Beyond the Bench Press

By Andrew Freund

Motlow Buzz Contributing Writer

        When I started working out in the gym, I'd go straight to the bench press to lift weights. However, over time I saw slow progression in strength and appearance. I had to find more lifts to work my chest and allow it to grow. Once I found and learned more lifts, I saw results. I use those learned and researched lifts today to teach members at the YMCA in the correct forms and lifts to work.

     “It’s consistency. Stay with it. You must do this day in, and out. It becomes a lifestyle,” said Jay Cutler, a prominent bodybuilder. 

While upper body lifts take over Cutler’s life at the gym, we find that many other people are also going to the gym to work their upper body. Exercisers are excited to get to the bench press and hit out a couple sets. But there's is a lot more to bodybuilding than that.

Many new lifters come into the gym not knowing where to start, so they just go to the bench. However, to gain the best muscle, a variety of lifts is the best way. There are many different lifts that help work out your upper body, including push-ups, incline's, dips and even flyes.  

The first workout I want to talk about is doing push-ups. Push-ups are an exercise in which a person lies facing the floor and, keeping their back straight, raises his or her body by pressing down on the hands. Push-ups are a great workout to use when you don’t have any weights or a gym because you can do them anywhere. Also, push-ups are a great way to build muscle for a new lifter. Several muscle groups in the chest, arms, shoulder's, triceps, back and neck work simultaneously during a push-up. Even though it is a basic strength exercise, it is a good workout. 

Nerd Fitness provided these helpful steps, and has more in detail: https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/proper-push-up

The next lift I want to introduce to you are dips. Dips are another great lift to put into your upper body workout routine. To get yourself into the starting position, hold your body at arm’s length above the bars. While breathing in, lower yourself slowly with your torso leaning forward around 30 degrees or so and your elbows out slightly until you feel a slight stretch in the chest. 

Dips work the pecs while stretching helping the flexibility of the shoulder. They involve your own body weight. This is a way to build your chest while warming up your shoulders at the same time. This lift is best early in your workout. 

Stronglifts gave great information about dips, and has further information in detail: https://stronglifts.com/dips/#gref

The next lift is the incline dumbbell press. This more advanced lift involves weights. To get started, set an adjustable bench to an incline of 30 to 45 degrees. Lie on your back on the bench and hold a pair of dumbbells directly above your shoulders with your arms fully extended, then lower both dumbbells to the sides of your chest. That’s on rep. 

This lift works for the same muscle groups as a flat bench would. It's great if you’re on your own and can't find a spot. If you can’t get the weight up, you can move your arms to the side and drop it.  However, spotters should be mandatory for all weighted lifts to ensure safety. The incline puts more of a workout on your upper chest than a flat bench would, giving you another lift to add to your workout. 

BodyBuilding is a great site to look more into dumbbell bench pressing: https://stronglifts.com/dips/#gref

The last lift we are going to talk about flyes. Flyes are something I don’t see a lot in the gym, but they are a very valuable lift. Lie down on a flat bench with a dumbbell on each hand resting on top of your thighs. Then use your thighs to help raise the dumbbells. Lift the dumbbells one at a time so you can hold them in front of you at shoulder width with the palms of your hands facing each other. With a slight bend on your elbows in order to prevent stress at the biceps, lower your arms out at both sides in a wide arc until you feel a stretch on your chest.

Flyes isolate your chest and give a good stretch. They are an awesome exercise even for growth. They break down a lot of fibers when done properly. Flyes are a motion that can be awkward at the start and take some getting used to. Most gyms have a fly machine that also can be used.

Coachmag provided these helpful steps: http://www.coachmag.co.uk/dumbbell-exercises/6709/how-to-do-the-chest-building-dumbbell-flye

All these lifts are great to help build the upper body. There are many more lifts that can also be thrown into a workout depending on what you are looking to do. These lifts all work the chest and shoulders. The bench is not a bad lift at all. I just feel people need to branch out and focus on other lifts to build strength and flexibility in the muscles. 

Once the exercises begin to be too easy, it is important to increase the intensity in order to see results. You can do this through several methods. First, you can change how you’re doing the lift by alternating the weights. If it has dumbbells or if it is a body lift, you can hold every rep for five seconds. Second, you can raise the weight you are using in the lift. If you are doing a body lift, you can put weight on your back or waist. Lastly, you can work one arm at a time. 

There are many more upper body lifts, but these are a few I wanted to share with you. I hope this helped you out or got you wanting to learn more about upper body workouts and lifts. Try these lifts out and let me know if you enjoyed them. If I can do it, you can do it also!