Leg Drive

[spatts]

Props to DOM...this is the BEST description of leg drive I have EVER read:

Posted by DOM

Leg drive is hard to figure out... when you do figure it out, you'll figure it out on your own, and you'll know it instantly. I'll try to describe it, though, to help you out.

First, lie down on a bench, and without a bar or anything, just drive with your legs. You'll actually move your body down the bench toward your head. That is the same drive you want while benching, just without moving your body. So... it's not going to do you any good if you're sliding around the bench while you're trying to max out, so you need something to catch you, hold you in place while you're using your leg drive. To do this, pinch your shoulder blades together so your entire back is on the bench when you get under the bar. Try lying down on the bench again, this time pinching your shoulder blades together, and driving backward -- if you mess around, you should find a position where you can get your back to 'catch' or 'grip' the bench and keep you from sliding backward, although you may still slide if you use your full leg drive. Now you're on the right track. Now add a third factor to the equation. You get into that position where you have your back as a foundation, and then you unrack a maximal weight. Now your back has 300 lbs pressing it into the bench -- it's pinned down to the bench, and you've set yourself up so that your back is planted there, and it's gripping the bench. Now since your back is pinned down, you can push with full force with your legs and you won't slide an inch.

How does all this help? Imagine if you had a max bench press and you lowered it to your chest. If you could push your body away from the bar rather than pressing the bar up, it would obviously help the lift. This is the same sensation a leg drive gives. You feel not only that you're pressing the bar up, but also that you driving yourself away from the bar with your legs. Another way to describe the feeling is that since you're driving yourself backward and downward with your legs, the bar will seem to go forward and upward -- naturally the opposite of the direction you're driving your body. The bar will feel as if you're actually pressing from a decline... like you're pressing it down and away from you with better leverage.

It's very hard to describe, but if you get on your bench and feel around for it, hopefully you can identify with some of that description and figure it out yourself.

Excellent post! I've been searching for a way to articulate that feeling for some time. This is about as close as it gets.

 

[The Shadow]

I finally "got" it when my drive was so strong that it threw the bar into the uprights on a near pr bench

 

[wiseachoo]

Could you go into more physical details regarding what precisely you mean by 'leg driving' (I haven't heard that terminology before)? My form has become much more controlled and comfortable over the last few weeks of benching, but I would truly like to grasp this concept to take me that extra step further

 

[spatts]

Goodness....I don't know if I could describe it better than that, and BELIEVE me I've tried.

This is the thread it was pulled from. Perhaps some of the other posts will help you too:

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=1894096#post1894096

 

[wiseachoo]

Thx for the link. I've got a basic idea of what to look for when benching. I'll play around and see if I can get that 'feeling' of the crowbar you were talking about

 

[The Shadow]

think of a wave of energy that is started with the drive from the legs....let the wave travel up you legs to the waist and then to the back...time the arch in the back to the moment when the wave has reached the upper back traps and you have it

 

[spatts]

Exactly. Benching is a total body move...toes to fingers.

 

[JOKER47]

I just started benching PL style. This will definately help me get the form down.

Thanks for the post, Spatts.

Joker

 

[wiseachoo]

I've been very super-cautious lately to NOT arch my back and keep all of the weight targeted on my chest area (being careful not to take on any of the weight around my neck area by arching my neck with my head - caused some mad pain for a couple days a few weeks back), whilst keeping a reasonably wide foot-planted stance on the ground. This seems to work very well for me personally, made some substantial gains in control and liftable weight overall.

I guess that was all a babble...its ok to arch your back? I have always looked down upon this movement as someone 'not-informed' when I see it in the gym...same goes for the people who plant their feet on the bench...could have sworn i've seen various sites saying these things are a big no-no....

 

[spatts]

A "tight" back is a must. For some, flexing the erectors to hold the core tight causes a "natural" arch in the back...not that asian acrobat spine breaking arch you see in some pics. That just looks like a ploy to shorten bench stroke. For me, the arch is a natural result of pinching the shoulder blades together and driving with my legs...not a deliberate attmpt to arch. See the difference?

Also, if you are benching to isolate your chest, the tips for maxing out your bench probably don't apply in full. I don't use my chest much (comparitively) to bench, so it's not really a focus of mine to isolate it.