Cannot arch my back during a powerlift bench press - need to go below parallel?

[mileena202]

My 1RM on the bench press was just 125 lb. (57 kg), but that was when I touched the barbell to my chest. My elbows had to drop a whopping 10 inches below parallel. But these lifters below needed little range of motion to fully lock out. And they did not go below parallel on the arms. Notice also the extreme arched back the woman below has:

Screenshot of female powerlifter, bench press lowest point:


Screenshot of male body builder, bench press lowest point:



I cannot arch my back at all. It is one super stiff plank, rounded a little at the mid back. There is no movement in my back whatsoever. Cat-cow stretches won't even work for me.

Then I thought why should my arms have to go below parallel just because I cannot arch my back? No one else has to do that, right? That puts me at a huge disadvantage. No wonder I can only lift 125 lb.! So today, I only went parallel, and the barbell was still a huge 10 inches or so from my chest at its lowest point. In the end, I was able to re-establish my 1RM, increasing 20 lb., to 145 lb (66 kg). I was also able to do 4 reps for the weight of my old 1RM of 125 lb. I think I can go to 150 or 155 lb. next time. I was kind of embarrassed though, and hoped no one was watching me, as the bar only had to go down a little. It's also hard to know exactly when I reach parallel.

Here are pics of me before and after:

Old pic of me going 10" below parallel, simply to touch my chest:


New pic of me just going to parallel only. Bench press lowest point, front view (new 1RM):


New pic of me just going to parallel only. Bench press lowest point, side view [excuse the arm loose skin] (new 1RM):


My questions are:

1. Can I just keep my arms at parallel when I bench press, either for hypertrophy purposes or powerlifting? Does anyone else go 10 inches below parallel?

2. How is the male lifter above able to go just parallel or just a little blow, with only a tiny arch to his back? He has short arms?

3. How do I arch/extend my back to decrease my ROM, after a lifetime of it being rock solid stiff?

[air2fakie]

1. Can I just keep my arms at parallel when I bench press, either for hypertrophy purposes or powerlifting? Does anyone else go 10 inches below parallel?

For powerlifting, you have to touch the bar to your body whether your arms are parallel or not. For hypertropy, you can do whatever you want if you feel it's working for you although touching the bar to your chest is a good habit for proper form & ROM. No one measures exactly how far below parallel their arms go, but in your case, you're going lower than you'd like because there's literally no arch in your back so you're increasing your ROM.

2. How is the male lifter above able to go just parallel or just a little blow, with only a tiny arch to his back? He has short arms?

People will have a diff looks to their BP due to their body dimensions and setup style. The dude above is doing close grip.

3. How do I arch/extend my back to decrease my ROM, after a lifetime of it being rock solid stiff?

You look like you're not squeezing your shoulders blades & keeping your upper body/lats tight, or really raising your chest - which happens together with the arch & decreases ROM. Use your feet to help make the arch. Practice on increasing mobility when not doing 1 RMs. The lady in your pic above is a bit overboard.

[Millz12323]

Might sound kind of odd but next time you're in the gym... Spend a good amount of time just experimenting with different setup types. Unrack with just the bar and try a few reps.

Watch some videos of folks in the way they setup for their bench and try out different styles and see if you can build some form of arch. You're current bench as you pointed out is very flat backed. Pay specific attention to feet.. I don't have much of an arch but most of what little i get is from using my feet and sort of like pushing my lower body into my upper body.

A lot of men have pretty big rib cages and / or short arms which reduces the ROM.

[WolfRose7]

You never have to do anything.
But there can be advantages to longer RoM long term, and there CAN be implications to not going through full RoM.

It's worth noting that some arch is a result of a competent bench set up not just reducing RoM.
This is clearly shown by the Male you posted who has a pretty solid arch.

Shoulders should be down and back and legs should be driving to cause tightness, this automatically creates an upper back arch to a certain extent.

If you do cut RoM I'd recommend you do it with a board or very solid pause so it's controlled.
Though I personally would still touch chest as long as it doesn't cause pain to do so

Big Benchas on YouTube is a don't of knowledge for all things technical with a bench press. Can't go wrong watching all his content

[EliKoehn]

^^ A "don't" of knowledge lol? You missing a word there?

