulders, triceps, back, biceps, groin/hip, calves, hamstrings, and quadriceps. 

Stretching – Phase 1: First, stretch the muscle for 3-5 seconds, then release.

Stretching – Phase 2: Next, Take a deep breath, exhale slowly, and re-stretch the part for 20-30 seconds.  Focus on relaxing.  Always remember to breathe and relax more each time you exhale.

   Safety is key when performing the bench press exercise.  Be sure to use proper bench press form at all times! This will help to prevent bench press injuries and will ensure that you don’t have to miss significant time in the weight room.

Always use a spotter for heavy lifts!

  Because you want the weight to be moving continuously during a lift, it is important to always have a spotter when you are attempting heavy lifts (or any lift just for safety).  The spotter’s job is to keep the weight moving upward in a continuous motion.  If your spotter is letting you flounder with the bench press bar halfway up and not assisting as minimally as needed with your upward progress, get a new spotter! A good spotter should first use his fingers to assist the upward motion and should gradually provide more help with the whole hands if needed.  Remember, the key is to keep the bar moving in a fluid, continuous motion. 

Don’t Overtrain!  

General Rules to Prevent Overtraining:

• Work a body part no more than once a week.  This means one chest workout per week.  Advanced lifters can do this twice a week.
• Rest for 2-4 days per week.  My bodytype is hardgainer, so I workout 3 days a week.
• You only grow in your sleep.  Try to get at least 6 hours a night and ideally 8 hours a night.
• Pay attention to pains in your body. Listen to your body! It may be time to take a break and heal your body.
• Use a spotter! You definitely want someone there to help you if you lose your grip on that 315 lb bench press bar.
• EAT WELL.  After breaking down your muscles, your diet needs to build them back up.  You can only do this with a good diet based on the right amounts of protein, carbs, fats, and vitamins.  Consult the bench press diet for more information.

  Notice in this video how I use proper bench press form and bench press techniques to lift 270 pounds at a weight of 148 pounds!

My 270-Pound Bench Press at 148 Pounds

Lifter: Alan F. Smith