Fitness Tips to Help You Get Big

18 Exercise Upgrades for More Muscle

A few simple changes could revolutionize your muscle-building routine
By Rachel Cosgrove, C.S.C.S. menshealth
 

Bench Press

What You're Doing Wrong
You're thinking only about pushing the bar up from your chest.

Perfect Your Form
"Every time you lower the weight, squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull the bar to your chest," says Craig Rasmussen, C.S.C.S., a fitness coach at Results Fitness in Santa Clarita, California. This will help you build up energy in your upper body so that you can press the bar up with more force.

"As you pull the weight down, lift your chest to meet the barbell," Rasmussen says. "This will aid your efforts to create a springlike effect when you start to push the bar back up."

"When you press the weight, try to bend the bar with your hands," says Pavel Tsatsouline, a fitness expert and the author of Enter the Kettlebell! The benefit: You'll activate more muscle fibers in your lats and move the bar in a stronger and safer path for your shoulders.

The ultimate chest warmup

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