I wanted to get this list out and circulating before the next weekly celebration of National Bench Press Monday (please re-read the that one more time, but this time with a thick layer of sarcasm). Anyway, I've actually got two lists today, the first one is a comprehensive list of bench press variations from Siff's Supertraining. But, since we don't do a heck of a lot of "bench pressing" with our SAPT athletes, I thought it made sense to come up with a complimentary list of Push-up variations like we use at SAPT. Enjoy.
40 Bench Press Variations to Spice Up Your Mondays:
- Snatch grip bench press (BB)
- Narrow grip bench press
- Jerk grip bench press
- Hands touching bench press
- Bench Press, starting at rest from chest (different grip spacings)
- Bench Press, with bounce at bottom, very lightly touching chest
- Bench Press, slow down, fast up
- Slow down, slow up Bench Press
- Fast down, fast up Bench Press
- Bench Press to lower part of chest
- Bench Press to mid chest
- Bench Press to clavicles
- Reverse grip Bench Press
- Thumbless grip Bench Press
- Bench Press, elbows close to body, arms rotated laterally (all variations)
- Bench Press, elbows rotated away from body, arms rotated medially (all variations)
- Bench Press, limited range between set points on power rack
- Bench Press, isometric, pressing against bar fixed at selected point
- Bench Press, driving up to stops on power rack, then pressing isometrically
- Bench Press, forced reps wit partner helping at sticking point
- Eccentric only Bench Press (raised by partner)
- Bench Press, continuous reps without rest at top or bottom
- Bench Press, replacing bar on rack between each repetition
- Concentric only Bench Press (lowered by partner)
- Bench Press, feet on bench (all variations)
- Bench Press, from different starting points off of boards
- Bench Press, load release at selected point
- Bench Press, plyometric thrust at given point against light load
- Conventional machine Bench Press (all variations)
- Bench Press, using variable resistance machine
- Bench Press, holding at different stages on way up or down or both
- Dumbbell Bench Press (above variations)
- DB Bench Press, rotating DB's on the way up and down
- Seated Chest Press machine (all variations)
- Decline Bench Press (all variations)
- Incline Bench Press (all variations)
- Bench Press with firm sponge (foam) on chest
- Bench Press with attached chains or bands
- Oscillating Bench Press, elbows slightly bent
- Bench Press held at given level, partner pushes down with oscillating thrusts
From this list you can actually extract at least 160 total pressing variations. I'm not suggesting these are all "good" variations. But they are all variations!
40 Push-up Variations to Spice Up Your Entire Week:
- Snatch grip Push-up (very wide hand placement)
- Narrow grip Push-up
- Jerk grip Push-up
- Hands touching Push-up
- Push-up, starting at rest from floor (different grip spacings)
- Push-up, with bounce off back & triceps at end of motion
- Push-up, slow down, fast up
- Slow down, slow up Push-up
- Fast down, fast up Push-up
- Push-up to very low part of chest (hands placed low)
- Push-up to mid chest
- Push-up to clavicles
- Push-up to sandbag or low box walkover
- Push-up with one hand on medicine ball
- Push-up, elbows close to body, arms rotated laterally (all variations)
- Push-up, elbows rotated away from body, arms rotated medially (all variations)
- Push-up with both hands on medicine ball
- Push-up, isometric, holding position at selected point
- Push-up, driving up to stop from partner, then pressing isometrically
- Push-up, forced reps wit partner helping at sticking point
- Eccentric only Push-up (SAPT uses these all the time)
- Push-up, continuous reps without rest at top or bottom (Steve just wrote a post about this)
- Push-up, resting briefly between each repetition (most likely with weight on back)
- Concentric only Push-up (start from laying on floor)
- Push-up, feet on bench (all variations)
- Push-up, from different starting points off of boards or sandbags
- Push-up with crawl variation between clusters of repetitions
- Push-up, plyometric thrust (clap variations, usually)
- Depletion Push-up, 3 sets max push-ups each followed by :90 rest
- Push-up, using chains laid over back
- Push-up, holding at different stages on way up or down or both
- Single arm Push-up (above variations)
- DB Bench Press, rotating DB's on the way up and down
- Staggered hand position Push-up
- Hands elevated Push-up (all variations & can be weighted)
- Depth drop Push-up
- Push-up, plyometric effort to land on low sandbag or box
- Push-up with attached bands
- Oscillating Push-up, elbows slightly bent
- Push-up held at given level, partner pushes down with oscillating thrust
Since we can actually post and SEE comments now, please feel free to add some bench press or push-up variations that I may have missed!
Sarah