Get MORE Chest Growth From Bench Press!

[@TheMercilessJude]

💯 Respect. Great breakdown on flatback benching. Been doing that sh!t for damn near 40 years because I was taught the 'old school' way to bench. But since the 'arching' style definitely adds pounds, everyone on their mama talks down on flatback benching. Remaing 'tight' is just a matter of gripping the bar hard as hell. Again, not to say powerlifters shouldn't arch(scapular retract), because they are doing a skill lift and the bench is a full body lift to them where they want to use the entire body to lift the most weight possible. For the larsen press, us longer lifters can have stability issues with heavier loads. When going to 90% or greater, sh!t gets real and we realize larsen takes away more than leg drive. Remedy that by taking time to build the raw strength to balance properly.

[@AlexLeonidas]

Well said, and you've proven that flat back benching works with a 500lb raw Larsen Press at 50 years old. Massive respect and congratulations, Jude. I'm grateful that you're sharing these old school training gems with your valuable experiences. Your videos, F*ck Arching and Surviving Flat Back Bench Pressing 101, really puts things into perspective. Couldn't agree more, this is how you build real power: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZXdZIKjj56Xbsk & kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmfOZaWta5KjpLs

[@TheMercilessJude]

@@AlexLeonidas ✅

[@Not-Lunar]

You know it's serious when the CEO of Bench Press drops an emergency video…

[@velinivanov607]

Alex is the type of Bro that brings his own barbell to the gym for max gains

[@AlexLeonidas]

Absolutely, I donated one of my bars this year because I refused to use those whippy, smooth barbells. My old pair of chains are still there too.

[@bigbangodyssey]

He is a true 5 percenter!

[@thydog]

​@@AlexLeonidas🫡

[@Cartographerofstability]

After hurting then rehabing my shoulder, I was scared to do anything kind of Barbell press. After watching your channel, you made me realize k need to train where I'm weak, and humble myself by lowering the weight. Happy to say we are back to benching and now including military and behind the neck press and making fast progress. All I have to say is thank you

[@AlexLeonidas]

As I always say, you're only as strong as your weakest link! Well done on training what you originally sucked at. Let the hardcore gains keep coming 💯

[@ryukirito2616]

I finally got 315 lbs on my bench press! 🙌🏼 Now to get to 405 lbs!

[@AlexLeonidas]

Big milestone, enjoy the next journey!! You look massive for benching 315, certainly the potential is there.

[@ryukirito2616]

@@AlexLeonidas Thanks man! I’m definitely enjoying the journey! I think I’m probably being more cautious than I need to be. I think in a couple of months I can be to 360 lbs.

[@THATNI99AJOHN]

Congrats Ryu , keep it up make sure to let us know when you hit that 405 . I can’t wait to make 315 .

[@ryukirito2616]

@ Thanks man! I will! Keep at it bro!! 🙌🏼

[@YamanoRyuu]

100%. I always complained about bad chest genetics. However, one year ago, I shifted my focus to incline presses and dips, and finally, my chest is at the same level as the rest of my body. Greetings from Japan.

[@SaiyaTwins]

The Natural Bodybuilding Messiah enlightens us once again with hypertrophyc wisdom

[@AlexLeonidas]

Doing my best to share the most important information, thank you!

[@thenoxz2924]

Been hitting PR after PR on the bench following your novice program, I could only do 65x5 when I started out and now I'm very close to 185x5 , just a couple more weeks and I'll be there for sure. Thanks for everything Alex.

[@AlexLeonidas]

Now that's a night and day difference, well done!!!!

[@Clowningabout001]

Where can I find this program?

[@thenoxz2924]

@@Clowningabout001 It's in the description of this video, look there it says "My free novice program" with the link to it. It's the best novice program there is, trust me it got all my lifts up by a huge amount, my numbers now are waaay bigger than when I started so it really works!

