What do you do to strengthen your bench press (at the bottom of the motion)

[vin01]

Today I tried some heavy weights, like 115% and 125% of my max, after doing 5 sets of 3 reps up to my previous PR. I got stuck real bad AT THE BOTTOM, where the bar touches my chest. Once my spotter gave me a tiny push, I had no problem locking it out.

That makes me think my chest or shoulders are the weak link.

What exercises or remedies are there to help me down at that specific spot?

K for help. Thanks in Advance!

 

[redguru]

What about leg drive?

 

[Devastation]

you can do lots of things. low board presses, floor presses, pause reps, more shoulder work, barbell presses, front and side laterals, rear laterals, and most importantly strengthen your lats. are you staying tight at the bottom of the lift? i used to have a problem with that. you'll know if you try doing floor presses. they're a great teacher for learning to stay tight in the bottom of the bench press

 

[vin01]

I like to think I have incorporated a decent leg drive into my press. My feet are generally directly under my butt. This forces my to be on my toes with my butt and shoulder blades on the bench with an extreme arch in my back. I feel this is it the best position to powerfully "spring" the weight back up. I do not bounce off my chest though.

I will start to incorporate floor presses, pause reps, and more shoulder work. I have upped the amount of shoulder and back work in the past few months and have recently started to focus strictly on heavy weights, low reps.
I think pause reps could help me alot.

As far as staying tight- I feel like how I explained my form above ^^- it keeps me tight. I will work harder though on getting my form perfect!

Anybody know a good routine to use to peak in preparation for a max attempt/ meet?

Thansk guys for your help.

 

[BiggT]

Everything Devastation said, and also try some ultra-wide grip bench presses, and inclines...just trying to think of anything left out that would help...strengthen the shoulders and the upper back.....row and shrug. If your overhead press is pathetic, make it strong.

 

[Quadsweeps Sister]

Am I incorrect in my thinking, but doesn't your speed work have a bit to do with the weight coming off your chest?

I understood the focus of speed work was to develop explosive strength and the reflexive motion which would assist one in driving the weight back up. Practicing with the weight coming down quickly to the chest while keeping tight will develop the mind and body to drive up out of the hole.

Just something else a bit (non-weight) related to think about as well as the other good advice here.
__________________
Mythicwrld

"We deceive ourselves when we fancy that only weakness needs support. Strength needs it far more."

 

[Devastation]

use westside for your next 8 week training cycle. start the deload cycle 3 weeks before the meet/pr attempt

 

[LiftingDukkha]

If you have access to a Camber barbell, this is a great bar to use for flat bench press. Because it has a bend (camber) in the middle, you can lower the bar lower than a normal bar, a few inches below the top of the chest/sternum. Mike McDonald a bench specialist about 30 years ago, according to what I read in Powerlifting USA magazine, really liked doing Cambered Bench Presses. Because you're going lower than normal, it hits the "starting" muscles recruited at the bottom of the BP. It's like a rack/board BP, only instead of starting higher than normal, it's starting lower than normal.

 

[BiggT]

I also want to add that if you do use a Westside-style program you need to make sure you work YOUR weaknesses. So many people try WSB and are disappointed with the results, but it isn't the routine, it is the fact that they copied an exact program and worked somebody else's weaknesses.

If you're weak at the start, rotate movements that work the start, don't focus on lockouts, board work, etc, they don't build starting strength. Also, you need to realize most programs a powerlifter will use focus on lockout strength because they compete in a shirt, which takes the start out of things by blowing the weight off your chest (before anybody gets offended and starts to argue with me, Louie Simmons says it himself on his training tapes)...WSB was spawned from Louie Simmons' observation of Eastern European Olympic lifters, it is not so much about doing this exercise and that exercise, you need to understand why you are doing it......you need to understand conjugate periodization......so, if you go with a WSB approach, make sure you know what Westside truly is and know where it came from and know the theory inside and out because if you don't work YOUR OWN weaknesses, the program is useless. If you turn the dynamic effort days into a 'light' day by using too much weight you will miss out too. Personally, I think if you don't use bands and use them right you will not get the full benefit either.

 

[bignate73]

I'd say hit some floor presses, pin presses, speed work, things that will help your starting strength. train the heck out of your lats, do some extra rotator work just to stabilize your shoulders.