Triceps and Back = Big Bench

Hey elitefts™ team!

I need your help with my bench press. My chest is pretty strong and almost overdeveloped compared to the rest of my body.

On the other side, my triceps (and thus my lockout) is very, very weak. I incorporated floor presses into my 5/3/1 routine, but I´m not sure if they work my chest or my triceps more. I want to work my tris, of course.

Bench day looks like this:

5/3/1 Bench

  • Floor press 3 x 6-8
  • Pullups (between pushing sets)
  • Rowing movement 3 x 10
  • Dumbbell triceps extensions 3 x 8-12
  • Some side laterals

I really need to bring up my triceps (and lockout), because they are so weak.

Should I leave it with the floor press/triceps extensions or are there better solutions? I'm also doing dips on military press days.

Thanks!

Joe,

Floor press is great, but you should rotate in some board presses (3- or 4-board), and bench with some chains if you have them. So if one week you choose floor press, the next choose board work, etc. The board work has always worked great for my lockout strength.

Also, when you're not maxing out, just do your normal bench work. Work your hands in about shoulder width because this will allow you to hit more triceps than chest. I do all of my raw training with a pretty narrow grip, so it is always really working my tricep strength and lockout. The only time I ever take a wide grip is for shirt work.

Hope this helps out. If you have any more questions let me know.

Josh,

Thanks for your great answer on the triceps/lockout question I just posted.

One more thing, should I do the floor presses and board presses with a close grip or with my regular bench grip (I'm lifting raw!)?

Thanks!

Joe,

Not a problem. You don't have to go really close grip, but about shoulder-width apart. I'm about a thumb's length from where the knurling starts, but I bench fairly close. You can go shoulder-width to pinkies on the rings, that is still pretty narrow and would work just fine to really hit your triceps. Then, save your normal grip for your competition or for maxing out. You will notice a big difference. Triceps will get stronger, there will be less stress on your shoulders (it keeps them from getting beat up), and shortens your bar path when you go wide grip.

Let me know if you have anymore questions, and let me know how this works out.