Chest Exercise: Bench Press With Bands Using Power Rack
Primary Muscle
Chest
Secondary Muscles
Triceps, Lats, Shoulders
Equipment Needed
Resistance Bands, Power Rack, Barbell, Dumbbells
Mechanics Type
Compound
Proper Exercise Technique
There are many ways to setup the bench press with bands. There are 3 basic ways to do it. If you are lucky enough to have a quality bench with band pegs then you can just loop the bands around the pegs and double them. To setup barbell bench press with bands on a bench without pegs you can do it one of two ways. The first way is stretching the band under the bench itself. Put a plate on the barbell and then a band. Take the opposite end of the band and stretch it underneath the frame of the bench pad and then to the opposite side of the bar. This way illicts the least amount of tension from the bands and is also the easiest way but it requires two people to setup. The second way involves using heavy dumbbells to hold the band down to the floor.
Depending on the bands you are using you may need 100+ pound dumbbells to counteract the tension of the bands pulling in the opposite direction. Take the band and lay it on the ground perpendicular to the barbell on the bench. Place the heavy dumbbell over the band then grab each end of the band and bring it on up to the barbell and make sure you have weight on the opposite side of the bar or it WILL tip over. Doing it this way is easiest while training alone however doing barbell bench by yourself isn't the best idea because you can easily pin yourself to the bench when you approach failure.
Adding bands to any exercise greatly increases the effectiveness of the exercise. The eccentric motion of the lift is accelerated and encourages the body to produce a greater force against the weight plus tension to get it moving. This is known as accommodating resistance. This particular exercise allows you work with a weight much lower than your max at the bottom of the lift and overloads your triceps at the top of the lift. Training the barbell bench press with bands will greatly increase your bench press especially while training for an equipped meet.
Bench Press With Bands Using Power Rack Chest Exercise - Start Position
Bench Press With Bands Using Power Rack Chest Exercise - Finish Position
Bench Press With Bands Using Power Rack Chest Exercise Video
Primary Muscle
