If you’re reading this article, one thing is true, you have some sort of liking for the bench press. Weather if it is for the purpose of saying a big number when someone ask "How much do yo bench?" or just for the purpose of turning yourself in living superhero with your superior strength improving your bench press is your main goal. Today we are going to take a fresh new approach at bench press training with a old unfamiliar method. We are going to look at Progressive Movement training for the bench press.

 Paul Anderson

While the approach for raising your bench press numbers may be new, Progressive Movement Training is however not.

Progressive movement training was started by a guy named Paul Anderson. Who is Paul Anderson?

Paul Anderson was a weightlifter, strongman and powerlifter in the 1950’s. Some of his best lifts were:

• Standard clean and press: 402.5 lb (182.6 kg);
• One arm overhead press: 300 lb (140 kg);
• Parallel squat: 1,202 lb (545 kg), two reps;
• Backlift: 6,270 lb (2,840 kg) (weight raised slightly off trestles);

Paul Anderson was one of the strongest squatters of all time. He is known for squatting over 1000 pounds easily.  His record was 1202 pounds for two reps.

“Big deal! There are a few guys that squat over 1000 pounds now.” You say.

True but Mr. Anderson did this way before the squat suit was even a thought.

He was routinely known for squatting around 100 pounds more in his workouts than his max. How is that possible you ask? It was done with Progressive Movement Training. Back in the old days there were no squat cages so what Anderson did was dig a big hole, place the bar above the hole, climb in the hole and squat. Every couple of weeks he would add three inches of dirt to the hole subsequently making the range of motion he squatted longer. This was the beginning of Progressive Movement Training. Now you’re probably saying well that is nice but why are we talking about a squat guy in a bench press article. Well simply put the same principles apply to both power lifts.

How Progressive Movement Training Works-

            How Progressive Movement Training works is by taking a sub maximal load and increasing the range of motion that you move it in over a period of weeks. Yes we still want to keep things hardcore but we live in a more modern time now so no digging holes in the backyard. Luckily we live in the era of the squat cage so this will be our substitute hole. If your gym doesn’t have a squat cage find another gym. Seriously though, you can always use a smith machine as a sort of substitute for the cage. The load you use should be your max plus 20% (360 pounds if you’re not good at math). In other words if your max is 300lbs., you want to add 20% to that (360 pounds if your not good at math). Since you are not doing any eccentric work the lift becomes all concentric. Since you’re basically learning how to bench press from a dead stop you use more muscle and get a better nervous system response from this type of lift. As the range of motion increases your body adapts to holding the weight for longer periods and thru longer ranges increasing your body’s ability to move heavier weights. This is a great way for building strength rapidly. On the bench press you want to change your range of motion about every two to three weeks. It is also best to change the range of motion as little as possible each time you’re scheduled to change range of motion. Two inch drops are probably your best bet. The first week you want to use the shortest range of motion. The first week will be like doing bench press lockouts. You want to do just the top portion of the bench press. As your range of motion increases over the weeks the weight load will increase meaning the amount of reps you will do from a longer range will decrease. The good news however is by the time your pushing a full range of motion you still should be pushing 20%  over your max for 1-2 reps. You do want to continue to do at least one full range of motion exercise for the chest. You do want to hit the muscles in a different way though, so if you are doing Progressive Movement Training on the bench press then your full range of motion exercise should be something to the effect of incline dumbbell presses or decline dumbbell presses. Dumbells are a better option than barbells because the range of motion can be fuller. This help the body keep the ability to do full range of motion exercises. Since this is about building up the bench press you also want to do some progressive work for the triceps and shoulders. One exercise for each moderately heavy should do the trick. Your shoulders and triceps will gets lots of work from the Progressive Movement Training so no need for overkill. Dumbell exercises are usually a good option. This method is very powerful but puts tremendous stress on the body and nervous system. This type of training should only be done one to three times a year. Once you finish this program you’ll be thanking Paul Anderson.

The Program:

Week 1:

Max weight plus 20% set pins in bench press lockout position

10 reps

Full Range of Motion Exercise- Dumbell Incline Press

4 sets 10

Dumbell Tricep Skullcrushers

4 sets of 10

Dumbell Shoulder Presses

3 sets of 10

Week 2:Same

Week 3:

Max weight plus 20% set pins one notch lower than week 2

8 reps

Full Range of Motion Exercise- Dumbell Incline Press

4 sets 10

Dumbell Tricep Skullcrushers

4 sets of 10

Dumbell Shoulder Presses

3 sets of 10

Week 4:Same

Week 5:

Max weight plus 20% set pins one notch lower than week 4

6 reps

Full Range of Motion Exercise- Dumbell Decline Press

4 sets 10

Dumbell Overhead Tricep Ext

4 sets of 10

Dumbell Front Raises

3 sets of 10

Week 6:Same

Week 7:

Max weight plus 20% set pins one notch lower than week 6

4 reps

Full Range of Motion Exercise- Dumbell Decline Press

4 sets 10

Dumbell Overhead Tricep Ext

4 sets of 10

Dumbell Front Raises

3 sets of 10

Week 8:

Max weight plus 20% Full range of Motion

2 reps

Full Range of Motion Exercise- Dumbell Decline Press

4 sets 10

Dumbell Overhead Tricep Ext

4 sets of 10

Dumbell Front Raises

3 sets of 10