🏋️ these 5 chest workouts can boost your bench press

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Whether you plan to compete in an official competition or just want to improve your bench press, these powerlifting chest workouts should be on your radar.

Four-time World's Strongest Man Brian Shaw is calling it a career in 2023, and now we know when his final contest will take place.

Arnold Schwarzenegger shared some exclusive insights with BarBend about the World's Strongest Firefighter competition at this weekend's Arnold Sports Festival.

Workouts

Bring Power to Your Bench

If a bigger pair of pecs is the apple of your eye, you can perform endless chest exercises to reach your goal. But if your goal is to become a competitive powerlifter, your main focus should be the bench press, one of the three competitive lifts in a powerlifting meet. That's not to say dumbbell flyes and single-arm presses are forbidden, but all roads must point to the bench.

There are a variety of powerlifting chest workouts that, depending on where you are in your training, can target different goals. Whether you've hit a plateau, need to refine your pressing technique, or want to gain size — there's a powerlifting-focused workout for you. Keep reading for five specific workouts, and then get ready to embrace the strength gains.

Strongman

Shaw's Last Dance

The 2023 Shaw Classic has officially been announced for August 19-20. With that bit of news came the release of the stacked roster of elite strongmen competing in the fourth edition of the contest, including Trey Mitchell, Mitchell Hooper, Oleksii Novikov, and more.

But that's only part of the story: On February 27, the show's namesake, Brian Shaw, announced that this will be the last strongman event he ever competes in. We already knew that the four-time World's Strongest Man would be hanging it up in 2023, and now we know exactly when his storied career will come to an end.

2023 Arnold Sports Festival Preview

Schwarzenegger Chimes In

In 2019, the World's Strongest Firefighter (WSFF) competition joined the ever-growing list of fitness contests held under the Arnold Sports Festival umbrella. And the WSFF returns this weekend at the 2023 Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, complete with a powerful roster of men and women representing their fire departments across five events. We reached out to Arnold Schwarzenegger himself to get more information on this unique competition.

​​"Firefighters and all first responders are true action heroes," Schwarzenegger wrote to BarBend in an email. "We started this competition to give them a place to show everyone their strength, their power, and their endurance [...] They are selfless public servants keeping us safe without a spotlight all year, and I am so happy to host this amazing competition for them and put them on a pedestal like they deserve."

Learn more about the events these athletes will compete in, along with information about the new women's division.

Everything Else

A CrossFit Star Hangs It Up

• One of CrossFit's modern-era greats, Kristi O'Connell, recently announced that she was closing the book on her stellar nine-year career in the sport.

• The yoke walk is one of the most iconic lifts in all of strongman. Here's a guide on doing it the right way.

• Seven-time Mr. Olympia Phil Heath was recently spotted looking nearly stage-ready while working out. Could a bodybuilding comeback be in the works?