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If you’re ready to build bigger, stronger chest muscles, Charles Glass has a simple fix that can supercharge your gains.
Glass has been deemed “the Godfather of Bodybuilding,” with over 40 years training top athletes and actors, including Dwayne Johnson and Hulk Hogan.
There’s nothing too fancy about his preferred bench press method, but the simple fix will change your game. All it requires is placing a pad under your back to slightly mimic the arch, which helps you engage your chest muscles more effectively and lift with better form.
“It keeps the chest up in a proper position. That way, when you press, more of the contraction starts,” Glass says. “Why? It almost mimics a decline.”
It’s important to note, using a pad under your back doesn’t fully replace a proper arch, but it helpsmimic the position. Other form tips to watch for include keeping your feet flat and your shoulder blades pinned back.
If he could do only one exercise only for chest, Glass says it would be a decline bench because it hits the whole chest, working from the bottom to the top. Decline bench press hits the lower pecs most directly, but it also recruits the mid and upper chest fibers.
In the video, he shows a demo of a client performing the bench press with a pad under his back. And the client definitely put the work in.
“I cannot explain to you guys the tension that I’m feeling across that chest. As soon as that bar came on to the chest itself, my chest just opened up because my head is back in that position,” the client says.
Related: Add 15 Pounds to Your Bench Press