is arching a good idea?

[Anthrax Invasion]

That doesn't put your spine in it's strongest position, so I don't know what you're talking about. The spine is strongest when the natural curvature of it is kept. Excessive arching or rounding is damaging to the spine.

 

[tay1506]

well all sounds good and i dident say it wouldent work my shoulders i think it was working them more than it should because thats what i was mostly pushing up with and this is awsome i bet im gona blow my bench out of the water next time i try probly go up like 20 lbs. The only reason ive never had good form is because of stupid football coaches that said always keep ur back flat. Now wonder we never one.

 

[wnt2bBeast]

nothing wrong with arching, the best benchers arch.

as for taking your feet off the ground....

have you ever fired a cannon on a tightrope?

LOL
if your goal is to build a chest then do NOT arch but you should be tucking your shoulder blades

and for christs sakes keep your damn feet on the ground

 

[BiggT]

It is all goal related. There is really no reason for a bodybuilder to arch when benching. However, if you want the biggest bench you could possibly have, then learn how to properly arch. The key word is properly, a correct arch is NOT Joe Blow the gym rat with his ass a mile off the bench putting up 275 for a couple of reps with his spotter molesting the bar screaming "it's all you", lol.

It blows my mind that people take their feet off the ground to bench also. It is a compound, multi-joint movement. There is no possible way to only use your pecs to perform the lift. As far as power output, I like the firing the cannon on a tight rope example, and I will just leave it at that.

 

[Extra_Strong]

That doesn't put your spine in it's strongest position, so I don't know what you're talking about. The spine is strongest when the natural curvature of it is kept. Excessive arching or rounding is damaging to the spine.

um would it be strongest when all the muscles around it were flexed??

arching your back causes you to flex these muscles...

 

[wnt2bBeast]

That doesn't put your spine in it's strongest position, so I don't know what you're talking about. The spine is strongest when the natural curvature of it is kept. Excessive arching or rounding is damaging to the spine.

there has been some debate among powerlifters about excessive arching..there really havent been any definitive answers on the matter..

there are some very strong flat backed benchers and there are also some very strong arched benchers...

Bill Crawford world record holder in te 275's has a big arch-if it put him in a weaker position do you think he would contiue to use an arch?

 

[Dial_tone]

I think whats important is that whatever degree of arch you use, stay in it all the way thru the lift.

 

[wnt2bBeast]

I think whats important is that whatever degree of arch you use, stay in it all the way thru the lift.

kinda like how id like to stay in that ass in ur avii for about a week lol

 

[tay1506]

yeah i know not to arch when doing my 5x5 because it wont work the chest as much however i will try and work the arching form just for power lifting when all those bitches say haha u can only bench 250 and i wip out 300 hopefully by christmas.

 

[Micker]

For powerlifting, you need to get into a position where your shoulder blades are pulled tightly together and your back is arched with your butt still on the bench. By getting into this position it helps to bring in lats and other muscles to help with your lift, and stablizes your body. For bodybuilding, you may want to directly work your chest more and keep your back flatter.