[@SheepWaveMeByeBye]

@@Clowningabout001 his website

[@Sophist98]

Alex’s website, novice programme

[@chonkeboi]

W, Alex I just wanted to say that you’ve been a godsend on my fitness journey. I’ve been lifting for 2 years now, started when I was 14 now I’m 16, I’ve gone from 12 inch arms to 15.5 inch arms, and my bench has gone from less than a plate to almost 3 plates paused. I just wanna thank you for raising my standards and pushing me to achieve what I once thought was impossible. 💪

[@AlexLeonidas]

W OG

[@AlexLeonidas]

Man, I'm honored to have been a strong source of information for you at a young age. I WISH I had this info from 14-16. I tell you, going from 12-15.5 inches is a MASSIVE improvement.. not to mention almost hitting 315 paused. That's a different level, you're putting the SARMS goblins to shame.

[@chonkeboi]

@ thanks man, never could’ve done it without you!

[@destrohades2094]

Great Recommendations: Heavy Low Incline Presses and Dips Volume Deficit Presses with a flat back Speciality bars 🔥 And more out of less weight ✅

[@darthswole]

I will say that Flat Back benching feels amazing on my shoulders and pecs. Whenever I arch it restricts my shoulder movement and causes pain. This is what I found works for my body over the years and found I can do no retraction on almost every variation from Flat to high incline.

[@YharnamWolf]

That’s a bit weird because, when retracting at the bottom will put most tension on the pecs. You should maintain depression the whole time and retract at the bottom otherwise your shoulders might take over.

[@vrambo338]

Full body training updated video please bro! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻❤

[@morganprice4070]

Yes

[@z1X2c3V47]

I am so pleased with my cambered bar. Got it cheap from Titan, and no complaints with it. I just this week got some right shoulder and slight weakness in pressing, will be switching back to the straight bar for a bit.

[@tsumetaikira6797]

hell yeah found your channel again !! its been a decade i used to watch you in highscool , ready to lock in and get back to it

[@peliac7319]

Im going to try invest into a camber bar and donate it to my gym most likely, its such a goated bar for the bench press its insane.

[@KittySquats]

I bought the Titan camber bar a year ago or so. It takes like 30%+ of the weight off but definitely a game changer for chest

[@danielescribanoromero8414]

Got 225 for the second time this year and better pecs. My experience is that paused and close grip press gets you big and strong (im 6'2 with long arms)

[@MrPoselsky]

Bought buffalo bar because I saw your video on behind the neck presses with it. It's a game changer even on bench press. Incline benching with it is insane, on the bottom of the rep I need to actually do slight row which makes my chest touch the bar.

[@Jason-cb1ho]

I’ve only ever heard it called a Duffalo Bar. I could be wrong

[@MrPoselsky]

@Jason-cb1ho there are multiple names for this. Buffalo/duffalo, the company I bought it from calls it bow bar.

[@calisthenicsconsumer8873]

God damn i never wouldve considered the serratus point you added. That may be why the silver eras used to have really good definition there

[@AlexLeonidas]

It's a big point! Silver Era bodybuilders had serratus development similar to Streetlifters today.

[@Tommaso_Paoli]

This is my recent experience: Around 2 year ago I've started only doing Larsen press and DB bench. 6 months ago I've started only doing DB press and all those changes have made me the best chest gains of my life. For reference before this switch I was doing barbell bench powerliftig style and my pec was non existent (big arch so pretty much no pec stretch was experienced). Also I'm someone that have always struggled with chest development and I'm very weak on the bench, for reference I've hit 225 for a single around 3-4 years ago.

[@athroughz9652]

i am SO glad i’m subscribed to this channel- programming advice, diet plans, exercise selection etc etc i’m getting jacked and stacked asf thank you Alex!!!

[@willswanson2145]

As someone who has those long arms. I only do incline bench press, I do like 155 for reps right now. But my chest is my best body part and looks nutty. I don’t even need to go all the way down. I stop about an inch above my clavicle. But the tip about coming to a complete stop is a must. I recommend thumbless grips, as well as not locking out at top.

