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This was taken from the almighty johnsmith. he is simply the man.
well, the bench is actually a complicated exercise if done with the goal of lifting max weight. you didnt specify, so ill assume this is your goal.
first of all, you have to set your upper back on the bench correctly. your scapula must be fully retracted, in other words you must be squeezing your shoulder blades together for all your worth. you can actually think of the bench as a pipe in the middle of your back, and your trying to wrap your shoulders around the pipe! this is difficult to do, and if you lift the weight off yourself, youll surely loose this position. so expecially as you learn, get a liftoff with even light weight. you must maintain this position for the whole set at all costs. you also must be in a
"shrugged" position. just like you are doing a shrug, try to pull your shoulders straight into your ears. now when yuou put these two things together, it is a difficult position to maintain, and itll take you some practice! be patient, youll get used to it and itll be worth it.
now the question of an arch. the advantage of an arch is that you dont have to move the bar as far, the disadvantage is that you cant use your lats to move the bar off the bench. the cost benefit analysis here is based off of several things. one is how big and strong your lats are! if youve got a good set of lats, and can flex them hard off the bottem, this favors laying flat. if you have short arms, and dont move the bar far anyways, this also favors laying flat. if you use an elbows in technique (well talk about the elbows later) this also favors laying flat, since it favors the use of the lats. however, if youve got an underdeveloped torso, long arms, or normally use an elbows out technique, youll probably be better off arching.
now, elbows in or out. an elbows in appoach favors the use of the lats...if youve got a really well developed back give it a try. elbows in also seems to work better for those with shorter arms. ALSO... it uses more tricips and less chest and more delt. an elbows out technique is usually favored by those with longer arms, less developed backs, and weaker arms and shoulders and stronger chests.
now bar path. there are two techniques, one is to hit your lower chest with the bar, and push it straight up. this again, is more often used by the people who push with elbows in, and favors those with stronger arms and shoulders. others push the bar
in an arc back towards their head, this shifts emphasis more to the chest.
feet... your feet should be SOLID on the floor, and during the bench you should be pushing yourself back towards the uprights, keeping the whole body tight.
breathing. you dont breath when benching. do any set with 3 reps or less without a breath. taking a breath with heavy weight will make you lose your back positioning. if you can take a breath while benching and feel no loss of positioning, your already not in the correct position. take a breath, hold it, take the handoff and do your reps, then replace the bar and breath again. thats why high reps cannot be properly done on the bench press... its a whole different exercise if you breath during a set. if you cant do 3-5 reps without a breath, then move the bar faster!
now, to put it all together, if you are a thick torsoed guy with short strong arms, youll likely be better off laying flat, elbows in, and pushing the bar in a straight line. if youve got a thin torso, and long arms, youll probably be better off arching, flaring
your elbows out a bit more, and bringing the bar back towards the head as you press up.
the correct starting position also cannot be overemphasised. you ought to feel as though you are cramping, thats how tight your upper back has to be.
most people have no idea how to bench heavy. usually when i teach someone to bench they improve by 10% in a couple of workouts just because of better positioning. jimmy galyean, a 165lb powerlifter, went from 290 to 325 in two workouts by applying the same things i am writing here, then as he got used to the right positions, he continued to 385 in the following 3 months. this was done without drugs or bodyweight gain, just an example of how beneficial benching properly can be to your poundage.
ive probably forgotten some things, but ill address other things as well as the military press in another post. hope this all helped you a bit.
PS. you must also always grip the bar as hard as possible... this allows you to more fully fire the motor units of your chest, shoulders, and triceps. you must also always try to pull the bar in half from the center... spread the bar so to speak, this improves the functioning of the tricep.
well, the bench is actually a complicated exercise if done with the goal of lifting max weight. you didnt specify, so ill assume this is your goal.
first of all, you have to set your upper back on the bench correctly. your scapula must be fully retracted, in other words you must be squeezing your shoulder blades together for all your worth. you can actually think of the bench as a pipe in the middle of your back, and your trying to wrap your shoulders around the pipe! this is difficult to do, and if you lift the weight off yourself, youll surely loose this position. so expecially as you learn, get a liftoff with even light weight. you must maintain this position for the whole set at all costs. you also must be in a
"shrugged" position. just like you are doing a shrug, try to pull your shoulders straight into your ears. now when yuou put these two things together, it is a difficult position to maintain, and itll take you some practice! be patient, youll get used to it and itll be worth it.
now the question of an arch. the advantage of an arch is that you dont have to move the bar as far, the disadvantage is that you cant use your lats to move the bar off the bench. the cost benefit analysis here is based off of several things. one is how big and strong your lats are! if youve got a good set of lats, and can flex them hard off the bottem, this favors laying flat. if you have short arms, and dont move the bar far anyways, this also favors laying flat. if you use an elbows in technique (well talk about the elbows later) this also favors laying flat, since it favors the use of the lats. however, if youve got an underdeveloped torso, long arms, or normally use an elbows out technique, youll probably be better off arching.
now, elbows in or out. an elbows in appoach favors the use of the lats...if youve got a really well developed back give it a try. elbows in also seems to work better for those with shorter arms. ALSO... it uses more tricips and less chest and more delt. an elbows out technique is usually favored by those with longer arms, less developed backs, and weaker arms and shoulders and stronger chests.
now bar path. there are two techniques, one is to hit your lower chest with the bar, and push it straight up. this again, is more often used by the people who push with elbows in, and favors those with stronger arms and shoulders. others push the bar
in an arc back towards their head, this shifts emphasis more to the chest.
feet... your feet should be SOLID on the floor, and during the bench you should be pushing yourself back towards the uprights, keeping the whole body tight.
breathing. you dont breath when benching. do any set with 3 reps or less without a breath. taking a breath with heavy weight will make you lose your back positioning. if you can take a breath while benching and feel no loss of positioning, your already not in the correct position. take a breath, hold it, take the handoff and do your reps, then replace the bar and breath again. thats why high reps cannot be properly done on the bench press... its a whole different exercise if you breath during a set. if you cant do 3-5 reps without a breath, then move the bar faster!
now, to put it all together, if you are a thick torsoed guy with short strong arms, youll likely be better off laying flat, elbows in, and pushing the bar in a straight line. if youve got a thin torso, and long arms, youll probably be better off arching, flaring
your elbows out a bit more, and bringing the bar back towards the head as you press up.
the correct starting position also cannot be overemphasised. you ought to feel as though you are cramping, thats how tight your upper back has to be.
most people have no idea how to bench heavy. usually when i teach someone to bench they improve by 10% in a couple of workouts just because of better positioning. jimmy galyean, a 165lb powerlifter, went from 290 to 325 in two workouts by applying the same things i am writing here, then as he got used to the right positions, he continued to 385 in the following 3 months. this was done without drugs or bodyweight gain, just an example of how beneficial benching properly can be to your poundage.
ive probably forgotten some things, but ill address other things as well as the military press in another post. hope this all helped you a bit.
PS. you must also always grip the bar as hard as possible... this allows you to more fully fire the motor units of your chest, shoulders, and triceps. you must also always try to pull the bar in half from the center... spread the bar so to speak, this improves the functioning of the tricep.
