2025 Arnold Strongman Classic runner-up and two-time America’s Strongest Man, Lucas Hatton, is amid his quest to rebuild his bench press to prepare for the 2025 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) contest, held from May 15-18, 2025, in Sacramento, CA.
Hatton’s first bench press session in years covered warm-up stretching, tips from a master bench presser, and two cues for a lifter aiming to press heavy.
[Related: Planks Suck; Ab Rollouts Are Better — 5 Exercises You Should Replace for Good]
Preparing the Shoulder Complex
Band reach-aways are Hatton’s go-to warm-up for shoulders, notoriously complex joints. (1) His coach, Alec Jose, explained:
There’s more mixture of type one and type two fiber tissue within the shoulder than any other part of the body.
—Alec Jose
Extending the arms behind the body helps mobilize and create space in the pecs and delts for optimal pressing motion, while stretching the biceps.
Don’t pull on the band; let it pull away from your joint. It’s a lot of bang for your buck.
—Alex Jose
The Bench Press Rebuild
Hatton utilized the curved Swiss bar with a neutral grip to tune his mind-muscle connection, improve his range of motion, and expand his stretch for better external rotation.
Hatton’s tightness prevented his shoulders from fully contacting the bench, which helps produce arch and stability for the press. Jose’s bench cues are:
- Pack the Scap — retract the shoulder blades
- Reach With Your Sternum — keep the chest lifted
The session’s focal point was maintaining “sternum reach.” Sternum reach deepens eccentrics, keeping the stimulus on the pecs.
[Related: A Step-by-Step Bench Press Guide From One of Strongman’s Top Coaches]
Mobility Challenges & Hidden Techniques
Hatton struggles with mobility issues in the axle overhead press, a 2025 WSM event, and cannot lean back for stability.
Jose explained two options for a successful medley performance. Upon front-racking the bar, either “let go and catch” it or lean back to lift it higher up the chest and “press through…as an emergency backup.”
Hatton practiced a secret barbell technique he described as “fast and fun” that he’ll reveal during warm-ups at WSM. “I think some guys will copy me, and I don’t want that.”
More Strongman Content
- World’s Strongest Man Makes Significant Changes
- Eddie Hall Defeats Mariusz Pudzianowski in MMA Bout by TKO
- The World’s Strongest Man’s Q&A Before Defending the Title
References
- Lovering RM, Russ DW. Fiber type composition of cadaveric human rotator cuff muscles. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2008 Nov;38(11):674-80. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2008.2878. PMID: 18978449; PMCID: PMC3524586.
Featured image: @lucas.hatton on Instagram