[@Gilleto]

Its surprising to me how not many fitness influencers/youtubers have touched upon this subject. You could be benching 40kg dumbells for reps with the "usual" form, yet if you switch to a deep stretch emphasized version and drop literally to 25kgs for same amount of reps you see unparalleled growth it's kinda insane. I know because i have long limbs (basically look like an orangutan) and have always struggled to look bulky and muscular yet my chest was by far my best looking point (in my first 7 months of training it looked better than some gym rats that have been training for 3 years+) due to the fact that i was able to take advantage of the increased rom capability

[@TheBrick534]

Facts

[@Neiiiiil]

🦧 gang

[@tarearnaut3502]

no you just had better chest genetics

[@DusmaEduardo]

Better chest genetics. Full rom doesn't give you so much more hipertrophy

[@Gilleto]

​@@DusmaEduardo i dont think so cuz i have tried the normal 90 degree elbow bend and i grew much slower even tho my strength on the lift was progressing slightly faster and on a steadier pace. Also pumps were far worse on my chest

[@iseeuman3108]

This might be a hot take, but I think for long arm lifters reduced rom is actually useful. 90º rom isn't even half my rom on a standard bench, and in instances when I would plateau using a shortened rom (for me, it'd be a normal rom for a short armed lifter) was useful in breaking through a bodybuilding plateau. Reduced rom was a useful variation for me, and I believe it was due to biasing the shortened position which I don't typically work. Any thoughts would be cool to hear Alex.

[@AlexLeonidas]

For you, it was through blending for better shoulder recovery! Less muscle damage, essentially mixing in deficits + normal rom (in an absolute sense). In my opinion, this is actually optimal and more long armed benchers should consider doing "mini partials" like board presses.

[@iseeuman3108]

@@AlexLeonidas Yeah reducing the amount of stress helped a lot. I can go pretty crazy with chest rom, especially on something like pec deck where the one at my gym gives probably around a 300º arc at max rom (before being set to a reverse pec deck). Thanks for the comment Alex, chest is a priority in my training right now, and as I'm nearing the coveted 405lb bench I'm taking any perspective I can to shore up any weaknesses I have.

[@SV_PDM]

​@@iseeuman3108Which variations and exercises did you incorporate mostly?

[@iseeuman3108]

@@SV_PDM Floor press, board press, any press or fly where you cut the rom tbh, my gym has this weird fly machine with a resistence curve that gets harder the more shortened the muscle is. My main two are the floor press, and the unique fly machine.

[@bannanaization]

Larsen press seems to be the best variation for me for overall pec hypertrophy

[@MarcoIsBig]

Interesting points made on rep speed. I feel I get better growth with faster reps and a wider grip on the bench press be it barbell, dumbbell, machines. You have definitely found what works best for you Alex.

[@AlexLeonidas]

We can make the case that faster reps intensify the weighted stretch!

[@MarcoIsBig]

@AlexLeonidas Right, I will add that I also use constant tension on bench press to get an even better pump and mind muscle connection. It just feels good with the faster reps.

[@dyl923gonz7]

Faster concentric and eccentric?

[@MarcoIsBig]

@dyl923gonz7 For me yes but always with control. I usually do fast reps on everything.

[@publicrestroom5075]

300 pound bencher here at 17. I only use 185 or less for rep work. I use a flat back, no sink, and light touch to the chest.

[@JorisWeima]

Eric Bugenhagen had a good and simple idea too: putting fat grips on a normal bar adds an inch of ROM/stretch

[@cglnarcissist5700]

Congrats on that 405 bench again ❤

[@AlexLeonidas]

Thanks again, brother!

[@zuberilol]

I'm still yet to try the arch nemesis swiss bar at my gym, I'm definitely gonna hit it up this week, you have inspired me! 💕

[@dodi6841]

Doing bench press with fat gripz extreme for higher range of motion helped my chest grow.

[@claybowman1242]

8in deficit pushups in the 4-8 rep range with pauses are my favorite chest builder but I've recently started doing low inclines too and they feel great, often making it hard to touch my chest and making me lift baby weight

[@adamlimbach6756]

This is exactly the video I needed.

