TJ Cline

Top 10 World Record Bench Tips

By Brian Schwab





My enjoyment of the bench press began in 1988 when I was 14 years old and a freshman in high school. The low ceilings, dampness, stench of body odor, and void of windows were intimidating to most, but I felt at home in the school gym. Upon my first visit to the cramped musty space I was able to bench 135. You may laugh and think that is nothing but when you are only 5 foot 3 and 98 lbs it was everything. From my strength I gained respect and knew that I had found my place.
The next few years I focused on wrestling, lifting only in the off season while the football team was on the field. I competed on the high school weightlifting team, but lacked the strength I needed to be successful after dropping significant bodyweight for wrestling; dropping from 120 all the way to 103, even into my senior year. I never stopped lifting but it wasn't until years later that I returned to my love for competition with the iron. While attending the University of Florida I began competing in local bench press, and eventually full meets, which led me to the AAU. In June of 1998 I competed at the Disney Wide World of Sports in my hometown of Orlando Florida and was successful in breaking the AAU Junior American record with a bench of 362 @ 165.
Soon after I heard of Kieran Kidder's plans to create a Professional Powerlifting Organization beginning with the first meet in nearby Daytona Beach. I happened to be in the right place at the right time. The first WPO meet only had the super open classes but the following year had it broken down into 10, including 148. After my wrestling days I vowed to never cut weight again but realized that since my normal weight stayed around 160, it would be difficult for me to excel in the 165 lb. class, but dropping to 148 would be a different story.
A few of my bench press records are as follows:

• 1st Bench America 148 lb. Champion 445 @ 148 on 7/3/03

• 3 Consecutive 148 lb. WPO Bench World Records:

· 501.5 on 3/5/04
· 503.8 on 10/8/04
· 507 on 10/29/05

• APA Florida State Record of 475 @ 165 on 5/28/05

• APF Florida State Record of 473.7 @ 165 on 6/18/05

• APF American Record of 512.5 @ 165 on 8/5/05

Here are my top 10 bench tips to help you set a new P.R.

1. Perform a gradual cardio, shoulder and triceps warm up

It seems that as I age my body takes longer and longer to warm up. By increasing body temperature with a minimum of a 5 to 10 minute cardio warm up, the nervous system becomes more prepared for the task ahead. By performing more isolated warm-ups with shoulder rotation, which I will detail next, as well as mini-band pushdowns the joints are more prepared to help prevent injury during bench training.

1. Strengthen your rotator cuffs to prevent injury

Like most powerlifters, I often have at least one nagging pain somewhere. My right shoulder has bothered me for years. I know that the pain is coming from my rotator cuff, specifically my infraspinatus. In order to prevent further damage I perform internal and external shoulder rotation either with elastic tubing or dumbbells for 2 sets of 12-15 reps during every bench workout. I usually do these between my bench warm up sets.

1. Work on proper technique every time you bench

The process I follow every time I lie on the bench is to:

• Grab the bar with an underhand grip.
• Pull your eyes to the bar and force your shoulders back towards your feet as you lie down. I stay on my toes.
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together and grab the bar to legal competition width.
• I choose to take a breath when the bar is lifted off and again before I lower it.
• Fill your belly with air and tuck your elbows all the way into your sides.
• Lift your head and watch the bar as you take it to the natural angle that your arms follow with your elbows tucked.
• After touching, focus on pressing the bar straight up.
• Flare your elbows about halfway up and push at a slight angle towards your head.

4. Focus on speed and lockout strength on DE day
I follow the basic Westside template on speed day but opt to only perform 6 sets and only add accommodating resistance on the last 3. I have also chosen to only use chains, since the bands seemed to place too much stress on my shoulder joint.

1. Never perform a un-shirted bench max through a full range of motion

In 1996, when I first began powerlifting, I was performing a heavy full ROM set with around 300 lbs. On the eccentric portion of my third rep I heard and felt an indescribable sensation of ripping and discomfort on my left side. It was my pec tearing. Luckily it was only a partial tear which took about 6 months to recover from. I still have a chunk of scar tissue there. I have no desire to put myself in the position for this to happen again. So, who are you kidding? If you compete with a shirt, then you need to train with it. Prove yourself in a meet, not to your buddies in the gym. I don't know how much I max raw and I don't care. Those aren't the conditions under which I compete.
6. Train through the entire bench range of motion on ME day
I realize this doesn’t follow the traditional Westside template and I’m not recommending for you to bench heavy all the way to your chest in any workout. That would go against my last tip. What I recommend is performing an exercise for the mid-range, lock-out, and lower portion of the bench during every max workout. I opt for board presses as the primary, followed by lock-outs/pin-presses, and either decline or floor presses last, in that order. I alternate between dumbbells and the bar on floor press to maintain balance between each side.

1. Perform at least 1 raw set on your primary exercise on ME day

Although I perform 1 to 2 sets of shirted board work each week the vast majority of bench training is done without the use of one. In order to bench more, you need to become stronger, not just rely on your shirt. The first max effort board set is without a shirt, followed by 2 shirted, the rest of the work is done raw.

1. Only perform 1 board and full reps right before a meet

The only time I go through a full ROM in my bench shirt is 3 weeks before a meet. I know how much it takes to touch in each shirt depending on how much I weigh and the position of the collar. After this is realized it is unnecessary to touch in your shirt on a regular basis. Three weeks before a meet I perform singles through a full ROM, followed by 1 board, then 2. Two weeks out I perform singles onto 1, 2, and then 3 boards. This way I can work with my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd attempts and feel more confident with the weight.

