The Five-Pound Burial Effect
A feature that some most female lifters have in common is that we can seamlessly rep out a clean set of 5+ reps on the bench… then add five pounds to the bar and get buried on rep one.
This phenomenon is somewhat expected considering that we carry less upper body mass than men, and muscular gains come slowly.
While we keep lifting and patiently wait, we can also work on neural aspects of strength affecting brain-to-body coordination, tightness, and how hard/fast our muscles fire.
About These Techniques
These techniques are meant to be used as add-ons to a decent bench program. While I wouldn’t quite call them ‘last resort’, they probably do not need to be a first resort, either.
If you have already built your base, have tried increasing bench frequency and/or upper body work volume, have great technique, and are slowly coaxing along whatever muscle gains that you can muster, then read on.
1. Reactive Neuromuscular Training Method
Reactive neuromuscular training (RNT) is a corrective strategy that improves movement patterning and quality. It facilitates motor learning by using a resistance band to pull you into a compensatory pattern, causing your body to react in the opposite direction with the desired pattern. In this case, the pattern in question would be a relaxed bench setup.
RNT Bench Press for Stability
Stability through the upper back gives us a strong base to bench from while keeping our shoulders happy.
Using the RNT method for bench, a resistance band tries to pull you out of your stable position. To fight this, the ‘bra strap back fat region’ (for lack of a better relatable term) should light up and contract hard. Here is how to do it:
- Set up to bench press in a cage.
- Attach a long, light band to the horizontal bar at the top of the squat rack (on the back side of the cage).
- Loop the other end of the band around the middle of the barbell.
- Roll your shoulders back, and pull them down.
- Unrack the bar. Go slow. This might feel shaky at first.
- Stabilize the weight.
- Bench press.
If you are going to do a standard bench press after this drill, be careful when unracking the weight – it tends to fly forward.
RNT Floor Press Alternative
If you do not have a cage or are unable to set up a station for this, then you can still perform RNT presses by looping a band around a bar or a sturdy dowel, securing it to a rack or immovable object and performing floor presses with it. I actually prefer the floor version as it is less of a hassle to set up. You can experiment with a straight-leg, a bent knee, or a hip bridge position. Be sure to also focus on the unrack portion by feeling for a ‘dumbbell pullover’ effect when you are getting the bar into position.
RNT Bench Press for Full Body Tension
We need to create full-body tension with no energy leaks. It’s important to understand that the bench press is not just a chest exercise. It is a full body lift. A good way to nail this is by focusing on the tension in your quads and butt.
I learned this trick from a brilliant female strength coach and training journal buddy. You’ll need a weight belt for this one and a long band.
- Put a weight belt on, loosely.
- Loop a long band over the front of the belt and attach each end under the arch of each foot. (See photo above).
- Enjoy walking around like a moon man for a moment or two. Then, get on the bench.
- Roll your shoulders back, and pull them down.
- Drive your feet outward against the bands, engaging your glutes.
- Unrack the bar.
- Stabilize the weight.
- Bench press.
RNT techniques work for all training levels and can be used in warm-ups, as a separate drill session, or as a daily ‘grease the groove’ strategy to hardwire a strong setup.
2. Heavy Singles
Frequent, heavy singles can help to increase the bench press and might provide a more palatable buffer zone for the burial effect. Heavy singles can be great for certain women in nearly every phase of training. They really help us to get everything firing hard, and just aren’t particularly taxing for most of us.
Note that these singles aren’t supposed to be all out grinders, and shouldn’t be preceded by any emotional psyching up. Just perform a calm, heavy single that you can do perfectly and stress-free. You can decide if you’d prefer to add this to the end of the workout, or before your work sets.
Over time, you will find that you grip the bar a little harder, your setup gets tighter, your bench press packs more punch and the weight feels lighter.
The Chernishev Bench program encompasses all of this, incorporating a decent amount of volume alongside a heavy daily single. A ‘max then back off’ programming strategy can work well, too, or anything where you can frequently get a heavy weight in your hand and crush it without much struggle.
Heavy singles are appropriate for intermediate and advanced trainees.
3. Static Holds and Partials
Well-placed ego lifting has its place for more advanced women who struggle on the bench.
Heavy lifting desensitizes the golgi tendon organs (GTOs), which are protective sense organs that receive information from your tendons about changes in muscle tension. Even though you are only doing a partial movement or hold, the golgi tendon organs sense tension similarly to how they would perceive the full range of motion. This convinces your nervous system that you can handle the weight, rather than sense danger and shut you down.
This is not for beginners. You should have a significant base of muscle mass and be very technically proficient before considering this technique.
For some lifters, working with partials and heavy holds can increase poundages very quickly.
To do a heavy hold, start with a weight that is close to your max. Unrack it and hold for 10-15 seconds. Eventually, progress to unracking a weight that is 10-20% over your max.
These can be used sparingly as they are a bit more taxing than the singles. Just one or two per session will do the trick, used during periods where you’d like an extra boost. If it feels at all wobbly, then lower the weight and do not progress until it feels more stable. In addition to getting all cylinders firing, you will build confidence under the bar.
If it feels really solid and you are suddenly brimming with confidence about moving the weight (great feeling!), then go ahead and test the waters with a very short partial. Unlock the elbows just by an inch or two and press the weight. Make sure you have safeties set up or a competent spotter in place.
Final Thoughts
Upper body gains don’t come easy to most women, and anything over a bodyweight bench is not typically just going to fall into their lap.
Standard novice training protocols should suffice in the beginning stages. Beyond that, I do think that some women might need to resort to opening a bag of bench press tricks earlier than others, and the exact same protocols that work for men might not always be ideal for us.
Building up strength with moderate loads and repetitions is a standard practice that will never get old, but sometimes it can be more efficient to pound on the ceiling at the same time.