Trying to bench with an arch - Dave Tate style

[wakechica]

^It looks like her wrists are gonna snap. That is a crazy wide grip. It shortened the press significantly. (second vid)

Is that bench even LEGAL?! She moved the bar about an inch.

[Jasonk282]

Is that bench even LEGAL?! She moved the bar about an inch.

Yes.

[pyaarawala]

First off doesn't Tate teach that you should have your head off the bench before you begin your arch? I think so, but I could be wrong. Either way...I slide on teh bench till my head is off the bench then begin my arch. Shoulders down first, then feet. The bar should not be that far behind you as you have it. If anything it should over your forehead or chin.

Yeah I think I screwed up my feet positioning. So I should have my forehead under the bar after arching, you mean? So before I prepare for the arch I should be well behind the bar.

[Conquer92]

Yeah I think I screwed up my feet positioning. So I should have my forehead under the bar after arching, you mean? So before I prepare for the arch I should be well behind the bar.

Yes, as if you were running into your spotter.

Give it a try again just as you described

[sportsnsc]

Yeah you just need to put your shoulders down first and drive them into the bench, then you put your butt down.

[Jason2459]

Yes.

She's been red lighted many times for to much of her butt not being in contact with the bench. I looked into her previous meets as I got to watch her in the last worlds she almost bombed because of that as well.

[LeachGymRat]

Rewatch your first video. Do you see how your shoulders are touching the bench LAST when you try to set your arch?


Don't do that.


Lie on the bench like you did. Plant your feet, like you did. Grip the bar, like you did. When you start to push yourself down the bench, LIFT YOUR ENTIRE BODY OFF THE BENCH. Your ass should be higher than your shoulders.

Then, plant your shoulders on the bench FIRST. They should be the only thing touching the bench. Not the back of your shoulders where your shoulder blades are; the top of your shoulders. Use your legs to drive your entire body back up the bench with your shoulders planted on the bench. It'll hurt. Do it anyway. DO NOT MOVE YOUR FEET. Your chin will probably be in your chest at this point. Deal with it.

Continue trying to push yourself back up the bench as hard as possible, not moving your feet, and not actually moving back up the bench. Now, start lowering your ass until it touches the bench. NOW, unless you have some strange defect (like being weak, inflexible, or an inanimate object), you should be arched properly on the bench. The only two things actually touching the bench should be your ass and shoulders. Neither one should be RESTING on the bench...your ass should be touching, but your weight should still be supported by your legs; all that force you put into your shoulders should be pressing back down your body, though your legs, through your heels, to the floor (even if your heels aren't actually touching the ground). Your shoulders should be pulled down and back and should be wedged hard into the bench pad. Again, not the backs of your shoulders, but the top. It won't be comfortable. Your neck will hurt. Your back will hurt, and you may actually feel like you're going to pull a back muscle. Your ass and legs will begin to get tired.

THAT is a proper arch. Now bench while never letting your ass come off the bench.


(when I do this, sometimes I'll put the crown of my head on the bench first, and then lower my shoulders to the bench with my neck. But my shoulders always touch the bench first, and my ass last, and they're the only things actually touching the bench. Well, except my head, of course.)

Spread

[pyaarawala]

Yeah you just need to put your shoulders down first and drive them into the bench, then you put your butt down.

Yeah I already do this now that I've read takeit's post.

Yes, as if you were running into your spotter.

Give it a try again just as you described

Yeah, it's funny whenever I ask for a spot they grab the bar right away to help for lift off, and I just move back into them and they're like wtf. And continue to watch as I take forever to get arched.

[pyaarawala]

Can you guys check my arch now? I think it has improved a decent amount. I'm really getting on my toes as I bring my feet back quite a lot. And I make sure not to move my feet once it's planted. And yes I know the weight is really light but I kind of injured my left arm a few weeks ago and I'm slowly getting back into benching heavy.

