Ready for number one best bench press secret? It's not rocket science but most people don't know it.

Okay here it is. The shorter the distance you have to press the bar the easier it gets to bench press more weight!

Wow what a concept huh? That tip doesn't do you much good unless know what you need to do to shorten the distance the bar travels during the bench press and that's exactly what this article will teach you.

There are a few ways to accomplish this. First of all widen your grip on the bar. If your pinkie finger is on the knurling of the bar, than move it out to your ring finger. Eventually you'll want to move your grip out so that your pointer finger is on the rings. Don't make too big of a jump at once, take a month or two to move out one finger at a time. This is common sense, the wider your grip the less distance you're pressing.

Next you're going to want to retract your shoulder blades. Picture yourself doing a cable row. At the end of the movement you pull your shoulders back, squeeze your back and bring your scapulas together. This should be how your start the bench press. It removes several inches from the range of motion and keeps your body tight.

Lastly arch your back. Your butt, shoulder blades, and head should always be in contact with the bench, but its okay to arch your lower back. If this isn't natural for you, you can place a foam roller under your lower pack for practice. Once again this brings your chest closer to the bar during the eccentric movement decreasing the path the bar travels.

The dude pictured to the right is extremely flexible and has an amazing arch. It's probably the biggest arch I've seen so don't be discouraged if yours doesn't look the same. When you're following my Critical Bench Program 2 there are several exercises and stretches that you can do that will help you increase your arch without causing any strain to your lower back.

With these three tweaks you can easily take several inches off the path that the bar travels. By doing so I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to add up to 20 lbs on your bench press simply by mastereing these tips.

Keep training hard!

Mike Westerdal
Author of the Critical Bench Program 2.0