At my gym, I have had two conflicting statements with bench pressing form. One member said that you have to keep the shoulder blades squeezed during the bench press and arch your lower back to keep the shoulders from doing most of the work. I asked one of the trainers, who is pretty cut, and he said by doing that you are risking injury to your lower back and your chest can't contract. I've done both techniques and I get the same pump and soreness with both of them. However; it feels ackward squeezing the shoulder blades and arching the lower back and felt uncomfortable. My question is which way is better, because all the fitness magazines can't agree either.
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04-02-2009, 12:48 PM #1
Squeezing shoulder blades during the bench press
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04-02-2009, 12:49 PM #2
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This guy is dumb.
An arch, especially a reasonable, non PL style one is perfectly fine on the low back, and failure to keep the shoulder blades together actually causes a lot of the work to be done by the front delts, as well as putting the shoulder joint in a more stressful position.
Some people who already have certain injuries may wish to keep their back flat, but that doesn't mean a small arch, which represents normal anatomical position is dangerous.Last edited by Kiknskreem; 04-02-2009 at 12:52 PM.
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04-02-2009, 12:50 PM #3
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04-02-2009, 12:58 PM #4
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04-02-2009, 01:23 PM #5
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Coming from experience, failure to retract your shoulder blades also puts added strain on your rotator cuff, increasing your risk for injuries such as impingement or tears. Cut back the weight if you have to and nail down the form. The heavier you lift the easier it is to fall back into bad habits in an effort to get the weight up.
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04-02-2009, 02:08 PM #6
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You shouldn't be devoting mental capacity during the lift to maintaining scapular retraction.
Bodybuilding is 60% training and 50% diet. Yes that adds up to 110%, because that's what you should be giving it. Change the inside, and the physique will follow.
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04-02-2009, 02:37 PM #7
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04-02-2009, 02:42 PM #8
Ok now I'm a little confused because this guy I lifted with for a while woulld have me arch my back and keep it as tight as possible to wear I could actually feel it pinchingin my lower back. It feels kinda painful but seems to work fine. Is this ok or not because these guys I lifted with were putting up 500-700 with shirts and seemed to fix the shoulder problem I was having from not squezing the shoulder blades together.
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04-02-2009, 02:52 PM #9
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04-02-2009, 04:33 PM #10
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Bodybuilding is 60% training and 50% diet. Yes that adds up to 110%, because that's what you should be giving it. Change the inside, and the physique will follow.
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04-02-2009, 04:52 PM #11
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"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams
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04-02-2009, 05:00 PM #12
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04-02-2009, 05:53 PM #13
the majority of trainers are idiots...and it's sad too bad a 30 minute class is all some places need.
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04-02-2009, 05:56 PM #14
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Now from the last time a similar thread like this was posted Mr. XXX666 copy and pasted some information with a youtube video on bench pressing. I tried that out and it did not seem to work well for me. I did notice on the bench press with barbell i tend to be flatter. When i dumbbell bench press i tend to get a little natural arch in my back. Either way is it essential to use the legs in the bench press? I have never used them other than to plant myself firmly.
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04-02-2009, 06:18 PM #15
http://www.criticalbench.com/benchpressarticles8.htm
i think this is a great article for bench, i agree with every aspect. should answerr some questions
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04-02-2009, 08:13 PM #16
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Bodybuilding is 60% training and 50% diet. Yes that adds up to 110%, because that's what you should be giving it. Change the inside, and the physique will follow.
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04-02-2009, 08:14 PM #17
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04-02-2009, 09:03 PM #18
I don't know about the shoulder blade thing, but i heard about the arching the back. Its a technique that i learned from someone. You keep your legs and feet as wide as you can, grip the bb shoulder width, arch your back as much as you can so the bb is meeting your chest, and then hold/squeeze your chest at the downward position for 3 seconds then push up as fast as you can and repeat. You usually don't use heavy weights for this exercise, but you can do it if you can. I find this technique to help develop bigger pecs.
Last edited by Henweee; 04-02-2009 at 09:07 PM.
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04-02-2009, 09:05 PM #19
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Bodybuilding is 60% training and 50% diet. Yes that adds up to 110%, because that's what you should be giving it. Change the inside, and the physique will follow.
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04-02-2009, 11:42 PM #20
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04-03-2009, 01:07 AM #21
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04-03-2009, 02:46 AM #22
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04-03-2009, 04:30 AM #23
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04-03-2009, 07:07 AM #24
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If you're looking to gain power on your bench, tuck your blades. For me, I have a weak shoulder, and I want to/need to strengthen that before improving my bench much, so I keep my blades spread and my back flat. Obviously this results in pushing lower weight, but it does what I need it to do.
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04-03-2009, 07:20 AM #25
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04-03-2009, 07:47 AM #26
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04-03-2009, 07:49 AM #27
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Even before I was ever into powerlifting I would pinch my shoulder blades back during any pressing movement. Not only is it going to keep your entire shoulder girdle a lot more stable on the bench, but for me it always allowed a greater feeling ROM and stretch on my chest during pressing movements. When you lay flat like a dead fish on the bench, you will have less control over the weight and end up getting a lot of work from stabilizers and assistance muscles rather then the major groups you are trying to work.
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04-03-2009, 07:54 AM #28
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04-03-2009, 08:01 AM #29
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I've been benching for a while now, although over the years have always been on and off.
I just started doing the arch/squeezing shoulder thing as I believe this is correct form. I tried it for the first time the other day and found my right shoulder kept naturally coming out when I pushed the weight up, mostly when unmounting the weight from the bench.
I guess like some have said it takes time to learn/execute naturally and correctly. Will keep trying.GOALS for 2009:
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6 x 90kg (198lbs) bench & 1x100kg (220lbs)
6 x 120kg (264lbs) deadlift
6 x 110kg (242lbs) squat
Cycle more for cardio
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04-03-2009, 11:10 AM #30
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