How to Increase Your Bench Press: A Practical Guide to Getting Stronger
Summary: Improving your bench press isn’t just adding more plates and weight. You want to focus on proper reps and sets, safely adding weight and volume, and maintaining technique. Over time, you can make gains, especially when combined with good nutrition, hydration, and sleep habits.
It is incredibly satisfying when you add a new plate to any lift. The realization you have gained the ability to push, pull, or lift more weight is rewarding. The problem is simply adding more weight to your bench press eventually stops being effective.
You need to learn how to increase bench press through consistent techniques, volume, frequency, and progressive overload. That takes a bit more programming, along with proper accessory exercises and nutrition, to get results. You also shouldn’t overlook the power of quality recovery time.
If you’ve been benching for months with the same results, it may be time to change things up and use this guide to rethink how you’re training.
Before You Add More Weight, Check Your Bench Press Technique
Adding weight does help, but paying attention to your bench press technique is more important. If you’re cycling through a ton of different grips, touchpoints, or ranges of motion, you’ll have a much harder time measuring success. You’ve got to pay attention to the details.
Your Bench Press Setup
Start with the bench itself. Lie on your back with eyes underneath the bar. Plant your feet firmly on the floor to maintain your position during the set. Keep your shoulder blades back and down against the bench. You want the upper back to feel stable, not rounded or loose. It’s more a natural arch through the lower back.
The body is the platform you’re pressing from. The feet need to be planted, glutes on the bench, upper back against the pad, and hands firmly wrapped around the bar. That consistency is your foundation for measuring rep-to-rep.
Your Grip
Next we need to discuss your grip. No two grips are ever the same. Your shoulder width, training goals, and arm length will vary from your training partners. Most research (Olav Gomo, 2016) supports the idea that narrow, medium, and wide grips affect muscle activity and biomechanics. The narrower you get, the more you work the triceps. The wider, the more the shoulders.
Maintain a comfortable grip with your wrists stacked above your forearms at the bottom of the movement. You should be able to wrap your thumbs around the bar and keep your wrists from bending backward.
Your Bar Path
Not all bench presses move straight up and down. How you perform the specific movement matters, and that's what you want to repeat to measure your results over time.
Lower the bar (under control) to your mid-to-lower chest. Keep your upper back positioned well during the movement. The bar itself may move up and down, but also slightly back toward the shoulders.
As you move, keep your elbows controlled. Don’t let them flare out as you lower the weight. The most important thing is staying controlled so you can repeat the movement without the bar wandering around.
Your Range of Motion
You’re shooting for the bar to reach your chest while keeping it controlled, then return it to the start position. During that movement, don’t shorten the reps with more weight. If you normally touch your chest, keep doing that. You want to compare the same exercise for improvements.
We’re working with the bench press, not the board or pin press. Stick to the basics for comparison.
How Often Should You Bench Press?
Most scientific evidence (Androulakis-Korakakis, 2020) suggests performing an exercise at least 1 time, repeating it a max of 3 times per week. That is the “minimum effective training dose.”
Most recreational lifters can get by bench pressing around 2-3 times per week. It’s a good starting point for measuring your future success. When your weekly volume is the same, training more may not produce better gains. It’s more about consistency than hitting the weights every day.
Use Progressive Overload to Build Your Bench Press
An excellent trick for how to increase bench press success is known as “progressive overload.” What you’re doing is gradually increasing stress on your system to drive more strength and muscle growth.
Adding weight is where most people immediately think progressive overload works. However, you can get similar results with more repetitions at the same weight or adding another set while improving technique.
Say you bench 185 for 3 sets at 5 reps. Instead of adding 10 pounds to 195, try a progression like:
- 185 × 5, 5, 5
- 185 × 6, 5, 5
- 185 × 6, 6, 5
- 185 × 6, 6, 6
- 190 × 5, 5, 5
What happens is your body adapts to the changes, adding more strength and muscle definition, rather than instantly jumping through large fluctuations. It’s gradual change that is safer and more successful.
How to Structure Your Bench Press Training
How to increase bench press needs to include three types of work:
Strength-Focused Work
The goal here for your bench press is to use heavier weight with fewer reps. You’re teaching your body to produce way more force, without sacrificing proper technique.
What you can change is the 1RM (one-repetition max). That’s the heaviest weight you can successfully do for one rep. Put another way, if you can only do 1 rep at 200 pounds, go with 80% of that, 160 pounds, so you can get enough reps and sets with proper form.
It’s not about weight maxing. You’re just trying to add weight that feels challenging while you can maintain control over your setup and movements.
Volume-Focused Work
Volume-focused work is like strength-focused work. Instead of adding weight to a 1RM, you’re adding more reps using a slightly lower total weight. So if you do a heavier day on Monday, you might swap to 3 sets of 6-10 on Thursday at a lower weight, rather than 3 sets of 5 at a higher weight.
You can also complement your bench press by adding dumbbell bench presses, incline presses, close-grip presses, and other upper-body movements to boost your primary lift.
Technique-Focused Work
You don’t need to push your body to the limit every time you lift. How to increase your bench press may be more about focusing on your technique without fatiguing your arms.
Choose a weight that feels easy and allows clean reps. Try to perform 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps, always stopping before you hit muscle failure. If you get too tired too quickly, you’re probably using too high a weight.
Stick to form. Make sure you have a consistent, safe, and repeatable form that you can then add weight or volume back in later. The bench itself matters here. The FED Fitness Flybird Series WB6, which you can adjust and fold as needed, ensures you get the same setup each time so you can focus more on technique.
