Bench form check

[BrassBalls]

It's a fail, but it is all I have.

 

[MC40]

if this is you, push your shoulder blades together, bar starts over your nose/eyes, bring it down to your nipples, and push back up to original position straight above your eyes.

by bringing shoulders back, and pushing up at an angle, you bring more range of motion from your shoulders and back into your press.

I was going to go for national powerlift records for under 20 but couldn't because of shoulder reconstruction surgery. (170lbs 360bp 18yo)

 

[chia]

You got lucky, use a spotter next time.

 

[MC40]

also, arch your upper back, not so much your lower back. Pushing your shoulder blades together helps this.

You want to arch your back because your lower pecs are more powerful than the rest of your chest. By arching your back, you can keep pressing with your lower pecs while still being able to yours your shoulders and upper chest.

you used your lower pecs to bring it down, but weren't able to get it up because your arch wasn't there and you depended on your lower pecs and pressed straight up. If you keep your back arched (yours went away) it brings your lower chest closer to your shoulders, and so you can still use your lower chest to push while also being able to use your shoulders.


Also:
while it's good form/habit to keep the bar over your eyes, when I got to heavier weight it was probably above my chin/mouth.

when you arch your back, it might sound weird but keep your lats tight. You're going to be using that area (serratus) when you push because by arching your back your bringing those straight/downward muscle groups (like lower chest) to an angle where they can push up together with your shoulders.


that's all I can think of at the moment, can't edit my posts, sorry.

 

[MC40]

You got lucky, use a spotter next time.

yeah, if you're going to do what I'm telling you, you're going to need a spotter.

if you're that high up the bench you can get away with it without much weight
(i've gotten stuck under 315 plenty of times lol)
but if you do what you need to for a big lift (lifting up to above your head like I said before) then you're going to want to be much lower on the bench, and have a spotter bring the weight over you, and take it away from you.

You won't be able to rack it alone.

 

[BrassBalls]

if this is you, push your shoulder blades together, bar starts over your nose/eyes, bring it down to your nipples, and push back up to original position straight above your eyes.

by bringing shoulders back, and pushing up at an angle, you bring more range of motion from your shoulders and back into your press.

I was going to go for national powerlift records for under 20 but couldn't because of shoulder reconstruction surgery. (170lbs 360bp 18yo)

Thanks for the input. It is of course me..lol. You kids and your crazy presses. I wish I would have known how to lift right when I was 18.

You got lucky, use a spotter next time.

I know. I was expecting 320 today. I just hate using spotters at my fitness gym. I am going to have to figure out how to lift at my powerlifting/strongman gym regularly. Their hours just suck for me. I would appreciate any other input chia.

 

[Gierrod]

Lol at the old ladie curling in the back!

But yeah like chia said get a spotter, i cant really add to much because my bench form aint even that great itself.

 

[MC40]

Thanks for the input. It is of course me..lol. You kids and your crazy presses. I wish I would have known how to lift right when I was 18.



I know. I was expecting 320 today. I just hate using spotters at my fitness gym. I am going to have to figure out how to lift at my powerlifting/strongman gym regularly. Their hours just suck for me. I would appreciate any other input chia.

the biggest part about lifting is having a buddy who knows how to spot you and keeps you lifting when you don't want to lift. I don't even have to talk to my spotter because he knows my pattern/breathing before I lift.

I'm lucky because my father and friends were involved in national lifting, and I have a bench and squat rack in my basement. I've never done a workout in a gym.

 

[BrassBalls]

the biggest part about lifting is having a buddy who knows how to spot you and keeps you lifting when you don't want to lift. I don't even have to talk to my spotter because he knows my pattern/breathing before I lift.

I'm lucky because my father and friends were involved in national lifting, and I have a bench and squat rack in my basement. I've never done a workout in a gym.

lol, you are lucky. I do have a great gym to lift at, but their hours suck for me. There are a lot of guys there pressing over 400. I think it is time I figure out how to lift there more. Plus, I am thinking it is time to start implementing board presses.

Do you keep a log here? If not, you should.

I plan on getting tough on form and I should get plenty of practice with 5/3/1. I really want to compete next year.

 

[MC40]

lol, you are lucky. I do have a great gym to lift at, but their hours suck for me. There are a lot of guys there pressing over 400. I think it is time I figure out how to lift there more. Plus, I am thinking it is time to start implementing board presses.

Do you keep a log here? If not, you should.

I plan on getting tough on form and I should get plenty of practice with 5/3/1. I really want to compete next year.

I switched between 2 sets of 8/6/4/2 reps and plain ol 3 sets of 10.

lower reps are good #1 because you get used to feeling the weight (not getting mentally distracted/thrown off) and because it's easy to get away with sloppy form. With sets of 10 people are more likely to get sloppy once they get tired at reps 7-10.

IMO lower reps is good for a team if you don't have time to scrutinize form of individuals. It's unlikely that they'll have crap form with 3 reps because they won't get tired/sloppy.



One thing that I did (after bench workouts) to help my explosion at the bottom of my press:

10 faster half reps (not full extension)

then right into:

let the bar sink an inch into your chest, let it sit for a second, then press it up as fast as possible. explosiveness.
let it come back down for a 5 second negative, sink into your chest, explode, repeat for as many reps as you can.

^do that with whatever your mid-light warmup weight is. For me it was 185 (my warmup was 185/225 for 10/5 reps then I'd jump to whatever my sets were)

 

[BrassBalls]

I am going to give Wendler's 5/3/1 6 months for sure.

I broke through my last plateau with pause benching. I will probably start implementing that again.

O.T. Get the hell out of the heavys and start a log in the s&p. If you are going to waste your time on sherdog, it might as well be with people that lift:icon_chee

 

[MC40]

I am going to give Wendler's 5/3/1 6 months for sure.

I broke through my last plateau with pause benching. I will probably start implementing that again.

O.T. Get the hell out of the heavys and start a log in the s&p. If you are going to waste your time on sherdog, it might as well be with people that lift:icon_chee

yeah, when I get my other shoulder fixed I'll get back into training and lifting.

I don't know how much lifting I'll be doing, because even if I was aiming for the national records (which I'll be too old for) it was getting really hard after a while. I was getting stress fractures in my arms and the equivalent to what are shin splints in my forearms. That and I'd feel like throwing up sometimes after 400+ sets and supersets of squats. it was a lot of wear and tear.

 

[Endo]

I don't understand why you thought you should post this video. A full press was never completed...

If you're doing a form check at that weight, you have no business benching that heavy. And based on what I saw, I would agree regardless.

I think you need to back off the weight significantly and work on your form. If you don't, I can guarantee you 100% that you're going to fuck yourself up.

 

[BrassBalls]

I don't understand why you thought you should post this video. A full press was never completed...

If you're doing a form check at that weight, you have no business benching that heavy. And based on what I saw, I would agree regardless.

I think you need to back off the weight significantly and work on your form. If you don't, I can guarantee you 100% that you're going to fuck yourself up.

It was all I had and I have never done a bench form check before. Plus, I was a little flustered I missed a weight that should have been easy. I have pressed 275x5, 225x14, and 240x10 and 295 went up smooth as shit. I also don't usually use much arch, so setting up proper like this I expected 305 to be easy.

I have no plans on attempting another max until I sign up for a meet.

 

[Endo]

Regardless, I think you should back down the weight and get your form sorted out.

 

[Oblivian]