[@jack8998]

The bench at my gym isn’t that tall and at a flat setting, the bar WILL hit the safety rack on the bottom of every rep…. For this reason I’ve had to do slight incline for my standard and close grip benching.. that slight incline makes a HUGE difference in activation

[@EyeHateDog-q9j]

Dont know why, but lifting with shades makes you look like a demon maniac XD Looks badass

[@paybax]

Thanks, have the same BS Arch Nemesis but switched from you grip to the widest to lift more. Switching back after watching this :)

[@kostasberoukas3132]

I'm trying the larsen press on one of my chest days, thank you Alex

[@danredmond5589]

Fat gripz also add a small bit of ROM, and Charles Glass Godfather of Bodybuilding pad is a good addition for achieving additional stretch on the chest.

[@JustinTownsend-j6z]

I started doing more reverse grip and close grip bench lately. My 1 rep max is now 240 and can rep 225 for 3!!

[@fatcat22able]

Two years from now: Alex Leonidas 405 pound camber bar bench 🔥 Five years from now: Alex Leonidas 500 pound reverse bench 😉

[@AnthonyVenmans]

I still remember your INSANE reverse grip bench press strength Alex! When was the last time you did them in prep for your 405 record?

[@AlexLeonidas]

Last time was probably October of 2023! I need to start doing them again.

[@AnthonyVenmans]

@AlexLeonidas Awesome, can you make a tutorial video about the reverse bench please? Emphasizing the grip width close, normal and wider grip as well as wrist position?

[@wiktorstachowiak279]

Great video Alex as always! I find a slower (not super slow) eccentric phase helps with strength too! It feels like I'm better prepared for a concentric and less technical breakdowns occur. Lots of elite powerlifters use controlled eccentric as well so it makes sense to me haha

[@divicospower9112]

I 100% agree on the elbows behind the back. To many people think that with this angle, it works more the triceps and less the pecs. That's false. In fact, the pecs are more stretched and must work harder. But I don't agree on the strength related to this position. More range of motion like this means 2 things: a) you gain more stretch so your sling (your tendons) can give back more power (like a band) and b) having your elbows behind your back allows your back to actually lift the barbell on the first centimeters (like they do on dips).

[@jacoblehnert7349]

Would you also recommend always pausing on squats too? Or do you just think it's better for bench?

[@orestis_marinou]

I disagree with the statement that the chest thrives with extended ROM. You have and have had a huge chest with the smallest ROM possible and I know many people like this. (Touching your chest while floor pressing like you Alex, is nuts.) Your "extended" ROM is an average's person regular ROM. When did you start to incorporate "Extended" Bench Press before or after you had developed a huge chest? Extended ROM, or Regular ROM for some people, transfers the tension from the pecs to the deltoids and triceps. Also, when you connect your shoulders blades and over-arch your back to press like a powerlifter you decrease the stretch on the chest. That's why on larsen press you feel your chest more and you lift a lot lighter, cause you actually use your whole chest and all of its fibers.

[@nigelmaccuver9122]

👉🏻 What’s the difference between achieving 1rm and repping the same for multiple times for hypertrophy? So you achieving 405 1rm and reppings it out like 315 as you do?? What’s the challenge there?

[@Enyalus87]

I bought a BoS Manticore rack and a bunch of stuff for my home gym on Black Friday. Including the archnemesis bar! Gonna hopefully build it all this weekend, super looking forward to it.

[@barbellbryce]

Okay kids, so today in class we are going to learn how to properly bench press for max strength and hypertrophy. Step 1: Alex Leonidas

[@unknown_5826]

Bro how many calories do you eat per day in your bulk? I have the same height like you. Love your content btw!

[@gainsofglory6414]

Don't forget fat grips. Easiest and cheapest way that anyone on any budget can get an inch or so of extra stretch.

[@What8_]

Bugez watcher?

[@gainsofglory6414]

@What8_ I've been know to see Dr. Density fir my pencilnecrosis.

[@dodi6841]

Yeah man they are a gamechanger

[@willswanson2145]

As someone who has those long arms. I only bench press like 185 for reps right now. But my chest is my best body part and looks nutty. I don’t even need to go all the way down. I stop about an inch above my chest. But the tip about coming to a complete stop is a must.

