@madscientistofmuscle: THIS is what got me over 300 lbs on my bench press...lockout partials (that was 30+ years ago). Now to be clear, I'm nowhere near 300 on bench press now (could likely hit 250 or so but I rarely do flat barbell bench these days) but back when I was in my 20's, one of my big goals was get a 315 bench. I got stuck at 295 lbs for several months and was getting frustrated. Then I read an article on partial training for connective tissue strength. Basically, the idea was that if your connective tissue is not strong enough to handle a load, your body will inhibit your muscles from moving that load in order to protect itself from injury. In other words, having weak connective tissue essentially puts the brakes on your strength gains. Being "assisted" (if you know what I mean) kind of short circuits that feedback, unfortunately, which is why guys who are "assisted" often get injured due to their muscles getting stronger so much faster than their connective tissue. Then something's gotta give. After using lockout presses once a week for about 6 weeks (in conjunction with full-range training), I went back and tested my bench and NAILED 315 lbs. I would do 4 sets total... 3-4 reps each set (at least 3 minutes rest), gradually progressing the weight up as I felt I could. I eventually got to the point where I could do lockouts with 585 lbs (I show that in the last part of the video - shot in 2008). You'll notice in this video, I have the bar up against the uprights of the rack. I like this better for partials now in order to stabilize the load in at least one plane. I find it gives me better control and feels better on my chest and shoulders (not wrong to not do that, though). The Smith machine is actually very well suited to partial training because of how it stabilizes the bar. DO NOT do partials outside of a rack or Smith with stops set up. I hope that's obvious. --- Want to build your bench press fast ? Give me 3 weeks... Link in bio #benchpress #partialbenchpress #lockoutpartials #strengthtraining #barbellbench

Nick Nilsson

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Sunday 31 May 2026 18:48:00 GMT