If you want a bigger bench press, you have to learn how to deal with your sticking point....plain and simple.

You're only as strong as the weakest point in the movement and THAT is your weakest point.

When you're using lighter weight, it's relatively easy to blast through sticking point by generating enough momentum out of the bottom to blow right through it and essentially avoid it. This is the strategy many people use by bouncing the bar off their chest (which you should NEVER do...I hope I don't have to tell you).

However, as you get into heavier loads and the bar speed slows down, you simply CAN'T generate enough momentum to blow through the sticking point. It very quickly turns into trying to GRIND past the sticking point...until the weight increases a bit more and the bar just STOPS.

THAT is when you hit your 1 Rep Max...

However, imagine how much more you could lift if you directly strengthened your sticking point, i.e. your weakest link.

By specifically strengthening muscle and connective tissue right AT the sticking point, you build targeted strength that translates directly into a bigger max bench press.

So how do you strengthen the sticking point?

That's the easy part. You STOP and HOLD right at the sticking point (this method is also known as a Spoto Press).

You see, one of the reasons you even HAVE a sticking point is because in order to lift as heavy as possible, your strategy has always been to try and get past that sticking point as FAST as possible. You essentially try and avoid it.

This makes sense from a practical point of view in that it DOES allow you temporarily lift more weight.

However, it totally avoids strengthening the exact position that's critical to your true maximum bench press strength.

Set up your bench press as you normally would...and use a LIGHT weight that you can easily manage the first time you do this. You want to get a feel for the pause...and we also want to be sure you feel NO sense of panic while learning how to do it.

This is because fear is a big motivator for relying on a momentum-boosted bench press...we want to take that fear away by not only building specific strength at the sticking point but also by getting you comfortable at your sticking point.

Because basically, the purpose of this technique is to have you spending a LOT of time at your sticking point rather than just trying to blow right through it.

And don't worry how it "looks" if you use light weight on the bench press...you will progress in weight as you build strength and your top-end weights will start going up FAST.

Start at the top.

Lower the bar to your chest.

Then press back up slowly until you get to your sticking point. Then just HOLD the bar right there for at least 5 seconds (more is better).

THEN press through to the top again.

Repeat for a set of 6 to 8 reps.

If and when you get can through a set of 8 reps with a solid 5-second hold on every single rep, then you can increase the weight. I would recommend performing 2-3 sets of this technique, 60 to 90 seconds rest in between sets.

This type of sticking point training can be done in addition to your regular bench press training as a way of shoring up the lift. Because the pause requires lighter weight, it won't set back your recovery and is completely fine to add into your chest training...provided you're not ridiculously overtraining your chest already ;).

Bottom line, getting comfortable with and strengthening your sticking point is one of the BEST ways to improve your top-end bench press numbers FAST.

I've got the video of this technique posted on my YouTube Channel here...

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Nick Nilsson
The "Mad Scientist of Muscle"