[@martinverma2173]

which angle incline do you use? I feel way too much deltoid involvement with inclines unless I use dumbbells.

[@nouseforaname6846]

I remember Jay Cutler also talking about not retracting his scapula and not arching when benching for more benefits 🤙

[@Anton-os5lk]

avoiding squats, bench, and deadlift because theyre not optimal to me means "i have a fragile ego and I wont expose my lack of strength by doing traditional movements".

[@AlexLeonidas]

Yup, in today's soft lifting culture.. it's a carefully crafted excuse.

[@davide_guerra]

Now only doing a combination of flat Angle flyes and incline press, best chest gains of my life

[@gaelicpatriot3604]

I’m going for a 140kg bench in 2025. My current bench is 120kg. I need to soak in all the bench knowledge I can get. I have an orangutan build btw.

[@Neu-z7y]

Same, good luck 🔥

[@DrAJ_LatinAmerica]

Extremely helpful. Great points. Thanks 👍

[@jaku8513]

Some of the tips I learned from watching the young fellas at my gym: Drop the bar on your chest, bounce the bar off your chest then hip thrust it up as hard as you can. If you mistime the technique, you lose 50lbs off your bench but it doesn't matter how strong you actually are, the only thing that matters is moving the weight.

[@joshuamendiola5331]

Fantastic Video. Can you show us how to set up the chains on the bench and items recommended. This would be greatly appreciated

[@ulisesantonio5905]

All I want for Christmas is that arch nemesis Swiss bar😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

[@I_Might_B_Wrong]

I like to use a high incline to the clavicle, then follow up with push ups on parallettes - sometimes with a Kensui vest. Good upper chest ROM, good ROM for the rest of the pec in the push ups after already getting some fatigue from the incline. Icing on the cake is some dumbbell flies at the end if I feel like burning the muscle out.

[@cronikvialo5463]

Great video, as always, i came to the same conclusions aswell. I would love a weighted push-ups video aswell, i just love the exercice

[@nicholasscott4273]

17:35 Thought you were about to quote the Hodge twins, All kinds of gains 😂

[@neevshriker9458]

Amazing video and tips brother❤

[@peppesgabello]

I honestly find this amazing. I got some questions tho but the most important is: When you're incline benching (30/45°), isn't going too far down realistically stretching the shoulders more than the pec, especially if you're trying to get the barbell down to the clavicles? Isnìt this also depending on your bone structure? Like someone with wider clavicles? I have always had my anterior delts kinda sore when trying to go full rom on incline presses, but when I started giving up on that 1/1.5 inches I felt the pec more. We're talking about aROM vs ROM, so if my actual active ROM for the chest to work is 10in and not 12in what's the benefit of going that much down? I'm talking about barbell specifically, with dumbbells I can move freely in order to go deeper in the stretch and feel the chest, but with a barbell it's fixed. Wouldn't it be better and safer to progress with weighted stretch sets like Dante Trudel did in his DC training and actually load for 30/60s the stretch with a dedicated stretch exercise?Just curiousity.

[@HelloWorld-nu2ed]

Heyo, love the videos man

[@AlexLeonidas]

Love making them for you man

[@michamazur6854]

Just my 2 cents. My chest in this year progressed a ton even tho it wasnt my focus at all. But I ditched flat bench all the way and focused on other movements like flye press, incline, flies and dips. And I have to say what I found was that when I have flat back I can really feel my pecs stretch so if I would have to come back to flat benching I would do exactly what you said. I even tried to check how my bench is after more than half a year of not flat benching and I could easily move numbers I had more problems with despite not doing this exact movement. If I would put in my plan again for some time I'm sure I would hit some crazy prs.

[@aperture0]

do you retract and depress your shoulder blades when doing pec dec fly?

[@michamazur6854]

@aperture0 nope, when I was using that machine I just sat comfortably. Same with db flies, also on them I use a slight incline

[@aperture0]

@@michamazur6854 oh alright. thanks. i did the same. i didn't do a lot of exercises. only push-ups, incline db press, pec dec.

