Benefits of Adding Bands to Barbell Exercises “Adding bands to standard lifts, such as the bench press, works to aid in two important principles,” say Chris Clough, an elite personal trainer.

The extra pull from the resistance bands made me perform the bench press in a way that really made my pecs burn by the end of the sets. The caveat of the Nilsson press is that you need proper home ...

That means you’re activating even more muscles while getting the same benefits as the bench press. Here’s how to do it: Grab a continuous-loop resistance band.

Resistance bands (Men's Health set, £30, argos.co.uk) maintain tension throughout each rep, meaning no locking out your elbows for a quick breather, and they end rotation rotas with bench hogs.

There is no need to hang bands from every bar you lift. I recommend using the squat and any press. It could be a shoulder press as featured or a bench press or even an incline press.

Press knuckles and arms straight out, like you're doing a standing bench press. Return to start. Standing Row Attach band at chest height on door. Stand facing door.

A resistance band gives you a great way to do them, though: lay on your belly and anchor the band to a rack or a heavy kettlebell around floor height. You can do the move with one leg at a time or ...

How heavy should weights be for bench pressing? For absolute beginners, starting with 5-pound or 10-pound dumbbells is a good way to get comfortable with the bench press movement.

The bench press is such a sought-after piece of gym equipment because the workout produces the kind of results bodybuilders are after, it's a straightforward exercise that's easy to do and because ...