I still cannot manage more than a mild arch, for whatever reason; but trying to incorporate the setup cues and improve solidity and tightness certainly have helped me, even if I haven't been able to implement the arch itself.

Personally, I would be more concerned with having retracted scapulae, maintaining core brace, keeping the butt planted on the bench and the feet solidly latched in place, whether or not that results in a significant arch.

[WolfRose7]

^^ A "don't" of knowledge lol? You missing a word there?

I still cannot manage more than a mild arch, for whatever reason; but trying to incorporate the setup cues and improve solidity and tightness certainly have helped me, even if I haven't been able to implement the arch itself.

Personally, I would be more concerned with having retracted scapulae, maintaining core brace, keeping the butt planted on the bench and the feet solidly latched in place, whether or not that results in a significant arch.

Man my phone autocorrect sucks.

Font of knowledge

[HomeGymChains]

Lots of solid advice.

You may want to consult with a trainer to give you ROM advice about your specific body configuration in order to decrease your long-term risk of injury.

When I wasn’t doing full-touch bench, I found it hard to judge reproducible depth. In order to do “board presses” easily in my home gym, I found a stiff foam block and held it in place with an elastic band around my chest.

Best wishes!

[MyEgoProblem]

We can't all have that t-rex build... Which is a disadvantage for deads anyway. Trust me on this, i can sink a floor press into my chest.

Unfortunately powerlifting (like almost any sport) just isn't fair nor are we all on a level playing field, and people with the most appropriate leverages will rise to the top.

What you can do is work on better scapula control and positioning and build that position.

You can always get better. Most people just don't actually know how to set their back properly to begin with.

https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/im...ch-press-arch/

[GeneralSerpant]

That guy is using a close grip.

[mileena202]

You look like you're not squeezing your shoulders blades & keeping your upper body/lats tight, or really raising your chest - which happens together with the arch & decreases ROM. Use your feet to help make the arch. Practice on increasing mobility when not doing 1 RMs. The lady in your pic above is a bit overboard.

Awesome! I don't have much shoulder mobility, so I will work on that. PR's Performance on instagram has a good workout for that (for squats at least). Plus, I am going to try next time to really use my feet to create that arch. That is good advice. Not sure how it will work, but we'll see. I agree that woman is extreme, but she is a champion lifter, so I can only hope to emulate that. I don't think I will have that kind of flexibility ever though, lol.

[mileena202]

Might sound kind of odd but next time you're in the gym... Spend a good amount of time just experimenting with different setup types. Unrack with just the bar and try a few reps.

Watch some videos of folks in the way they setup for their bench and try out different styles and see if you can build some form of arch. You're current bench as you pointed out is very flat backed. Pay specific attention to feet.. I don't have much of an arch but most of what little i get is from using my feet and sort of like pushing my lower body into my upper body.

A lot of men have pretty big rib cages and / or short arms which reduces the ROM.

We can't all have that t-rex build... Which is a disadvantage for deads anyway. Trust me on this, i can sink a floor press into my chest.

Unfortunately powerlifting (like almost any sport) just isn't fair nor are we all on a level playing field, and people with the most appropriate leverages will rise to the top.

What you can do is work on better scapula control and positioning and build that position.

You can always get better. Most people just don't actually know how to set their back properly to begin with.

https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/im...ch-press-arch/

Ok, thank you both of you! I have tried set ups, like Izzy's above from PowerLiftingtoWin and also Jeff Nippard's. I need to learn scapula flexibility/control first or them to really work. The best I can do with now is still have a stiff back and with shoulders and butt off the bench, resting on just my head and feet, lol. A big no-no, of course. I'll get there, hopefully, but it will take a lot of work.

[mileena202]

You never have to do anything.
But there can be advantages to longer RoM long term, and there CAN be implications to not going through full RoM.

It's worth noting that some arch is a result of a competent bench set up not just reducing RoM.
This is clearly shown by the Male you posted who has a pretty solid arch.

Shoulders should be down and back and legs should be driving to cause tightness, this automatically creates an upper back arch to a certain extent.

If you do cut RoM I'd recommend you do it with a board or very solid pause so it's controlled.
Though I personally would still touch chest as long as it doesn't cause pain to do so

Big Benchas on YouTube is a don't of knowledge for all things technical with a bench press. Can't go wrong watching all his content

I had never looked at his content before, but now I will! Thank you. Sounds like a good resource. Also, I will try hard with the leg positioning to create arch/tightness. I hope it works for me next time on push day.

