Best Accessory Lifts for Bench Press
If your bench press isn’t going up, it’s probably not because you need another “advanced program”. It’s usually because the muscles doing the work… aren’t doing enough of it.
You don’t need more exercises. You need the right ones.
It goes without saying that to improve on your bench press, you must bench press. But you can’t do 10 sets every session and expect great results.
In this article I’m going to breakdown what exercises you can do to help increase you bench press.
Chest (Getting the Bar Off Your Chest)
This is where the lift starts. If you fail your lift off your chest - this is your issue. Make sure you get some volume in using one of the below exercises.
Incline Dumbbell Press
Builds upper chest and front delts
Improves strength in the bottom half of the lift
Dumbbells force you to control the weight
👉 One of the best carryover exercises to bench. Hard to mess up and much less fatiguing.
Dips
Trains the chest through a deep stretch
Builds pressing strength in a similar pattern
Adds size, which usually helps everything
👉 Lean forward slightly to emphasise the load on the chest.
Triceps (Finishing the Lift)
If the bar moves… and then just stops halfway up like it’s lost interest — this is your problem.
Close Grip Bench Press
Direct carryover to your main lift
Trains the same movement, just more triceps
Builds lockout strength
👉 One of the highest return exercises you can do. Go shoulder width to even a bit narrower if you can.
Tricep Pushdowns
Isolates the triceps without exhausting you
Easy to add volume and progress
Builds size, which helps strength
👉 Way less fatiguing and isolates the triceps, always a gym bros go to… if the cable machine is free.
Shoulders (Keeping It Under Control)
Having strong shoulders are underrated for the bench press. They are great for the stability of the lift. Adding some vertical pressing movements into your program can help a lot since it works on your pressing strength whilst giving the chest a bit of a break.
Overhead Press
Why it works:
Builds overall pressing strength
Strengthens front delts
Improves stability
👉 You can do this with dumbbells, a barbell, a machine, seated or standing. Whichever you prefer.
Back (The Bit Everyone Ignores)
Your back doesn’t press the bar. But without it, your bench looks like a shopping trolley with a broken wheel. Grow your back to give a strong base for your lift.
Chest Supported Rows
Builds upper back without frying your lower back
Improves stability and control
Helps you stay tight on the bench
👉 You can also do barbell rows if you like, however a chest supported row allows you to load the lift a bit more, taking the stability aspect out of it.
Pull-Ups / Lat Pulldowns
Strengthens your lats
Helps control the bar path
Balances out all the pressing
👉 Pull-ups are amazing. Although not everyone can do them. If that’s you, get stronger on the lat pulldown machine.
When to Use These
Always hit your accessories after your bench press.
If you’re serious about building bigger bench, choose 1 from each muscle group and add them to your program. They don’t have to be done on the same session, just fit them into your weekly routine.
Stay consistent with them and watch your strength increase.
What Should I Prioritise?
First of all, if you are benching once per week, try twice per week. That will give you the most bang for your buck, but it isn’t always possible if you’re training twice a week on consecutive days.
After the bench press itself, I would say to prioritise the chest and tricep accessories.
Final Takeaway
Be consistent with your bench press
Add these accessories (prioritising chest and triceps)
…and your bench press will stop pretending it’s stuck.
If you’re still not confident and need some guidance, shoot me a message below ⬇️
