Arching

[anthrax]

2 questions about arching for bench press:

1] Do you arch as much for dumbells bench press as you do with a BB bench press?

2] Are you on your toes and on your heels ?
The former provides a bigger arch but the later more stability (from my own experience)

 

[anthrax]

In fact what I'm doing is I start on my toes and then switch so that I start the concentric phase with my heels on the floor, pushing with the balls of the feet into the ground

 

[musketeer]

I do arch just as much.

I'm always flat-footed.

 

[curgeo]

I usually don't arch that much doing dumbells, but I do make sure that my upper back is pinched together. When you pull your shoulder blades together it makes you a little more stable.

When benching with a bar I get an upper back and a lower back arch. I recommend buying the metal militia benching video that is usually on sale at ebay for 25 bucks or so.

I am up on my toes when I bench and like wnt2 said, I try to drive my heels into the ground but usually never get there. That is a good way to get leg drive when you bench. If you are on your toes too much and don't have balance, like bst said, move your feet out and a little more forward to stabilize yourself.

 

[blut wump]

I could never quite understand what was meant by incorporating the back into the bench press until I tried benching the weight with it racked above my chest. It's a lot harder to bench a dead weight without the stretch reflex to help it back up and I noticed that to get myself ready to push I automatically squeezed my back into the action. Ever since then I try to pinch the bench with my upper back as part of the set up on my heavier lifts.

I've read people mention trying to tear the bar apart can help with overall stability too but never tried that one. I haven't done DB press for ages.

 

[curgeo]

Pulling the bar apart is a good way to activate your triceps.

 

[musketeer]

I try to imagine that my chest is expanding so large that it is touching the bar and not that my arms are lowering the bar to touch it.

Look at Franco's chest in pumping iron when he is blowing up the water-bottle.