JOKER47 said:
Could you post that perfect form? I think my problems are due to poor form, and would like to see what helped you.
Thanks,
Joker
The Bench Press
by Garry Holeman
Again like I always state... use the ideas rather then the routines
verbatim. That's where the true development lies... 'cuz what works really
well for me might not work so well for you.
Bench Press : Getting Setup
Everyone knows how to bench press right? Actually I found that most people
don't know the specific techniques very well. And by concentrating on form
and the technical aspects of the lift one can increase their poundage almost
immediately and decrease their likelihood of injuries.
The first important aspect is where you will be lifting. There are two
acceptable starting points: either you have a watchful spotter or you have a
power cage where you can set the guide racks to prevent injury. Bench press
is probably the number one exercise for killing people each year. Don't be a
statistic.
Now set the lockout racks according to your arm length. You don't want them
too short otherwise you might put the bar over them when re-racking and it
takes more effort to get into the starting position. I normally suggest that
if you lie down on the bench that the lockout bars are sitting around wrist
height.
Positioning
Now that you have the right environment the next thing you need to do is
worry about your positioning on the bench. A stable starting position is
paramount to a good lift. If you are starting off awkwardly or imbalanced
then you're just asking for trouble.
When you lie down on the bench your eyes should be directly below the bar.
If the bar is higher up that means you have to reach back in the starting
position or risk a more difficult handoff from your spotter. Both can lead
to shoulder problems. If your eyes are positioned behind the bar it is
likely that you will bring it too far down on your chest or hit the uprights
as you press.
Now pull your shoulder blades in and push your chest out. If you do not pull
your shoulders in you again risk shoulder problems. The further you stick
out your chest the less distance you have to move the bar... in powerlifting
this can make a huge difference in weight lifted.
So your upper body is planted firmly now it's time to set your lower body.
Buttocks stay firmly on the bench. This will result in an slightly arched
back... this is what you want. Whatever you do do not brign your butt off
the bench as you lift... this puts more stress on your back, legs and takes
weight off of your chest. This is not what you want.
Your feet and knees should be positioned away from the bench... toes point
out. Bring your feet as close to the bench as you can. We all have limited
flexibility. 8^) Keep your feet flat on the floor... this is important to
keep your balance and gives a slight leg drive in your lift.
Grip
How far apart should you place your hands? Well your forearms should form a
90 degree angle with the floor at the bottom of the lift. As well they must
be equally distant from the middle of the bar. If the bar isn't balanced it
will shift the weight more to the left or right in the movement. I also
suggest sticking with a normal grip with the thumb underneath the bar for
safety sake.
Powerlifters sometimes will widen this grip to reduce the distance traveled
and allow them to lift more weight.
The Lift
You're now ready to bench... take a deep breath and lift the bar from the
rack. You should bring it to just in front of the shoulders and in line with
the lower part of your neck. Do this is a controlled fashion... keep your
arms straight and elbow locked. Exhale... push the chest slightly up and
inhale again. Now you're ready to lower the bar. Bring the bar slowly down
to the chest... it should touch just above the xyphoid process ( I usually
tell men around the nipple level... I guess this advice isn't sound for
women. 8^) I'ld aim for about 3 finger widths above the xyphoid. )
Concentrate on lowering the bar and contracting the lats and chest. I focus
on trying to push my chest towards the bar as well. At the bottom of the
lift the humerus (upper arm) should form around a 45 - 60 degree angle from
the body. Any more angle puts strain on your shoulder and any less increases
the involvement of the anterior delt and reduces pectoral involvement.
*Do not bounce the bar off your chest* I cannot stress this enough... not
only do you look like a doofus but you're increasing your chance for
injuries and reducing pectoral involvement. If you want to bounce stick to
basketball...
As you lower the weight if you find that your arms are shaking this is a
sign of weak lats or improper use of the lats while lowering the weight.
Concentrate on tightening the upper back as you lower. If this doesn't solve
your problem then you might want to target more upper back work.
And now you press... do not heave up with your chest. See my bouncing remark
above. Drive it up as hard as you can... around 2"-4" off your chest the bar
will slow down as the pectoral muscles transfer the lift to your anterior
delts and triceps. This is the common sticking point for most people.
The path that the bar travels is very important and is referred to as the
groove by powerlifters. It should be slightly diagonal and angled towards
the shoulder. On the initial press the bar should also come up vertically
and at around the sticking point above (4" off your chest) the bar should
then start to angle every so slightly back to the uprights. If you let the
bar drift to far towards your abs then your anterior delts are place in an
unfavorable position for lifting. To far towards the face and your lats and
pecs must relax and your pushing from a bad angle. So do not reach for the
uprights like many lifters do at the end of their lift.
My Current Bench Press Routine
Like many lifters I change my routine quite regularly.. I find if you fall
into a rut in your exercises it's likely that so will your weights lifted.
As well keep a close eye on where you fail... if it's low off the chest then
you might need some help in that area... if it's lockout problems then
that's triceps work.
The main ideas behind my bench press cycle (for the last 8 weeks) are:
anterior delts and triceps are the most important muscle groups involved in
the lift, you work your chest, delts and triceps twice a week and you
alternate exercises each week.
So currently I do my bench training on Wednesday and my triceps/arm workouts
on Saturday. You need this amount of time between days just to let your
triceps and anterior delts recover.
My bench day consists of: flat bench press followed by any assistance
exercise. Then I do 3 of the following 6 in a random order and randomly
chosen each week (I just roll a dice when I'm making my log book for the
next week 8^) ) : shoulder press, Hammer Strength shoulder press, pause
French Press (skull crushers), incline DB press, incline barbell press and
tricep extensions. Besides my bench workout I do very little other direct
chest work... my anterior delts and triceps are strongly targeted.
My arm day consists of: narrow grip bench press followed by 3 of the
following 6 in random order as described above: DB biceps curl, decline
french press, pause triceps extension, reverse curl, wrist curl and barbell
curl. Again triceps are heavily worked with some anterior delt work along
with biceps work which is also needed in the bench press.
In addition to the above I do lat and upper back work on my back day... if
you don't have a back day you'll need to add lat exercises and upper back
exercises into the above scheduling. Probably 2 lat exercises and 2 upper
back exercises a week should do.
I do all exercises for 2 sets and have a target rep scheme. The first 3
weeks I aim for 10 reps, the next 5 for 8 reps and the last 2 weeks are 5
reps. All sets are taken to failure... if my target is 8 reps and I can do
10 then I do 10. Don't chicken out just because you meet your rep target. If
you meet your rep target then increase the weight slightly next week.
I alternate everything at random just to keep my body guessing and to stress
different muscle groups to different levels each workout. Some days I have
brutal triceps days and other days is just a light workout. This is
periodization... the variation of intensity that is also key IMHO to
developing strength.
Every 3 or so weeks I'll swap out assistive exercises (see next article) and
put a new one in. It all depends where my weak spots are in my lift and how
I want to approach them.
After 10 weeks take a week off and pick another selection of exercises to
choose from for your next 10-week cycle.
Enjoy!
Garry
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