In Week 3 (part 2) of our Arise Physical Therapy Bench series, Kelsey describes the final three accessory exercises. As you'll remember from last week, relying solely on the bench press can lead to injury. Read last weeks to find out more about the benefits of accessory exercises. This week, you will hear Kelsey talk about Lats, tempo and stability. Each exercise this week focuses on one of these three aspects. Developing each aspect will help you to strengthen your Bench Press and become the absolute unit that you were meant to be. First Exercise In this exercise, Kelsey uses a medium to heavy resistance band which is wrapped around a pole. Standing straight, shoulders down she pulls the band with both hands down to her sides ensuring her arms stay straight. This will help strengthen your Lats and is a great accessory exercise to complete prior to benching. Bands help to activate more muscle fibers and can lead to greater gains in strength and muscle mass. Second Exercise Here Kelsey asks us to focus on tempo and pauses during our bench. She describe three options which involve; - slowing the tempo of our bench on the way down while maintaining normal speed on the way up - slowing the tempo of our bench on the way down and up - and pausing at the bottom of the bench for a few seconds Each of these accessory exercises force your body to take the load of the barbell. By slowing down the movement and pausing at the bottom of the lift, you increase the time under tension for your muscles, which can lead to greater gains in muscle size and strength. This can also help to reduce the risk of injury by minimizing momentum and forcing you to rely more on muscle control. Third Exercise Kelsey re-introduces the earthquake bar, adding instability to our accessory exercises. If you don't have an earthquake, you can also add a resistance band to each side of a barbell and hang kettlebells from the bands. Kelsey stresses the importance of reducing the weight while using a barbell. Using an earthquake bar can challenge your muscles in new ways and develop greater strength and stability throughout your upper body.
You can watch Kelsey demonstrate how to complete these exercises below.
Do you feel pain and discomfort after you bench? Then come down and see us in the clinic. You can CLICK HERE to book an evaluation with us. Or, for some short instructional videos, follow our Instagram page byCLICKING HERE
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