bench technique

[VSUdude]

I read a couple of articles last night on bench press set-up last night on T-Nation. The ones I read were talking about how much better the powerlifting set up is (as opposed to the normal "bodybuilding" set-up) because of the reduction of chance for injury, the increased power, etc.

The set-up I'm referring to is pulling your legs back under hips while keeping the heels planted firmly (maintaining tension in almost the entire lower body throughout the lift), arching your back so that only your glutes and upper traps are in contact with the bench, pulling your shoulder blades together so they're both on the bench, and tucking your elbows instead of flaring them.

I just tried out the set-up without lifting any weight and it felt crazy. I worked the form and held it for a couple of sets of about 10 seconds and I feel kinda drained.

Does anyone use this type of set-up regularly? Just wanting to get a little bit feedback before I throw weight on the bar tomorrow.

 

[Dieselicious]

Are your goals to build your chest or to powerlift??? for powerlifting that makes sence. but for building your chest arching your back might take some resistence off the chest and make you use more tricept & shoulder strength along with your pecs.

 

[silver_shadow]

Does anyone use this type of set-up regularly? Just wanting to get a little bit feedback before I throw weight on the bar tomorrow.

if you mean us non competitive types - the answer is "yes". i use this set-up and it does take some getting used to if you've never done it this way. i'm much happier this way. having said that, it can be a matter of personal choice. i believe biggt doesn't follow this. i think he doesn't use too much leg drive/arch, but probably tucks his elbows. you'll have to wait for him to respond to that one. IMO the very minimum anyone should do is to tuck their elbows to protect their shoulders.

 

[mm107]

if you mean us non competitive types - the answer is "yes". i use this set-up and it does take some getting used to if you've never done it this way. i'm much happier this way. having said that, it can be a matter of personal choice. i believe biggt doesn't follow this. i think he doesn't use too much leg drive/arch, but probably tucks his elbows. you'll have to wait for him to respond to that one. IMO the very minimum anyone should do is to tuck their elbows to protect their shoulders.

i stay tight, shoulders nice, but i dont arch. I DO tuck elbows to save my shoulders.

but i do keep everything tight, just dont drive too much with my legs. I mean i know i do since when i do pinpushes w/o my legs being able to push i struggle.

BUT i dont try to arch my back and come off the becnh at all, just stay tight and tuck the elbows to involve more tricep.

I feel inclines help my chest grow, not the flat bench. Even tho it does hit my pecs hard.

 

[carlsuen]

i follow this type of set up to the T! but u lose your initial form as u rep up.. this set up is of cuz meant for comps.. so it is created for a 1 rep max thingy..

 

[BiggT]

Bench style all depend on personal goals....the only thing I would say is a must is to tuck the elbows, as flaring elbows is a kiss of death for your shoulders sooner or later, most likely sooner. Competitive powerlifters who lift in shirts tend to grip WIDE, it shortens the range of motion and makes sense, however, remember that the shirts protect the shoulders, I think most gym-goers press entirely too wide, and I do notice a disproportionate amount of shoulder problems from the average lifter who benches once or twice a week, and in my opinion it is a combination a flaring elbows and gripping too wide without the protection of a shirt.

Back to goals....for physique goals, you cannot "isolate" anything with a bench press, a bench press is a compound, multi-joint, upper-body lift, so absolutely tuck the elbows, it will save your shoulders. For competitive powerlifting, the setup you described is ideal because the name of the game is maximizing your poundages by whateevr means are allowed by the fed. Wide grips, leg drive, big arches, etc all maximize leverages and allow you to lift the most weight you possibly can. For athletes in sports other than PL, I wouldn't recommend that because it doesn't train the upper body efficiently, you want to train as many muscles as possible and make the lift have as much functional carry-over to your sport as possible. I was taught to bench for athletic pusposes.....and Silver Shadow is right on with how I bench, I will describe what I do....I tuck the elbows and stay tight throughout the lift, but I use absolutely zero leg drive and very little to no arch at all. I also use a pretty close grip, as I feel it works more muscles and gives more functional carryover, as well as saves the shoulders more for the raw lifter. To give you an idea of my grip, lol, I recently joined a powerlifting gym and lots of big benchers who compete train there, and when I ask for a handoff, I get comments like this when I finish the lift "Nice close-grippin'" and "good triceps work". Again, goals need to be considered when picking a benching style.

 

[silver_shadow]

biggt: how wide would your hands be placed on the bar with respect to your shoulders - within, at, or just outside?

 

[BiggT]

biggt: how wide would your hands be placed on the bar with respect to your shoulders - within, at, or just outside?

Right at shoulder-width. If I stand with my arms comfortably at my sides, and the raise them in front of my body, thats my grip.

 

[bignate73]

i keep a pretty middle of the road grip. for me it hits with pinkies on the rings. anything wider and my wrists get cocked too much outward, and I can't keep that width for more than a couple weeks til soreness. too close inside for me is where i have to carry the bar lower on my torso and my elbows tuck too much. gotta really watch wrist roll on that one. hence my "middle of the road" grip. nice tradeoff and carries over to both lifts (wide and narrow)

 

[TheOak84]

bignate - that guy died, in ur Av , u hear about that

i like an inch away from the inside rings. almost a closegrip grip

 

[bignate73]

bignate - that guy died, in ur Av , u hear about that

i like an inch away from the inside rings. almost a closegrip grip

yeah i heard that. Thats why I have him up. RIP.

 

[fortunatesun]

It does feel strange at first and you can spend time overthinking things if you're not careful. Another look at the set-up can be found here :

http://www.elitefts.com/documents/step_up.htm

(Obviously this one wasn't written with biggt in mind )
To be fair, most articles, including this one, are written from a PL perspective. It's easy enough to filter out what isn't important to you. What I want to get across is that even within this set-up there's still no one right way to do things. It's necessary to give everything a fair try and evaluate what's working best from your own of view.

Just don't spend all your time thinking about your set up when the time comes. Do that beforehand. Take enough time to get set up properly and go through your checklist of things you want to do. Then clear your mind and focus.

 

[H_T_]

i hit a milestone for myself tonight. i try every year to hit 400 before my birthday. i haven't gotten very close for a few years. tonight, i hit 400, then 420. i'm pretty happy for a 35 year old.
but, i start wide, index finger on the ring, and as i get heavier, i move the fingers in slightly. i hit my heaviest with the ring finger/pinky on the ring.

 

[fortunatesun]

Congratulations on the landmark PR. At my age I'd have to take a nap immediately afterwards instead of being able to celebrate.

 

[H_T_]

Congratulations on the landmark PR. At my age I'd have to take a nap immediately afterwards instead of being able to celebrate.

don't tell me you're older than me? i never woulda thunk it. i guess i'll be addressing you as Sir now.....and thx. and sorry for hijacking this fella's thread. but i can't go and make a thread about what i did, i'm shy.