^^ A "don't" of knowledge lol? You missing a word there?

I still cannot manage more than a mild arch, for whatever reason, but trying to incorporate the setup cues and improve solidity and tightness certainly have helped me, even if I haven't been able to implement the arch itself.

Personally, I would be more concerned with having retracted scapulae, maintaining core brace, keeping the butt planted on the bench and the feet solidly latched in place, whether or not that results in a significant arch.

This advice makes a lot of sense. If it works for you with little arch, then I need to try it also.

Lots of solid advice.

You may want to consult with a trainer to give you ROM advice about your specific body configuration in order to decrease your long-term risk of injury.

When I wasn’t doing full-touch bench, I found it hard to judge reproducible depth. In order to do board presses easily in my home gym, I found a stiff foam block and held it in place with an elastic band around my chest.

Best wishes!

Ok, thank you. I had to look up board presses. Of all the big 3 lifts, I suck when it comes to bench presses, so I have tried very few alternate presses, like guillotine, close grip, pause, the one with your feet off the ground (begins with the letter "L" I think), etc. All I could think of the other day when I wanted to limit ROM was to use arm extenders on a bench like the pic below, so I would know when they reached the desired depth, lol.

[mileena202]

That guy is using a close grip.

I've wanted to try that close grip, but for me, that would mean my arms would be even further below parallel. Plus, I think it would use more triceps, which are weak for me. I need all the power I can get, so I use a wide grip and have my arms almost perpendicular from my chest, with little tuck, to activate the larger pecs more.

[air2fakie]

Awesome! I don't have much shoulder mobility, so I will work on that. PR's Performance on instagram has a good workout for that (for squats at least). Plus, I am going to try next time to really use my feet to create that arch. That is good advice. Not sure how it will work, but we'll see. I agree that woman is extreme, but she is a champion lifter, so I can only hope to emulate that. I don't think I will have that kind of flexibility ever though, lol.

You'll get to where you need to be, mobility doesn't come instantly. Keep in mind you don't have to arch, but to the extent some of the underlying form adjustments help you get more power and stability in your BP it's worth a small arch from that standpoint. And if you end up competing, it'll make it a little easier like that lady in your pic who cuts off many inches from her ROM... although I think her butt is off the bench in that pic.

[GeneralSerpant]

I've wanted to try that close grip, but for me, that would mean my arms would be even further below parallel. Plus, I think it would use more triceps, which are weak for me. I need all the power I can get, so I use a wide grip and have my arms almost perpendicular from my chest, with little tuck, to activate the larger pecs more.

Well you were talking about going to parallel, so why would going below parallel be an issue?

[GeneralSerpant]

Your arms reaching parallel so high when you have a wide grip only has to do with how your back muscles are extending your shoulder. If you try a more closer grip and try to stabilize it then your shoulders will orient in such a way that the bar will be lower with parallel arms. That's why the man in the picture is touching his chest when his arms are parallel to the gorund.

[mileena202]

You'll get to where you need to be, mobility doesn't come instantly. Keep in mind you don't have to arch, but to the extent some of the underlying form adjustments help you get more power and stability in your BP it's worth a small arch from that standpoint. And if you end up competing, it'll make it a little easier like that lady in your pic who cuts off many inches from her ROM... although I think her butt is off the bench in that pic.

I like this advice. I guess I was too focused on the arch. But that will come eventually (hopefully). And even going below parallel I guess will be good for developing more power and hypertrophy.

I also agree the woman's butt look a little off the bench. I might have screenshotted it a bit too early, while she was still getting set. But I guess she gets the benefit of the doubt anyway, as she is one of the best women bench pressers in the US. She might be the American record holder for her weight class.

Well you were talking about going to parallel, so why would going below parallel be an issue?

Lol, yep, so true!

Your arms reaching parallel so high when you have a wide grip only has to do with how your back muscles are extending your shoulder. If you try a more closer grip and try to stabilize it then your shoulders will orient in such a way that the bar will be lower with parallel arms. That's why the man in the picture is touching his chest when his arms are parallel to the gorund.

Well, I guess I have to try the narrower grip then! Thank you. We'll see how it works out. I have a lot of research and work to do.