Joliver
E-Fighter Extraordinaire
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If you are having problems with your bench, it could be a technical issue. It could also be that you aren't strong enough to press the weight, but play my game here....lets assume it is a technical issue.
Technical issues seem to be the toughest to understand for most guys, but it is the easiest fix. You can sit down with a good PL bencher and he will pack pounds onto your bench with his knowledge--no gained strength--just a conversation. So lets talk about it.
Problem number 1: People don't know what it means to set up and get tight. The bench press is a full body lift. If you don't believe it, your opinion doesn't matter because you are a shitty bencher. This isn't bodybuilding and focusing on isolating the "benching muscles" isn't a goal. Back to the full body lift thing. How is it a full body lift? Its called kinetic linking.
What is kinetic linking?
It is when you are tight enough on the bench that power application in a particular direction transfers the force up your rigid frame into the bar that has just touched your chest. Translation: You push with the "dug in" heels of your feet driving your arch up, and your upper back and shoulders into the bench as you press the weight. If you don't have leg drive, or don't use it, you are leaving serious pounds on the table.
How do I get tight?
Well, the simplest way to tell you how to do it is like this: Lie down on the bench and put your feet on it to create a wrestler's bridge (like you see Steelers4life doing to set up). Pull your shoulders back. Your foundation to press should be your upper traps. Arched back (not hyper-arched--back cramp will get you if you do), butt firmly on the bench, and feet firmly on the floor. Nothing should move. There shouldn't be anything loose when you prepare to bench.
Your set up should be uncomfortable. It shouldn't feel good or natural. If you ask me to set up 10 consecutive times for a PR bench, I would be sweating like hell. My coach used to come up to me and knock the hell out of my legs to see if I moved after I was set up.
Problem #2: Your active bench technique is garbage. This is not a bodybuilding movement!!! I am going to lay out a few steps at the for benching that would most likely help anyone. They still help me today.
1) From the start to the finish of the bench, you must squeeze the bar tightly.
2) Do not push up on the bar to take it out of the rack. Use a spotter to carry it out to you, and use your lats to pull it like you would a dumbbell pullover. Never push up. You will blow your set up. You cannot re-set after you break. You may as well put the weight back in the rack.
3) Once the weight is unracked, let it settle for a second in your hand. Eliminate bar inertia--DON'T FIGHT THE BAR'S MOMENTUM ON THE WAY DOWN. If you do, enjoy your shoulders for today...they won't be there tomorrow. Plus, you will be out of your groove, and most likely miss the lift anyway. Let the bar settle.
4) Do not flare your elbows like a bodybuilding press. You aren't trying to build your pecs. Moderately tuck you elbows. How much? I can't tell you that because I don't know the length of your humerus bone.
5) Know where the force is coming from and keep the bar in that line. Your force will be transmitted through the elbow up the forearm into the wrist and hand. Keep the wrist in line with the elbow. Less joint will be cushioning your force transmission (this is the same reason you don't want soft soled shoes in the squat or DL). This takes a lot of practice. I bet I can search videos of the best benchers around and see them violating this rule. They all know it and admit it. If they still fight the tendency to get out of line...you will have to as well. It also protects the wrist once you get into the big weights.
6) Lower the bar with your lats. If you don't know how to do this, there is no way for me to explain it other than telling you to do it. You should always be training your lats in the same plane as your bench anyway, so this should be second nature to you after some practice.
7) Find the point on your torso where you are comfortable bringing the bar to that includes the least shoulder rotation. A good way to test for this position is to decline press. Fill your belly full of air, and press to different touch points. You will ultimately find a point where you are comfortable and have minimal shoulder movement. Try to recreate that position on the flat bench.
8) Once you have received the press command, or you have touched the chest, you will simultaneously fire your pressing muscles with slight external rotation and push your heels into the ground like you are trying to slide your body off the top of the bench. During the press, you must "spread the bar" and as you approach the top of the lift, "break the bar", like a pencil, away from your body.