[@aperture0]

@@michamazur6854 i have one question. is using flies better for chest growth as opposed to the normal benching stuff?

[@michamazur6854]

@@aperture0 dont know if it's better but by doing flies and presses you will hit probably everything the best you can, because you will do that way all functions of chest

[@MrThatguyaaron]

I understand the logic behind pausing. Prioritizing the chests weakest position at the bottom. However, does that outweigh the higher volume/weight benefits even if more of it is in the midrange? I can attest to the stretch at the bottom giving more DOMS though. Thank you for always giving me something to think about Alex. No other channel does this as good as you.

[@derpyhooves5795]

Hey Alex, my shoulders always seem to hurt when I don’t retract my scaps. Are you still depressing your scaps with your lats? As soon as I lose retraction, my pecs seem to turn off and my shoulders do the entire bench because the pec stretch disappears. Thanks, great vid as always

[@pricklypear6298]

Benching flat with my orangutan arms gives me an upper peck pump. Don't know the science as to why, just know that it feels amazing even though my max is only 225

[@TypicallyUniqueOfficial]

Long arm lifter here that used to have trouble growing his chest. I’m 6’1 with a 74 inch arm span (typical of a 6’3 or 6’4 person). Excessive range of motion was not it for me. My chest is my strongest bodypart on my body by far now, and I connect to it like crazy on any press that I do. The key is not excessive range of motion. I tried the super rom barrel presses with DB, which is a great exercise minus the ROM being excessive. It held back my growth. The key was in the how you set up your back on the bench, and what you do with your scapula/rib cage. Arching the upper back COMPRESSES the rib cage which will lessen overall pec stimulation. Don’t believe me? There’s a reason why Larsen presses are so amazing for the pecs, it’s because it forces you to stack your rib cage properly for many. If your ribs are flared on a press, you’re not going to recruit the maximum amount of pec you can. Then comes the scapula. Retracting the shoulder blades and keeping them locked in place is another thing that will limit the contraction of the overall pec, so all you want to do is DEPRESS the shoulder blades. I saw the most growth with a spoto press than I ever did with a regular bench press. Hell, on incline you don’t even really need to break 90 for many to see maximal chest recruitment. But hey, this is just my observations as a monkey armed tall lifter. Guys with shorter arms and barrel chested ribcages are already advantageous in that that their body will naturally recruit pecs best on a press.

[@nigelmaccuver9122]

Doesn’t that buffalo bar oscillates in concentric part of the lift and create instability due to that swing effect of the weight?

[@AlexLeonidas]

Not really a problem when you load it up with heavy weight. Haven't felt any swing past 2 plates

[@sweetbabylilo]

Two questions: I’ve tried benching without a retracted scapula and no arch but it would irritate my shoulders, any tips or hints to the cause? I’m going to program these again and just use significantly lighter weight and only progress at the rate of my shoulder’s adaptations. Does scapular retraction not pre-stretch the pecs?

[@Jack-tq3hu]

Hope you have a nice Christmas and new year Alex

[@AlexLeonidas]

You too, Jack! Enjoy the nice long weekend and holidays with your family.

[@Jdl223]

Hey Alex, thank you for all your helpful videos. I am going to run your style of conjugate with the one me upper/ lower and 2 bodybuilding days, and i was wondering how often you rotate accessories? And i also notice you dont do alot of incline pressing and was wondering why?

[@joshcoolzwit1364]

Ive bought a louie simmons book of methods recently because ive always been fascinated with the idea of the conjugate method, swapping exercises regularly sounds like fun and constant progression although it is a difficult method to navigate through seeing as there are tones of exercises to go through and i dont have a clear goal on what lift I want to prioritize or where to find more exercises that are similar but not the same as the big 3. Ive recently maxed out on a 315 bench press and am unsure how I want to proceed, I just want to get as huge as possible.

[@techyb8614]

I've got a 152.5kg bench at 80kg. Currently 74kg and still do a struggle rep of 140kg. Just for fun with someone, I do 100 reps of my bodyweight. 1st set I do as many as I can, next person jumps on straight away. When they finish, you jump back on. So their set is your rest and vice versa. Lord, it absolutely fries my chest and triceps. Plenty of DOMs the next day.