FED Fitness Flybird Series WB6 Foldable Adjustable Weight Bench
- 96% pre-assembled
- Maximum weight capacity: 880 lbs
- Foldable Adjustable Weight Bench
Train Your Bench Press Weak Points
How to increase bench press also means paying close attention to any failure points. You want your mistakes to guide your accessory training. That means examining movements and struggles, such as:
- Struggling at the Bottom: Switch to workouts that emphasize strength and control, such as paused bench presses, dumbbell bench presses, Spoto presses, or chest-focused accessory work.
- Struggling in the Middle: Move to tempo bench presses, paused bench presses, dumbbell presses. You’re trying to supplement when that sticking point above your chest kicks in so you can work out to overcome that freeze.
- Struggling at Lockout: This issue is probably your triceps. You want to look at your grip. Too wide could be working the triceps too much. Try to narrow your grip a bit or add in triceps extensions, cable pushdowns, and pin presses.
Which Muscles Should You Strengthen to Increase Your Bench Press?
Most people will think about the chest when working a bench press. The truth is, you’re working a lot of joints and muscle groups that include the pectoralis major, triceps brachii, anterior deltoids, and plenty of groups around the upper back and shoulder blades.
Those muscle groups are what you want to focus on to improve your bench press, but you can also hit your lats, traps, core, and glutes. This will help control the bar's descent, stabilize your shoulders, and keep your body tight and steady as you work.
How Much Weight Should You Add to Your Bench Press?
Go small. The body should add weight in small increments rather than jumping 10 to 20 pounds at a time. A good rule of thumb is to add only 2.5 to 5 pounds (Schoenfeld, 2021) and ensure you can complete the planned sets and reps at that new weight class.
You’re not adding weight just because another week has passed since your last session. You want to earn each new weight level using proper technique and consistency.
What to Do When Your Bench Press Stops Increasing
Plateauing in workouts is perfectly normal. Instead of immediately reaching for another plate because you think that’ll do the trick, consider some standard questions:
Is your technique consistent?
Check out videos of your current work and see if your grip, bar path, and other technical details are on point.
Are you training too heavy?
You could be pushing the max weight too often, fatiguing your muscles without getting productive training volume.
Is your weekly volume appropriate?
You may be adding too much or too little volume. Going too heavy means you’re probably not getting recovery. Too little volume and it's simply insufficient for gains.
Are your accessories helping your weak point?
You want to add the workouts that complement your goals. How to increase bench press when your lockout is weak usually means adding triceps work, etc.
Are you recovering enough?
You need to rest. Training is a stimulant. It requires time, sleep, hydration, and nutrition to recover.
Recovery and Nutrition for a Stronger Bench Press
To get stronger, you need recovery and nutrition. If you’re hitting 2-3 sessions a week, aim for 7-9 hours of sleep a night. You also need enough calories for energy and muscle development. For an adult, that will be anywhere from 1.4 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. That helps with muscle repair and adaptation.
Don’t overlook your carbs. That is the energy fuel that, when combined with proper hydration, ensures you have the energy to keep consistent.
A Simple Way to Track Your Bench Press Progress
Keep a basic log to track how to increase your bench press. Make sure it includes the date, exercises, weight you’re lifting, reps, sets, and any other details you find relevant. Over time, this log will become your workout bible. It’ll ensure you’re seeing progress, or a lack of it, so you can adjust accordingly.
Final Takeaway
Learning how to increase bench press strength isn’t always adding a plate and crossing your fingers. Take your time to measure the repeatable technique you’re working with, and try adding either strength or volume focus changes.
While you’re working, be sure to have quality gear. An adjustable bench like the FED Fitness Flybird Series WB6 is a great start. It uses pop-pin mechanisms to adjust the angle easily and is crafted from non-slip leather for when you’re working hard. With 8 x 4 angle adjustments, you’ll be able to get the proper position for your bench press improvements.
FAQs
How Long Does It Take to Increase Your Bench Press?
Don’t expect immediate results. Every body is unique. Beginners may progress faster, while experienced lifters may have to wait. You should see meaningful change about every 6-12 weeks after making a change, but that will vary based on your training experience, programming, technique, nutrition, recovery, and genetics.
How often should I bench press to get stronger?
Start with 2 to 3 sessions per week, adjusted for your goals and unique program.
Should I bench press every day to increase my strength?
No, adding more frequency is not recommended. It’s better to be consistent with a proper training volume that lets you recover well.
Why has my bench press stopped increasing?
You may just have hit a plateau. Check your technique, volume, and intensity to see if those matter. Then you can turn to accessory exercises, recovery, and nutrition.
References
- Olav Gomo & Roland Van Den Tillaar (2016) The effects of grip width on sticking region in bench press, Journal of Sports Sciences, 34:3, 232-238.
- Androulakis-Korakakis P, Fisher JP, Steele J. (April, 2020). The Minimum Effective Training Dose Required to Increase 1RM Strength in Resistance-Trained Men: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2020 Apr;50(4):751-765.
- Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Van Every DW, Plotkin DL. (February 22, 2021). Loading Recommendations for Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy, and Local Endurance: A Re-Examination of the Repetition Continuum. Sports (Basel). 2021 Feb 22;9(2):32.
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. If you have questions about your health or a medical condition, please consult your physician. Always seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional before starting any exercise program or fitness routine. FED Fitness assumes no responsibility for any consequences resulting from the use of this information.
Leave a Comment
We’d love to hear from you — your insights can inspire others!