Review: Mike Westerdal’s Critical Bench Press Program: Increase Your Bench Press!
How much can YOU bench press?
No matter what your level of lifting experience, I’m sure you’ve heard this question a million times. If you’re a beginner who happens to mention in casual conversation that you’re beginning a weight training program, well…
You can pretty much count the seconds before that question — “how much can you bench press” — comes up. If you’re an intermediate or pro lifter, you can lift your head a little higher for every 100 lbs. over 200 lbs you can bench press. 300 lbs. is impressive. 400 is god-like. 500 lbs? Forget it, you’re a freak! 🙂
You and I both know that the bench press is a pretty good measure of power. Unfortunately, not everybody is that good at it. I have a buddy who’s struggled with the bench press for years (he’s coming along pretty good now!) but he can kick my butt at dumbbell shoulder presses. Unfortunately 100 lbs. dumbbell shoulder presses won’t impress your friends nearly as much as a 350 lbs. bench press. That’s unfortunate, because you and I both know that a 100 lbs shoulder press is pretty impressive.
So what’s the solution?
Why increase your bench press, of course. As you do so, you’ll build pecs of steel, powerful shoulders and huge triceps. It’s all good! Best of all, you can brag to your friends… and back it up in the gym! What a bonus!
In the quest for a greater bench press, enter Mike Westerdal’s Critical Bench program. It’s a no-holds barred, heavy-duty program dedicated to increasing your bench press by 50 lbs in 10 weeks.
This program contains very little fluff — Mike figures you want to get training, not reading. It’s a very concise overview of all the essential elements of a serious body building program. You get…
- a brief introduction
- a quick overview of the program’s theory and organization (variety, progressive overload, high intensity training, rest and recovery, and so on)
- detailed training technique for the bench press, including flat bench, lower 1/2 reps, upper 1/2 reps and burnout sets
- supplemental exercises, and detailed warm-up instructions
- detailed discussions on rest, rep speed, repetition range and the importance of a training partner
- a great discussion on the mental preparation required for the bench press. I’ve started using Mike positive mantra “through the roof” on all my chest lifts now, and it makes a huge difference!
- an overview and discussion on supplementation and the most important supplements
- a complete 10-week training log, customized for your one rep max.
OK, personal comments…
I haven’t tried this program yet… I’m in the midst of a rotator cuff shoulder injury and won’t be training real heavy for a while. However, I have trained in a similar fashion before and I can testify to this — shaking things up, training consistently heavy, and doing negatives and so on — does lead to serious gains in strength. In other words, I have absolutely no doubt this program will increase your bench press significantly.
Who will benefit the most from this? Intermediate and advanced lifters, definitely. Beginners will probably want to hold off on Mike’s program for now. Mike may disagree with me, but I would say that this program requires you to work out with a level of intensity that only comes with some experience in the gym.
Keep in mind that to get the most out of this program, you will need a spotter on a regular basis. Depending on the sort of weight you lift, you may need a couple.
Mike program is available as an attractively formatted PDF booklet. It’s actually fairly short — 31 pages to be exact. Given this, you might balk at the $37 price tag. Four reasons why you shouldn’t…
1. The program is customized for you. When you order, you do not download your e-book right away. You will need to e-mail Mike with your 1-rep maximum, and he will create a customized version of the program for you. And don’t worry… this doesn’t take long. I ordered Critical Bench on a Sunday afternoon, and Mike was back to me within two hours. Kudos for stellar customer service.
Make sure you have a good idea of your 1-rep bench press max before you order. Don’t exaggerate or make one up… you won’t get anything out of the program if you do!
2. Mike provides you with a personal e-mail address with which you can contact him with any questions you might have. This one-on-one consultation is VERY valuable considering Mike’s considerable knowledge and experience.
3. The bonus materials are pretty cool, and they round out the value of this product very nicely (some great stuff here on the heavy duty training secrets of Mike Mentzer!).
And most importantly…
4. This program will increase your bench press!
Bottom line?
You won’t go wrong with Mike’s bench press program. If building a massive chest is important to you, or you want bragging rights to a killer bench press, you’ll want to check out the Critical Bench program right away! Buy it and get to work… you’ll be amazed at the progress you’ll make with a solid program behind you!
You can learn more about Mike Westerdal’s Critical Bench Press Program here!