[@abdussamadkhan5179]

What do you think about Barrel Press/Power Fly carry over to bench press?

[@AlexLeonidas]

On paper it should carry over, but in my experience... bar work is a lot more worth it. I dropped all db chest work months ago, the progress was significantly faster.

[@abdussamadkhan5179]

@AlexLeonidas it's a great supplementary lift though as it provides a deeper stretch and obviously more out of less weight and along with ATG paused weighted dips I converted my 2RM bench into 4RM bench! Very grateful to you Alex for introducing me to this dumbbell press and dip variant .

[@andrewcoates5681]

I can attest about the deadlift and deficit DL

[@AlexLeonidas]

Arbitrary ROM must be exposed!

[@danteghazizadeh1656]

Alex, when you say benching without scapular retraction, do you mean full scapular retraction? Cause if you’re letting your scapula move freely, it seems like it’ll naturally retract in the bottom.

[@DCJayhawk57]

"Weaker than he looks" gang checking in. Funny enough, I have meh leverages for bench and historically also didn't grow my chest much from benching. I've been doing camber bar bench with a bench block (2 board, so about 2" overall deficit) and can get a touch that way. The 4" camber is too much for me, I end up dumping at the shoulders if I use it without a block. But man, the camber bench is great for me and after a few months of using it, it's made my other bench press variations more chest dominant. Right now I'm doing camber one day and Larsen press on a second day. No plans to peak my competition style bench, I have my own strength goals for these variations.

[@peliac7319]

What a great video

[@DRod79]

Should elbows be more flared or tucked to emphasize on the chest more

[@Jesnsjsjsiiw1238]

Yay new video!

[@zachdavies5928]

You can also get fat grips to increase your ROM it won’t be as good as the specialty bars but still better than nothing

[@vincent_seeley]

You can also use fat grips to get a little more extra stretch on the chest - credit to Eric Bugenhagen for a cheaper alternative

[@Neiiiiil]

Dropping this video as I’m about to hit chest! Perfect timing

[@Jdl223]

What kind of program are you running for bench right now? Epic incline press

[@cglnarcissist5700]

Another way to increase rom without buying a specialty bar is by adding fatgripz on the normal barbell

[@AlexLeonidas]

That's true, adds a little range! Like a reverse 1/2 board press.

[@mrmarquardsen3047]

Asked this question like 2 weeks ago (U did answer me in the comments) kinda makes this vid feel personal

[@ftratsobudaj3126]

Bro fell in love with bench press after that 405 pr.

[@AlexLeonidas]

I've been a bench bro for many years, my bro! That, plus loving calisthenics.

[@old_lem]

Alex, do you have any videos in your library if you're dealing with tennis elbow and you want to build chest and back? I'm in my 40s and did truck deliveries for a number of years and messed up the elbow joint on my left arm something bad. Any pointers will help. 🙏🏾

[@Dal256]

POV: You unlock 405lbs and Fulam finally reopens.

[@AlexLeonidas]

Legendary comment 😂😂😂

[@ibrahimmajid7400]

Yeaaa we at the home gym

[@umutozer9667]

Alex, will you update the novice program or release something that will be its natural successor?

[@dawgcat3087]

What do you think of Mario Rios?

[@Rakyr]

Is it possible for someone with a smaller ribcage/longer arms by comparison find incline and vertical pressing easier than flat in terms of strength?

[@forhisglory1984]

Can the Bells of Steel arch nemesis bar be used effectively for bent over rows?

[@johny-j2k]

How to get deep stretch with long arms without internally rotating shoulders?

[@charliebartlett5768]

Any tips for unracking a regular decline bench press? Finding the unrack really difficult even when doing sets of 12.

[@AlexLeonidas]

Raise your ass off the bench for the unrack and line up the bar with your mouth!

[@user-we1sv5ud3h]

What exercise would you do if you look shoulder stability when benching?

[@AlexLeonidas]

Expander pull-aparts and inverted cable rows!