Bench 95 lbs:
http://s216.beta.photobucket.com/use...5d39a.mp4.html

[simp3204]

Can you guys check my arch now? I think it has improved a decent amount. I'm really getting on my toes as I bring my feet back quite a lot. And I make sure not to move my feet once it's planted. And yes I know the weight is really light but I kind of injured my left arm a few weeks ago and I'm slowly getting back into benching heavy.

Bench 95 lbs:
http://s216.beta.photobucket.com/use...5d39a.mp4.html

Try putting your vids on youtube, it will make things much easier.

[pyaarawala]

Try putting your vids on youtube, it will make things much easier.

I'm getting a "This site's security certificate is not trusted" error whenever I try to login to Google (via youtube, gmail, or whatever. As soon as I sort this out I'll upload it to Youtube and repost it. Sorry.

[saw7988]

It seems to me like focusing on scrunching your traps and upper back would help a lot.

[Jason2459]

Can you guys check my arch now? I think it has improved a decent amount. I'm really getting on my toes as I bring my feet back quite a lot. And I make sure not to move my feet once it's planted. And yes I know the weight is really light but I kind of injured my left arm a few weeks ago and I'm slowly getting back into benching heavy.

Bench 95 lbs:
http://s216.beta.photobucket.com/use...5d39a.mp4.html

better sure, but you are not using your head at all to bridge on to help bring back your shoulder blades. Get on your head and pause for a second to allow your shoulders to drop back and force them together. This should not be comfortable.

[Jason2459]

Skip to 2m 5 seconds and 2m 38s to see what I do. My first attempt my back was cramping up big time and wasn't a very good setup. Not that I have a perfect setup but it's working for me right now.

[showmestate08]

no lift-off?

[Jason2459]

no lift-off?

I don't train with one so unless I trust the person I don't want one. Most people don't know how to and throws me off.

[showmestate08]

I don't train with one so unless I trust the person I don't want one. Most people don't know how to and throws me off.

Makes sense. I'd consider going w/o a lift-off but my short arms pretty much make it impossible for me to unrack the weight without losing tightness. I've started clarifying for a *small* lift-off now. For whatever reason, when people see three plates they think they have to do some kind of power shrug to unrack the bar :/ Had a guy give me a one-handed lift-off the other day and the thing twisted on me like crazy... smh

[BombDonald]

Makes sense. I'd consider going w/o a lift-off but my short arms pretty much make it impossible for me to unrack the weight without losing tightness. I've started clarifying for a *small* lift-off now. For whatever reason, when people see three plates they think they have to do some kind of power shrug to unrack the bar :/ Had a guy give me a one-handed lift-off the other day and the thing twisted on me like crazy... smh

Amen at the bolded part. It's annoying as fuk.

[Bruce44]

Good way #1:

Good way #2: (Skip to 2:15)

Holy crap how can you bench like that. That's like all chest and shoulders.

[pyaarawala]

Skip to 2m 5 seconds and 2m 38s to see what I do. My first attempt my back was cramping up big time and wasn't a very good setup. Not that I have a perfect setup but it's working for me right now.

I noticed that you lift the weight off while your hips are off the bench. Is that okay? I thought you need to ensure maximal tightness but w/ the traps/ass touching the bench before you lift off.

Thanks for the helpful info nonetheless. I only started benching w/ my heels off the ground because it seems to keep my lower body much tighter and I get a better arch. I'll keep trying and i think it's only a matter of time before I get better at this.

[Jason2459]

I noticed that you lift the weight off while your hips are off the bench. Is that okay? I thought you need to ensure maximal tightness but w/ the traps/ass touching the bench before you lift off.

Thanks for the helpful info nonetheless. I only started benching w/ my heels off the ground because it seems to keep my lower body much tighter and I get a better arch. I'll keep trying and i think it's only a matter of time before I get better at this.

Depending on the federation you may or may not be required to keep your heels on the ground. I keep them on the ground so I can pretty much lift in any federation and not have to worry about it. Lifting the butt off the bench and getting on the toes is fine for the lift off until you actually start the lift at which point you need to be in position. Doing this allows me to stay tight while unracking the weight myself and also makes it easier by turning it into a decline press to help conserve some energy. When I set my butt back down I'm also locking my arch in and letting the weight settle into my lats to get ready to begin the lift.

