If you have a hard time feeling your pecs working when you bench press, THIS is for you. It's an excellent technique for forcing the pecs into a better position to contract when doing a bench press...and this will help you build a bigger chest faster!

To use this technique, you'll need a bench and a single square Step riser/platform...(you'll likely have to raid the cardio section of your gym to find one of these).

I got mine for dirt cheap at a garage sale and found it to be an extremely versatile piece of training equipment, beyond just doing stepping exercises. Here's a link to the exact one that I have, available on Amazon. I actually use it for some cardio as well as weight training applications.

Set the Step on the bench, right where your upper back/shoulders will be. Grab your dumbbells and sit on the bench. The first time you do this one, go light. As you get comfortable with the position (and getting into position), you can work up to close to your "normal" pressing weights.

Lie back and get the dumbbells into position.

Then press as normal, focusing on really squeezing the pecs as you come to the top.

The elevation of the upper back forces the chest to expand due to the arch in the lower back. This helps get your shoulders back, which reduces their involvement in the press.

(I also find that because my head is not pressing into the bench, the base of support is primarily the upper back, which tends to load the pecs a bit more effectively.)

So essentially, instead of your chest being in a flat, pancake position (which can easily happen when pressing for more than 1 rep), your chest is puffed out and your pecs are in a MUCH better anatomical position to contract through the entire set.

Famous bodybuilding trainer John Parrillo created a bench with this position in mind (chest forced to expand), called the Parrillo Arched Bench. This simple addition of the Step riser to a normal flat bench helps get you into that similar position for optimal chest development without needing to have the full bench (which is rare in gyms and can be hard to find).

This exercise can also be done in the power rack using a barbell instead of dumbbells, though I do find dumbbells to be more effective for really feeling the pecs working on this exercise.

You can also use this setup for dumbbell flyes for increased pec stretch and contraction. This is an excellent one to finish off your pecs, following the pressing.

I like to hold the dumbbells at a 45 degree angle at the bottom...I find it much easier on my shoulder joints while still getting a great stretch at the bottom. You can keep the palms in a neutral position, if you prefer.

This simple addition to your bench press will make a BIG difference in your pec development.

Pull back on the heavy barbell training for a few weeks and put this one to work instead...you'll notice definite improvement in your pecs within a few short weeks!

I've got the video for this one posted to my YouTube channel here.

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