This is not an all-inclusive bench press lifts. These are just a few best practices that should get you started down the road of PL benching.
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me (or POB about any personal problems--he loves that).
Technical issues seem to be the toughest to understand for most guys, but it is the easiest fix. You can sit down with a good PL bencher and he will pack pounds onto your bench with his knowledge--no gained strength--just a conversation. So lets talk about it.
Problem number 1: People don't know what it means to set up and get tight. The bench press is a full body lift. If you don't believe it, your opinion doesn't matter because you are a shitty bencher. This isn't bodybuilding and focusing on isolating the "benching muscles" isn't a goal. Back to the full body lift thing. How is it a full body lift? Its called kinetic linking.
What is kinetic linking?
It is when you are tight enough on the bench that power application in a particular direction transfers the force up your rigid frame into the bar that has just touched your chest. Translation: You push with the "dug in" heels of your feet driving your arch up, and your upper back and shoulders into the bench as you press the weight. If you don't have leg drive, or don't use it, you are leaving serious pounds on the table.
How do I get tight?
Well, the simplest way to tell you how to do it is like this: Lie down on the bench and put your feet on it to create a wrestler's bridge (like you see Steelers4life doing to set up). Pull your shoulders back. Your foundation to press should be your upper traps. Arched back (not hyper-arched--back cramp will get you if you do), butt firmly on the bench, and feet firmly on the floor. Nothing should move. There shouldn't be anything loose when you prepare to bench.
Your set up should be uncomfortable. It shouldn't feel good or natural. If you ask me to set up 10 consecutive times for a PR bench, I would be sweating like hell. My coach used to come up to me and knock the hell out of my legs to see if I moved after I was set up.
Problem #2: Your active bench technique is garbage. This is not a bodybuilding movement!!! I am going to lay out a few steps at the for benching that would most likely help anyone. They still help me today.
1) From the start to the finish of the bench, you must squeeze the bar tightly.
2) Do not push up on the bar to take it out of the rack. Use a spotter to carry it out to you, and use your lats to pull it like you would a dumbbell pullover. Never push up. You will blow your set up. You cannot re-set after you break. You may as well put the weight back in the rack.
3) Once the weight is unracked, let it settle for a second in your hand. Eliminate bar inertia--DON'T FIGHT THE BAR'S MOMENTUM ON THE WAY DOWN. If you do, enjoy your shoulders for today...they won't be there tomorrow. Plus, you will be out of your groove, and most likely miss the lift anyway. Let the bar settle.
4) Do not flare your elbows like a bodybuilding press. You aren't trying to build your pecs. Moderately tuck you elbows. How much? I can't tell you that because I don't know the length of your humerus bone.
5) Know where the force is coming from and keep the bar in that line. Your force will be transmitted through the elbow up the forearm into the wrist and hand. Keep the wrist in line with the elbow. Less joint will be cushioning your force transmission (this is the same reason you don't want soft soled shoes in the squat or DL). This takes a lot of practice. I bet I can search videos of the best benchers around and see them violating this rule. They all know it and admit it. If they still fight the tendency to get out of line...you will have to as well. It also protects the wrist once you get into the big weights.
6) Lower the bar with your lats. If you don't know how to do this, there is no way for me to explain it other than telling you to do it. You should always be training your lats in the same plane as your bench anyway, so this should be second nature to you after some practice.
7) Find the point on your torso where you are comfortable bringing the bar to that includes the least shoulder rotation. A good way to test for this position is to decline press. Fill your belly full of air, and press to different touch points. You will ultimately find a point where you are comfortable and have minimal shoulder movement. Try to recreate that position on the flat bench.
8) Once you have received the press command, or you have touched the chest, you will simultaneously fire your pressing muscles with slight external rotation and push your heels into the ground like you are trying to slide your body off the top of the bench. During the press, you must "spread the bar" and as you approach the top of the lift, "break the bar", like a pencil, away from your body.
This is not an all-inclusive bench press lifts. These are just a few best practices that should get you started down the road of PL benching.
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me (or POB about any personal problems--he loves that).
