Using boards to increase your bench press

Most people have absoutely no idea what a bench press board is. Even experienced benchers don't know what a bench press board is and how to use it correctly. Basically, a bench press board is a stack of boards ranging from two boards up to about five or six boards. The boards sit in between you and the bar to limit your range of motion.

Why and how to use a bench press board

The purpose of a bench press board is simple. You want to train a specific range of the bench press motion to help you increase your bench press. The way it works is that you choose the thickness of board you require (usually they range from two board thickness up to five or six board thickness), and get someone to hold the board on your chest while complete the set.


The thickness of board you choose will depend on which part od the bench pressing range of motion you would like to focus on. If you have trouble just off the chest, choose a thin board. If you are having trouble at the top of the movement, choose a thick board. The thicker the board, the lower the range of motion. Everyone has a weak point, use to board to focus on your weak point.

How to perform a bench press using a board

You are going to need two people to help you when using a board. You'll need your usual spotter, and someone to hold the bench press board on your chest. If you *really* can't get a second person, you can put the board under your t-shirt or training vest (I wouldn't recommend it though).

You want to grip the bar with a slightly closer grip than usual. A hands-width it ok (about 3-5 inches). When performing this type of bench, you must have FULL control over the weight and the weight's path. Slowly bring with weight down until it touches the board. Pause when you hit the board, then raise back to your starting position. It's important to pause when the weight hits the board, but DO NOT rest the weight on the board!

Ryan Kennelly using a bench press board

How to make your own bench press board

Making your own bench press board it easy, and it wont cost you much! I'll show you how to make three bench press boards of varying thicknesses. OK, Go down to your local hardware store and buy eight pieces of timber that with these measurements: 6in wide, 1.5in thick and about 30in long. You need to keep three pieces of timber at 30in (for the bottom of the bench press boards) and the rest can be cut in half (the hardware store can do this for you).

Now, when you get home should have three pieces of timber at 30in long and whole lot of piences at 15in long. We are going to make three bench press boards. Their heights will be 3in, 6in and 9in. To fasten the boards together you will need some nails or strong wood glue.

To make the 3in bench board you need to attach one piece on the 15in timber to one of the pieces of 30in timber. And that's it, done! Now to make the 6in board attach three 15in pieces to a 30in piece, and finally to make the 9in board attach 5 pieces of 15in timber to the 30in board. You should have 1 piece of 15in timber left over.

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