Tip: Do This BEFORE Benching & You'll Lift Heavier Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip Do This BEFORE Benching & You ll Lift Heavier Prime your nervous system before bench pressing to unlock your strength potential Here' s how by Dr John Rusin April 12, 2017November 11, 2021 Tags Bench Press, Powerlifting & Strength, Tips, Training You're only as strong as your nervous system allows you to be. Explosive exercises and plyometrics are central nervous system (CNS) primers. When programmed strategically, they can unlock your power and strength potential in the big lifts. The Bench Press Primer Before bench pressing, do this explosive CNS primer superset. Pair the "seal jack" with an explosive medball press. It'll activate postural stabilizers of the core, hips, and shoulders AND trigger the type of heightened neurological state that produces powerful, pain-free presses. Twitchy Seal Jack Explosive Medball Press A1. Twitchy seal jack, 3-5 reps A2. Explosive bentover medball press, 3-5 reps Do 2-3 total supersets with 30-45 seconds rest between bouts. How to Do It The jack is a game changer for your performance. Don't overlook it because of its old-school PE class history. It's a safe and effective preparatory movement you can do anywhere. For the horizontal press, using the seal jack variation (arms in front of the body) is better because it moves the shoulders in and out of an end-range stretch. This slight stretch revs up the nervous system, especially when executed fast and with precision. Start with your arms elevated up so they're about parallel to the ground with your palms facing one another and your thumbs up. Explosively complete 3-5 seal jacks, really focusing on moving in and out of that end range quickly and changing direction as fast as possible at the shoulders. These are about quality, not quantity. After a few twitchy reps of seal jacks, move directly into the medball press. Using a lighter medicine ball between 6-12 pounds, hinge at the hips with a neutral spine and engage the glutes and core to stabilize. You'll be exploding the ball into the ground as hard and fast as you possibly can for 3-5 reps. Try to press with rhythm on these to elicit a heavy neural response that happens with quick repeat bouts. Keeping the total reps low and the quality high, shoot for 2-3 supersets with 3-5 reps of seal jacks and another 3-5 reps of medball presses, then hit the bench. You'll enjoy the carryover to explosive performance. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training The Shut Up Program A simple workout plan for size and strength. Nothing fancy, just fast results. Bodybuilding, Powerlifting & Strength, Training Tim Henriques February 19 Training Tip Decline Kettlebell Pullover Use kettlebells and a decline bench for your pullovers to increase tension and range of motion. Back, Bodybuilding, Chest, Exercise Coaching, Tips Joel Seedman, PhD September 16 Training Tip 3 Steps to Preventing Wrist Pain Heavy pressing can wreck your wrists. Here's how to avoid that. Training TJ Kuster October 24 Training How to Develop an Adonis Belt Here's how to build the sexiest muscle there is. Abs, Tips, Training TC Luoma October 7