How to Bench Press
If there is one weight lifting exercise that is probably more popular than any other, I believe it is the bench press. If someone knows that you lift weights and they want to know how strong you are, they will probably ask how much you can bench. Needless to say, the amount of weight that you can lift will be enhanced by using good bench press technique.
When I first began training with weights, it was a fairly popular idea in bodybuilding circles to use a fairly wide grip and keep your elbows out wide at a 90 degree angle to the body when benching. This was supposed to provide a better stretch and stress the outer pecs to develop a more pronounced pec line. Some of this advice may have come from a famous trainer by the name of Vince Gironda who took this a step further by advocating that the bar be brought down to the color bone (or even the neck). He felt that this was an effective way to stress the upper chest muscles. However, in more recent times, you will often hear warnings not to bring the bar down to the collar bone or flare the elbows out wide as it is hard on the shoulder joint and can lead to shoulder injuries (especially when lifting heavy).
Elbows, Hand Spacing, and The Path of the Bar
The current trend is to bring the bar down to the lower pecs and to keep the elbows between forty to sixty degrees from the body instead of straight out to the side at a 90 degree angle from the body. The most common hand placement is to use a grip that will allow the elbows to be aligned directly underneath the hands. If this is done correctly, the forearms will be perfectly perpendicular the floor when the bar is lowered to the chest. When pushing the bar up from the chest, there are two basic methods. One method is to push the bar straight up from the lower pecs so that the bar remains directly over the lower pecs from the start to the finish of the lift. This is how the famous Westside lifters bench. The other method is to push the bar from the lower pecs at a slight angle so that the bar finishes in a position over the upper pecs. Both methods have been used by great lifters.
Instructions from Bench Press Specialists in Powerlifting
There are some excellent bench press specialists who can go into depth about how to improve your bench press technique. A fairly extensive video lesson is given by Layne Norton which you can access by clicking on the following link (click here for Layne Norton’s tutorial on bench press technique). For more of a brief but well presented lesson on bench press form, Dan Kovacs, Shane Sweat, and Laura Phelps provide excellent instruction in the following videos. These instructions are geared towards powerlifters.
Dan Kovacs
Shane Sweatt and Laura Phelps Sweatt
Body Building Bench Press
There are several bodybuilders who are enormously strong in the bench press. Former Mr. Olympias Jay Cutler is an example of this. Jay does not like to lock out at the top of his reps he likes to stop just short of touching the bar to his chest. He uses a fairly fast rep speed with no pausing at all at the top or bottom of the movement. All of these techniques are used to keep constant tension on the chest muscles throughout a set in order to build better pecs. Jay does a set of 12 reps that takes him 20 seconds to complete. Notice also that bodybuilders are more likely to bench using a flat back as opposed to powerlifters who may arch their back in order to lift more weight.
Jay Cutler Incline Press
We are not all the same, so don’t be afraid to experiment with the variations in information that top bench press specialists present. In the next article, I will be discussing how to perform the squat. Best of training to you.