Explosive Bench Pressing: Power Through Intention
by: Josh Bryant
During my teenage years in Santa Barbara, I manned the front desk at Santa Barbara Gym & Fitness—a hardcore haven for iron addicts. That’s where I met a man we’ll call “Irving”—a former CIA case worker that lived in his van turned gym philosopher with a chip on his shoulder!
His stories were wild: smuggling drugs to spite the agency, accusing the CIA of fueling the crack epidemic, and claiming to have studied with Tibetan monks. He’d share tales of falling in love with hookers overseas, almost staying there because of them, and other times, he’d delve into the Eightfold Path—a total nutbag, a true classic.
I’m not sure if he had the old tinfoil hat on or if I was wearing blinders, but this was greatness, totally classic, like the love child of a Shaolin Temple Monk and Alex Jones. I enjoyed every minute of his entertaining stories, but one thing I took seriously were his lectures on the “Oriental mindset” and the importance of attention to intention.
Once, before a football scrimmage, he even hypnotized me, and I almost killed this poor son of a bitch at practice.
“Irving” often spoke of the “Oriental mindset,” emphasizing balance, focus, and discipline. He believed that aligning one’s attention with intention was crucial for peak performance.
In the gym, this translated to explosive bench pressing. By concentrating fully on each lift and committing to moving the weight as powerfully as possible, one could recruit maximum muscle fibers and enhance strength. “Irving” would say, “Don’t just press; become an explosive bench press. You are explosive power, that is you, you are it.”
His teachings on mental focus and intentionality profoundly impacted my training approach, leading to significant improvements in my performance.
Explosive Bench Pressing: Power Through Intention
When I first started training Al Davis (670 competition raw bench press), I kept telling him to make a conscious effort to explode the weight. By the third session, he had it down. The day after Al performed CAT bench presses, Al text messaged me that his biceps were sore. This is what we are after!
C’mon, sore biceps via explosive bench pressing?
Yes, you read that right! While locking the weight during the bench press, the triceps are the prime mover and the biceps are the opposing muscle acting to prevent elbow hyperextension.
The biceps serve as OSHA for explosive bench presses, regulating safety as they spare the elbow of forces associated with valgus extension overload of the elbows. The problem is, the biceps begin regulating safety way too early and limit force production capabilities. To inhibit this limiting effect, you need to train in a Compensatory Acceleration style.
Bottom line: Sore biceps following bench pressing means you reached a new realm of explosive power.
EXPLODE, EXPLODE, EXPLODE!
Kaz Weighs In
In a conversation with Bill Kazmaier, 20 years ago, about the bench press, Kaz described what he envisioned before bench pressing, “I see a big explosion going off, blowing things up. The same way I will blow the weight up. I lift it up as fast as possible.” Was Kaz arguably the strongest man of all-time because he found a training program that worked for him and had great genetics? Partially, but that’s only part of the scoop.
I believe what really set Kaz apart was his mindset. When Kaz bench pressed, his INTENTION (there’s that word again) was to move the weight as explosively as possible.
Muscle/Movement Intention Contrasted
Bodybuilders talk about muscle intention, meaning, feeling the targeted muscles working. For example, during a bicep curl, you feel the biceps do the work.
I am going to introduce to you a concept I call “movement intention.” This simply means when performing a core barbell movement on the concentric (positive) portion of the rep, you explode as hard as possible.
Make no attempt at selective muscle fiber recruitment; just explode as hard as possible. The ultimate goal is lifting the most weight possible; the only way to do this is simultaneously recruit as many motor units as possible by lifting the weight as explosively as possible! Ten men beat two men in tug of war, and motor units are no different.
Before you go over-analyzing what special exercises you need to use to increase a certain lift, make sure you are employing this concept of movement intention. Then, and only then, will you have the knowledge to know what special exercises will be able to help you.
Bottom line: Mind over matter wins. Before worrying about bands, chains, or special accessory lifts, dial in your movement intention. The goal is simple—move the bar as explosively as possible, recruit every motor unit like you’re pulling in a tug of war with 10 men. Get that mindset right, and you’ll know exactly when and where to add the fancy stuff. Explode first, accessorize second.
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