Bench Form

[Jisoku]

I do a 5x5 LP. I seem to not have much issue with my squat but my bench feels unstable and terrible. I want to get 225x5 as a short-term goal. I have done up to 185x5 and 205x1, but for some reason I'll be able to handle the weight fine one session, and the next even around 155 is difficult. I have issues with pain in my right hip so my leg drive isn't great.

I basically need some form criticism. It's the lift I struggle the most with and never feel confident in. I attempted to get three camera angles. I'm lifting in a small bedroom so I'm a litte limited on camera position. I did 155 for 5x5 today, felt shaky and not a particularly good day. I am resetting after failing a couple times at 180 for 5x5. Please tear me apart so I can get this lift right.

Before its suggested, I've watched the Dave Tate bench videos, read Starting Strength, etc. I must be missing something.

[dmacdonal9]

I don't see anything wrong. Maybe the bar is lower on your chest that it could be, but I'm not sure what that would do. Most folks have it too high with flared elbows.

You probably should look at other things, like training frequency and total volume, and nutrition.

[Jisoku]

I don't see anything wrong. Maybe the bar is lower on your chest that it could be, but I'm not sure what that would do. Most folks have it too high with flared elbows.

You probably should look at other things, like training frequency and total volume, and nutrition.

Thanks for the response. I was hoping there was some obvious issue with my form that I could correct, and the lift would start feeling more natural. I have long arms compared to my height, so the bar may be coming down a little low. I can try going higher but I may have to flare my elbows more.

I do Stronglifts, so I do 5x5 on an A/B schedule with overhead press on the other day. I get three bench press sessions every two weeks. Perhaps I should increase the frequency to get more practice in for the lift. I do no accessories except 3x10 dips and banded pull-ups. I recently bought a dip belt to easily add weight to my dips.

I eat 3800 calories, 250g of protein, more than needed of my essential fats. I don't count carbs. Its usually fairly healthy, I don't like sugary foods, chips, etc.

I don't know much about programming, what sort of changes should be considered to help my bench? I would like to stay with 5x5 on squats and deadlifts, three times a week, until it stops working for me.

[dmacdonal9]

Thanks for the response. I was hoping there was some obvious issue with my form that I could correct, and the lift would start feeling more natural. I have long arms compared to my height, so the bar may be coming down a little low. I can try going higher but I may have to flare my elbows more.

I do Stronglifts, so I do 5x5 on an A/B schedule with overhead press on the other day. I get three bench press sessions every two weeks. Perhaps I should increase the frequency to get more practice in for the lift. I do no accessories except 3x10 dips and banded pull-ups. I recently bought a dip belt to easily add weight to my dips.

I eat 3800 calories, 250g of protein, more than needed of my essential fats. I don't count carbs. Its usually fairly healthy, I don't like sugary foods, chips, etc.

I don't know much about programming, what sort of changes should be considered to help my bench? I would like to stay with 5x5 on squats and deadlifts, three times a week, until it stops working for me.

That sounds good too, I don't see anything wrong with that either. The only thing you might do is a reset (drop 10% or so) and deload.

After a deload, you might consider doing a cyclce of smolov for bench. http://www.smolovjr.com/

[Jisoku]

I have resets in Stronglifts. I usually get to around 170-180 before dropping weight again. It seems like I don't push past the same road block on this program. It has variations in the reset that go down to only 3 reps but I'm not sure less volume is the answer at this weight.

I may give Smolov Jr. a shot and keep my squats/deads on Stronglifts. I thought of Smolov as an advanced program before, but maybe the increased frequency and volume is what's needed. It would at the very least be more form practice.

[Russlalonde]

Are you warming up... a nice set is always good be for you put on any heavy weight. Maybe your arching your back to much too man. You look like you know what your doing so. That and what are you doing br for you work out

[THErunCMD]

One thing that might help is better breathing patterns. I find bracing helps me a lot on bench as well. Take a big breath at the top. It looks like you hold your breath for a couple reps and then breath in on the way down before the third rep.

[Jisoku]

I definitely lose some tightness after about three reps. I have the same trouble wth squats and deadlifts too. I am actually stronger at singles than what my repped sets would suggest.

I started Smolov Jr today. I plan on squatting heavy twice a week, and maybe doing some light front squats on the other two days, while not deadlifting at all for three weeks. I'll keep doing chin-ups and probably no other lifts.

I'll update at some point to see if the shakiness in my form shapes up, or if I need additional pointers.

Thanks dudes!

[Jisoku]

I'm starting week two on Smolov Jr. I have been having some serious soreness in my left shoulder that I can't seem to pinpoint through massage. But, each day has felt good, the weights aren't feeling heavy yet.

I noticed something troubling about my form after placing the camera at an almost overhead angle. In the first clip, I shift the bar towards the right, so that my left arm is more tucked than the right. I have noticed this before because occasionally the weights graze the side of the spotters in my left. So when I'm coming down, I'm shifting the weight towards my right.

I placed some tape around the center of the bar to focus on keeping it centered above my sternum. It did help, but on the second clip you can see another issue; the bar comes down diagonally. It's higher on my right side, so that as it touches my left arm is still tucked in more despite being more centered over the sternum.

I may try bringing in my grip, but every time I've done that before I feel weaker. If I bring it in even one finger width it changes the feel. I have long arms so it also causes my elbows to drop lower, wider grip brings me closer to paralell when touching.





Any comments that might point out where I'm messing up, or what I should do? I'll slow down my reps and video some lighter warmups next session to see if this problem persists with light weights.