Edit: it's a good thing to let the refs know that you will be lifting yourself off like this too

[pyaarawala]

This time during the setup I really focused on ONLY my upper traps on the bench with EVERYTHING ELSE in the air before I lower my ass to the bench. It seemed to me I really got a nice arch right before liftoff. But it seems like after a couple reps I felt my arch going away and by my 3rd-4th rep I could feel my upper back on the bench. Do I need some kind of sticky material to put on the bench or just need to practice more? I remember someone saying I needed a sticky bench or a drawer liner to prevent my upper shoulders from slipping up the bench.

CGBP 125 lbs:


Also if you guys notice I let my feet out right when I'm about to rerack the weight, is that okay?

[Conquer92]

This time during the setup I really focused on ONLY my upper traps on the bench with EVERYTHING ELSE in the air before I lower my ass to the bench. It seemed to me I really got a nice arch right before liftoff. But it seems like after a couple reps I felt my arch going away and by my 3rd-4th rep I could feel my upper back on the bench. Do I need some kind of sticky material to put on the bench or just need to practice more? I remember someone saying I needed a sticky bench or a drawer liner to prevent my upper shoulders from slipping up the bench.

Get drawer liner for sure. I have something similar to this in my gym bag

[pyaarawala]

Get drawer liner for sure. I have something similar to this in my gym bag

Just ordered one right now. Really hope it does the trick. Are you guys normally able to hold your arch with heavy weight on a normal gym bench with no drawer liner?

[KOArtist]

Do u cover the entire bench with the drawer liner, or just the top where your head/shoulders go?

[Conquer92]

Do u cover the entire bench with the drawer liner, or just the top where your head/shoulders go?

I do just the top

You should be driving yourself back into the bench with your legs. Your butt isnt going to slip, just your shoulders/head have a tendency to.

[pyaarawala]

I do just the top

You should be driving yourself back into the bench with your legs. Your butt isnt going to slip, just your shoulders/head have a tendency to.

Yeah I just got a small piece of drawer liner just for where I plan to drive my traps through the bench. I keep slipping there every time even on light weight. Hopefully this'll resolve the issue.

[pyaarawala]

Didn't get my drawer liner on time for today's bench, but I attempted 180 lbs anyway which is heavy for me. I'm supposed to do 5x5 but only managed 2x5, 1x2, and 1x2. Completely skipped the last set altogether. I felt like my right side wasn't pushing nearly as hard as the left side was which was why I failed on those last 2 sets. Is there anything noticeably out of the ordinary in my pressing today?


Bench 180 lbs:


The only thing I notice is that I lose my tightness because again, my shoulders slipped once I received the weight from the spotter. Do I have to bring in my grip more or something?

[Conquer92]

Strong music ^ lol

Looks good man. You can stay on your toes, but in your mind push through your heels and force them down. This should keep hams and glutes tighter

Grip is fine. If you start feeling some shoulder pain i would say bring your grip in.

[pyaarawala]

Strong music ^ lol

Looks good man. You can stay on your toes, but in your mind push through your heels and force them down. This should keep hams and glutes tighter

Grip is fine. If you start feeling some shoulder pain i would say bring your grip in.

Yes the music is terrible at my gym. They even put on Rebecca Black sometimes.

Alright man. Hopefully the drawer liner will prevent me from slipping next time. And no I don't have any shoulder pain at all. Maybe some of the power from my legs didn't transfer over to the press. I don't think I was constantly driving my heels through the floor throughout the entire lift.

What about breathing? Tate mentions to try to hold your breath throughout the whole set, or at least the first couple reps. I've never done this on ANY lift, and was always told to inhale on eccentric, exhale (or valsalva for heavy weight) on concentric. Never to hold your breath the entire motion. What do you do?