Bench Form?

[StrongmanSteve]

I've been having trouble with my bench for a while and it's been hard for me to progress. I could barely get 255x2 today meanwhile I got 425x3 on squat fairly easy (good for 5), pretty large gap compared to most people. I'm sort of hoping something is off with my form so I can fix it and get my bench stronger asap, but I don't really see much wrong with it so I'm wondering if you guys can spot anything. Thanks for reading.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=dmud_3XP28A

In the video it sort of looks like my ass is coming off the bench but it's not, except for the 7th rep.

[ShortDave]

First thing I noticed (besides the horrible angle) is that you aren't keeping your shoulder blades tight, you also have no real arch and your feet are in a poor position to get good leg drive.

[StrongmanSteve]

Yeah, I just asked a random guy to record and told him to keep it level. Hmmm, I try to keep my upper back pinched the whole way through but I'll focus on it more. I could get more of an arch, where should my feet be?

Also, thank you for the feedback but is there anything wrong with my press or bar path itself. There are guys who keep a flat back, no arch, and no leg drive who are benching way more than me so it can't be just those issues. I guess if nothing is wrong I just need a new program.

[ShaunB61]

Youtube dave tate's "so you think you can bench?" series. helped me a ton

[LimitStrength]

Yeah, I just asked a random guy to record and told him to keep it level. Hmmm, I try to keep my upper back pinched the whole way through but I'll focus on it more. I could get more of an arch, where should my feet be?

Also, thank you for the feedback but is there anything wrong with my press or bar path itself. There are guys who keep a flat back, no arch, and no leg drive who are benching way more than me so it can't be just those issues. I guess if nothing is wrong I just need a new program.

Get your feet back more, you want your knees below your hips so you can get some leg drive for extra tightness. Doesn't look like you are tucking your elbows very well. Also, your elbows are going too far below the bench, so you should move your grip out most likely to decrease the ROM and save your shoulders some.

Work on tucking your elbows and strengthening your elbows with stuff like tate presses etc.

Get a slingshot to get some overload in your training.

[StrongmanSteve]

Youtube dave tate's "so you think you can bench?" series. helped me a ton

Gonna watch these now. Thanks.

Get your feet back more, you want your knees below your hips so you can get some leg drive for extra tightness. Doesn't look like you are tucking your elbows very well. Also, your elbows are going too far below the bench, so you should move your grip out most likely to decrease the ROM and save your shoulders some.

Work on tucking your elbows and strengthening your elbows with stuff like tate presses etc.

Get a slingshot to get some overload in your training.

How far should I move the grip out? It's ring finger on rings right now.

[rtm0004]

I go middle finger or pointer finger on rings. That small adjustment has really helped my bench focus more on my chest

[StrongmanSteve]

I go middle finger or pointer finger on rings. That small adjustment has really helped my bench focus more on my chest

I guess I should move out my grip since it shows bad on video. But it's crazy to me that I should have the same distance grip as a guy who is 6'3".

[rtm0004]

I guess I should move out my grip since it shows bad on video. But it's crazy to me that I should have the same distance grip as a guy who is 6'3".

True but if you watch some videos of big benches those guys grips are as wide or wider than mine

Edit: and they are generally shorter than me

[LimitStrength]

I guess I should move out my grip since it shows bad on video. But it's crazy to me that I should have the same distance grip as a guy who is 6'3".

Your arms might be as long, long arms help the deadlift but hurt the bench.

Basically, if you can get your chest up higher, and retract your shoulder blades better, you won't need a super wide grip. As a general rule of thumb you don't want your elbows going below the bench, when that happens it places a lot more stress on your pecs, which are a lot more likely to get injured compared to your triceps. As well it causes more shoulder rotation which can lead to shoulder problems.

You want to basically make the flat bench as close to a decline as you safely can. Like I said get your feet back, use the trick Dave talks about keeping the pressure on your traps (talks about it in so you think you can bench), tuck your elbows on the way done, and work on strengthening your triceps.

As of right now your range of motion is pretty long, so anything you can do to cut that down is going to add pounds to your lifts.

[WesleyInman]

Steve,

Here's a new video I put together to help people improve their bench press:

You can rest assured these techniques will help you....Best of luck to you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNWGdXni5Y8

[StrongmanSteve]

I just watched the so you think you can bench series, learned some good stuff that I can implement. Thanks.

True but if you watch some videos of big benches those guys grips are as wide or wider than mine

Edit: and they are generally shorter than me

Yeah. But looking at my video now, it doesn't look to me like my elbows are going lower than the bench at all. It looks to be about 1-2" high if anything.

Your arms might be as long, long arms help the deadlift but hurt the bench.

Basically, if you can get your chest up higher, and retract your shoulder blades better, you won't need a super wide grip. As a general rule of thumb you don't want your elbows going below the bench, when that happens it places a lot more stress on your pecs, which are a lot more likely to get injured compared to your triceps. As well it causes more shoulder rotation which can lead to shoulder problems.

You want to basically make the flat bench as close to a decline as you safely can. Like I said get your feet back, use the trick Dave talks about keeping the pressure on your traps (talks about it in so you think you can bench), tuck your elbows on the way done, and work on strengthening your triceps.

As of right now your range of motion is pretty long, so anything you can do to cut that down is going to add pounds to your lifts.

Definitely. Like said I said in above comments. And I don't believe my arms are longer, I actually have short arms/reach/wingspan, which is one of the reasons my deadlift isn't very strong.

Steve,

Here's a new video I put together to help people improve their bench press:

You can rest assured these techniques will help you....Best of luck to you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNWGdXni5Y8

Ill take a look. Thanks.

[rtm0004]

Get that shoulder squeeze down and your grip width may become less of a prob.

You could also try moving a finger or two further out and see how it feels and if you're getting more out of it

Good luck, I'm still struggling with my bench form as well, mainly my back and feet

[StrongmanSteve]

So I moved out my hands just a bit (middle finger on rings) and it helped a bit. Also having my feet back allows me to get so much tigher and a better arch which is great. Form feels pretty good now. As far as routine, I've looked around online and found the metal militia routine in thinking about trying:

Thinking about doing this routine for my bench (that's what's been stalling) and sticking with madcow 5x5 for the everything else. I found this quote online.

"Sounds like you're a raw bencher. Check out this RAW Bench routine by Metal Militia. http://usmcom.proboards92.com/index....6254729&page=1 Raw Bench Improvement – Sebastian Burns This was taken from a e mail I just sent to a friend.It will work for anyone wanting to get stronger raw or who is just starting out..you could throw some shirt benching in there after awhile and some boards but this is good for just getting started. Bench press with regular wide grip 6 sets 3 to 5 reps Close Grip bench(Go one hand space in from regular grip) Pause the bar on the bottom for 2 full seconds 6 sets 3 to 5 reps Regular Grip Pause Bench 6 Sets 3 to 5 reps After this you could do 3 sets of Pulldowns and 3 sets of Rows for 3 to 4 sets also 3 to 4 sets of DB side raises. Do this workout for 3 months and keep track of your weights always trying to beat your last weeks weight.After 3 months take a few weeks away from benching and do more back and shoulder then go back and repeat the bench cycle. Try to make it all the way thru this workout it is the volume that will cause an increase in the bench.it may take 2 to 3 weeks to get used to the high volume but stick with it."

Have any of you ever tried it or heard about it?