THE NFL COMBINE is arguably the best opportunity for pro football prospects to showcase their skills, speed, and strength in front of NFL scouts (and all the fans watching at home). One of the event’s highlights for gauging NFL-ready strength is the 225-pound bench press.
More than 300 athlete will be at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium looking to stand out from their contemporaries—making their offseason workouts to prep for their Combine-specific events especially important.
Performance coach and trainer Travelle Gaines has helped over 50 NFL first-round picks prep for the Combine through his Athletic Gaines program, including top five talents Myles Garrett and Kayvon Thibodeaux. Now, he takes Men’s Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. through the step-by-step process necessary to push out as many bench press reps as possible.
One of the challenging components of the 225-pound bench press is that more goes into this test than just muscle. Lots of muscle and strength-focused guys normally think of bench press success by pushing as much weight as possible in the form of a one-rep max. In the case of the Combine, however, the test involves knocking out as many reps as possible at 225—which turns this strength move into a test of endurance, stability, and even psychological fortitude.
“It’s all mental because, anyone can do good when you’re by yourself,” Gaines says. “When you have the scouts, the GMs, the cameras, everybody’s there. It really comes into play. So you’ve got to lock in everything.”
You can prepare for the 225-pound bench press test using these key drills, whether you’re at the Combine or putting in work at a gym like Max Impact Training in White Plains, New York, where Gaines showed Samuel the ropes.
How to Crush the NFL Combine 225-Pound Bench Press
How to Set Up for a Solid Bench Press
One of the goals of this drill is to remember to lift with intention—and according to Gaines, setting up on the bench is a crucial component. Comfort counts, otherwise an improper or uncomfortable setup can lead to bad form, energy drainage, and eventually missed reps.
Gaines provides a checklist to be aware of when setting up:
Get comfortable with the bench: Whether you typically place your head near the very top of the bench or lower down the pad, it’s up to you. Now’s not the time to make changes to your setup.
Maintain a comfortable hand placement: Long-armed lineman might use a wider grip, while a pint-size punter might prefers a narrower grip. That’s fine; everyone has their own preference. Go with what’s comfortable for you.
Maintain a solid base: This goes for every athlete and lifter. Keep your feet flat and secure on the floor, don’t allow them to start flailing.
Keep your glutes locked on the bench: Remember, if your butt comes off the bench, the rep comes off the board. So it’s important to maintain that connection throughout the lift. “I’ve had guys in the years who thought they did 25 to 30 reps, next thing you know they take away seven of those reps because your butt slightly came off the pad. Make sure you keep a good base with your butt on the pad.
Once your comfortably set up—glutes squeezed, deep breath and full-body tension—engage on focusing on the weight while keeping a consistent pace with the movement. When fatigue hits, Gaines says to switch your focus from continuous reps to a single rep mindset.
3 Exercises to Boost Your 225-Pound Bench Press
Neutral Grip Incline Dumbbell Press – Shoulder Stability
This incline bench press variation will help work on shoulder stability, and by using a neutral grip you’re also working with a more football-specific position. The neutral grip is closer to the hand position players use for blocking or shedding blocks.
“If your hands are ever in [traditional grip position], you’re in trouble—you’re probably holding. But a lot of times when you’re blocking your hands are coming from here. So you’re building power from here which also translates to the field,” Gaines says.
How to Do It:
- Set up on an incline bench, feet flat, butt secure to bench as you hold onto a pair of dumbbells.
- Press both dumbbells up, then perform alternating single-arm reps on each side. Then, perform a double-rep with both arms
- Repeat for three sets of 10 reps.
“You can feel it to the shoulder stability and near the end, but it gets you [fatigued] faster so I get why it works for training,” Samuel says.
Bosu Ball Pushup – Core Strength
Not only are you getting a little of upper body power, you’re also getting a whole lot of core work with the Bosu ball pushup. “It’s just about maintaining that stability enforcing our core to be in control,” Gaines says.
You can increase the degrees of difficulty with this move by placing a small ball on top of the Bosu and don’t let it roll off. You’ll have much more of a stability challenge.
How to Do It:
- Set up in a pushup position—legs shoulder-width apart, toes tucked back and hands placed on handles of Bosu (round side on the floor). Keep your back straight,
- Lower your chest down, then explode back up. Make sure you’re activating your core with each rep.
- Do three sets of 10 reps. You can work these as a superset in between a heavy lift.
Keiser Machine Push Pull – Back Power
This final exercise works both back and rotational strength. You should be generating a lot of force on this move, which will carry over onto the bench press. You want to keep each rep powerful, so using less reps is most optimal for this.
How to Do It:
- Set up in a split squat position.
- Hold one handle in each hand—one will be pulling while the other pushes.
- Push hard and aggressive with one handle while at the same time pulling the opposite toward you.
- Perform eight to 10 reps then switch sides.
- Do these two to three times a week for three sets of eight to 10 reps.
Jeff Tomko is a freelance fitness writer who has written for Muscle and Fitness, Men’s Fitness, and Men’s Health.
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