1. Strengthen your upper posterior chain

Having a strong upper back and triceps is essential for stronger benching. Your back and triceps are the muscles involved in supporting the weight throughout the entire motion. Although the function of the latissimus dorsi is primarily to adduct (bring in) the arms at the shoulder joint, they are also necessary for supporting the triceps. I recommend at least 2 exercises for 2 to 3 heavy sets of 5-8 reps per week to strengthen your lats. I prefer a variation of a pulldown or pull-up and a rowing motion performed on DE squat day. The lock-out strength of the triceps is trained on DE bench day through 4 board presses, reverse band presses, DB and cable extensions as well as on ME day through board presses and lock-outs.

1. Train with your shirt weekly

It literally took me an entire year to get used to the groove of a denim shirt. Each shirt you use will have a different groove which will vary depending on how low you adjust the collar. Myself and the Orlando Barbell team train with our shirts for at least 2 sets onto boards each week. We start with 4 board and reduce by one board each week down to 2 until 3 weeks out from the meet, as previously mentioned. By training with the shirt each week you will not only be able to handle heavier weights, you will also learn the groove of your shirt.

TJ Cline

Bigger and Better Benching




By Marc Bartley




A lot of my tips are just repeats from everyone else but I think they get overlooked while everyone is looking for the next gear craze or shortcut. Some are gear related and some are raw work.

Simple things for a better bench:

1. Speed Day - Work your speed day religiously for the first 3-4 years of your powerlifting career. You must improve technical skill and force production by all muscle groups involved including the weaker ones. Timing really is everything.

2. Raw work - For the first 3-4 years we followed a Westside/EFS template on max effort work .You must do the raw max effort work to raise your capacity and base strength. This will help you avoid injury such as a pec tear and enable you to see weaker muscle groups more easily as you rotate from exercise to exercise. For example, inclines are mainly a shoulder movement. If you suck at these, but have a decent bench then you have discovered a weaker muscle group to work on. Raw work is good work.

3. Hold the weight - This is an easy way to develop more strength, stability and confidence with the big weights. You simply hold the bar for 2-3 extra seconds at the beginning of a press and then hold 2-3 seconds at the end before you rack the weight. This also cured our issues about racking the bar too quickly at meets and missing attempts plus it shows control which also makes the judges happy. Happy means white lights.

4. Leg Drive - This one is missed by most novices and even some big benchers. Scott Mendelson put it to me this way and I didn't realize it until he said it but leg drive can give you 200-400lbs on your bench. You must get your legs in the game and an easy way we found to do this is by pushing into the front of your shoes. In other words, feet flat and when you press, shove your toes into the front of the shoes. Push your body along the bench which will also maximize leg drive but will keep your tail on the bench. Remember, judges happy...

5. Do your board work - Whatever you can two-board in a shirt you should be able to do in a meet. Do 5 sets of 3 for several weeks before a meet. Keep going up until you can't get 3s then you back down. This will make the weight seem very light when you max out. Remember: Time under tension and confidence. You can also do raw two boards the same way in the same week. This worked well for us.

6. Fat Bars - Use fat bars, 1and 3/4 or 2 inch, as much as possible in training. These are easy tools that improve grip and interaction between muscle groups. You must squeeze the bar harder to control it which stimulates more muscle recruitment from all groups involved. The bar path is little different as well which makes it harder to use. The best part is that fat bars make the regular bench bars feel like toothpicks in your hands and you feel like you can press anything.

7. Learn your shirt - Each shirt is different. Some denims require you start the bar over your chest and touch on the belly or upper abdominals while a lot of polyester shirts start the bar in the upper chest region and throw the bar back towards the rack when pressing. Whoever you get it from, find out the shirts requirements for the best results. Use the shirt for at least 8 weeks prior to a meet to break it in and find your groove.

8. Lockout - We all know to tuck the elbows on the decent of the bar, but what about the lockout? I imagine it from two angles. One is squeezing only from the elbow when the lockout has slowed down too much. The other is trying to separate the lower bicep from the forearm as quickly as possible or another way to look at it is to imagine straightening the arm out while pressing. Sometimes this takes my mind off the weight just long enough to get the lift finished.

9. Use Bands - Use lots of band tension on speed day and heavy days. I like them doubled-up which provide maximum over speed eccentric load/stretch reflex or whatever you want to call it and lots of lockout work on both upper days. This is also a form of trickery for the CNS and brain where the load is deceiving and often it is much higher than you realize. This builds confidence and allows to body to utilize its full capacity which we never totally tap into but we can add a whole lot of pounds to the bench by doing so

10. Don’t forget the small stuff - Kettlebells, GPP and auxiliary work; don’t skip it. This is just as important as benching itself. I made this error over the past two years and paid for it. I lowered it to almost nothing and my weights shot up for awhile but then stopped. I was stuck. You need GPP for your wind and health. You have to have the ability to do the volume or you won't improve. This is GPP. You need auxiliary work to continue to raise and maintain all muscle groups involved in the bench. Lastly, get some kettlebells. For the average man, I would suggest getting sets of 25, 36, 53 and 72s. Kettlebell snatches, swings, presses, arm bars, etc. will thicken and develop your upper body. They will also improve your bench and GPP in the process. I think kettlebells by themselves will add 50lbs to anyone's bench and make the bodybuilders in your gym jealous of your giant traps, upper back and shoulders in the process.