Increase Strength on the Bench

Negatives

Having trouble breaching that plateau on the benchpress? If you have access to a Smith Machine give negatives a try.

Set up a smith machine with a bench and heavy weight that you can bench maybe twice in a regular fashion. Have your partner do most of the lifting phase and you resist the negative (downward) phase of the lift. Try for a count of 5 before the weight touches down. Use the machines safety stops to prevent the weight from touching your chest.