# When performing bench press?



## yoohoo1 (Jan 8, 2010)

When i do flat bench press i bring the bar down to my nipple area, slowly and controlled then go straight back up. Now here is a quote from Arnolds training guide

Bring the bar down to the lower pecs and then finish with the bar over the throat or even the eyes for better pec involvement. Dont just push the bar up and down.

It seems i have been performing this exercise wrong. I tried it the Arnold way yesterday, using a lot less weight than usual and today my chest is really aching, more than usual. Does anyone else bench press like this? If not i think you should give it a try :thumb:


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## adlewar (Oct 14, 2008)

yea i'd love to have 180kg just above my throat:tongue:

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## yoohoo1 (Jan 8, 2010)

adlewar said:


> yea i'd love to have 180kg just above my throat:tongue:
> 
> :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


That is what training partners are for :bounce:


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## adlewar (Oct 14, 2008)

yoohoo1 said:


> That is what training partners are for :bounce:


never heard of them...sorry:laugh:


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## yoohoo1 (Jan 8, 2010)

Anyone?


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## aeon (Jul 21, 2009)

More like way powerlifters bench i think mate


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## dmcc (Nov 25, 2007)

Ummmmm sounds exactly how a bench press is meant to be done. It's not straight up and down, it should be an arc.


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## Usual Suspect (Sep 4, 2009)

good stuff, will give it a go


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## yoohoo1 (Jan 8, 2010)

dmcc said:


> Ummmmm sounds exactly how a bench press is meant to be done. It's not straight up and down, it should be an arc.


Wish someone had told me before:laugh:


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

yoohoo1 said:


> Wish someone had told me before:laugh:


Bench press is surprisingly technical lift I think. I'd been merrily benching away for about two years in a pretty much up down fashion and feeling it in the pecs ok... then I got lucky enough to have a few tips off a decent powerlifter and found out there were a million things I could improve on.

So many subtle bits of technique that make a difference - grip width, foot position, back arch, how to push shoulders into mat, at what point to flair the elbows, what kind of arc to move the [email protected]%!?!!


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## strange_days (Aug 6, 2009)

Dtlv74 said:


> Bench press is surprisingly technical lift I think. I'd been merrily benching away for about two years in a pretty much up down fashion and feeling it in the pecs ok... then I got lucky enough to have a few tips off a decent powerlifter and found out there were a million things I could improve on.
> 
> So many subtle bits of technique that make a difference - grip width, foot position, back arch, how to push shoulders into mat, at what point to flair the elbows, what kind of arc to move the [email protected]%!?!!


Pray tell ??


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2010)

[MEDIA=youtube]Dh3t6T-nqP0[/MEDIA]


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2010)

Above isnt to tell you how to bench etc, but he gives good points


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## Danjal (Aug 4, 2009)

excellent video actually. Very, very, good points.


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## Mark W H (Jan 25, 2010)

If you are coming down to the lower chest or in line with your nipples then you are probably already lifting through a curve! At the top of the lift your arms are straight out from the shoulder and therefore the weight is over your neck/throat without you even thinking about it. The only people lifting straight up and down are those that have their elbows out at 90 degrees to their body and lower the bar to the neck.


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

strange_days said:


> Pray tell ??


Am not very good at explaining it, but this article is a good write up of a bodybuilding bench press.:



> *Proper Bench Press Form For Developing Your Pecs*
> 
> *by Bob Myhal*​
> If you're looking to maximize the involvement of your pectorals in your bench pressing-and you're not worried about how much poundage you can "Max"-try using these techniques to develop a full, thick chest.
> ...


The technique is a little different with powerlifting bench press when going for max weight as you typically start out with elbows tucked in slightly and flair them out around 60% of the way up... in this case you want to bring the front delts and triceps into the lift to aid getting the extra weight up. A powerlifting guy can explain better than me though!


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## scoota80 (Jun 22, 2010)

ive also herd this aswell you dont press straight up and down, more of an arc. now personaly i have never tried this but just wondering how you may achieve this if you only have access to a smiths machine?


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## whackedout (Sep 10, 2009)

Vince Gironda advised the neck press, said he didn't like bench press at all.

Some good info in this thread. I am liking it.


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## Kyusho (Aug 24, 2007)

Think i've been benching completely wrong. On the bodybuilding bench press, flat bench, you don't want the elbows pointing directly out do you? You want them slightly tucked in?

Also what do you think of keeping feet on the bench like in the vid below?


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## Ak_88 (Nov 9, 2008)

Not pinning your shoulders back as he's suggesting sounds like a perfect way to fcuk up your shoulder joints.

Don't know WTF he's talking about with joint stress transfer either.


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## Will101 (Apr 14, 2009)

It is supposed to be a "J" shape so yes, start with it over your eyes then lower to be just below your nipples.

I bet 99% of people do this naturally anyway or you would lose balance of the bar at the top of the lift!


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## Kyusho (Aug 24, 2007)

Should elbows be flaired or tucked for BB bench press guys. I've always used flaired, going to have a play around with tucked elbows later. Seems like you could get more power with tucked elbows, but will it hit the muscle as well?


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## martin brown (Dec 31, 2008)

Kyusho said:


> Should elbows be flaired or tucked for BB bench press guys. I've always used flaired, going to have a play around with tucked elbows later. Seems like you could get more power with tucked elbows, but will it hit the muscle as well?


If you lift more how can it not be using more muscle?


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## Kyusho (Aug 24, 2007)

Well yes good point, it would obviously be using more muscle should I be able to shift a larger weight. But is it the muscle we are targetting; the chest? Or is it recruiting more muscle from elsewhere, such as triceps..



martin brown said:


> If you lift more how can it not be using more muscle?


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## Will101 (Apr 14, 2009)

Kyusho said:


> Should elbows be flaired or tucked for BB bench press guys. I've always used flaired, going to have a play around with tucked elbows later. Seems like you could get more power with tucked elbows, but will it hit the muscle as well?


My understanding was that at the bottom, your arms should be parallel to the ground. When you press up, it should be a vertical movement as otherwise you will use energy pushing in or out and not 100% directed into pushing straight up. (hopefully this makes some kind of sense!!)

Oh, and I would never have feet on the bench. On the floor they give you stability and also more power.


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## strange_days (Aug 6, 2009)

Kyusho said:


> Should elbows be flaired or tucked for BB bench press guys. I've always used flaired, going to have a play around with tucked elbows later. Seems like you could get more power with tucked elbows, but will it hit the muscle as well?


My understanding is this

3 points of contact - feet, arse, shoulder blades/traps

Elbows tucked as best you can, not flaired out.

Think about how you push open an unlocked door, you dont flair out your elbows do you ? Your hold your hands together(ish) around pec height with elbows toching your ribcage at the side and push. Something like that right ?

J


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## glen danbury (May 23, 2006)

surely it depends upon your goal - overload the pecs or shift the weight

elbows tucked, lowering the bar to the lower chest will improve mechanical efficiency as you are reducing the lever arm of the movement - thats why powerlfiters do this as it allows more strength - BUT it will overload the delts and triceps more as its more shoulder flexion and elblow extension

benching to the neck with elbows flared and a wider grip will increase the mechanical arm on the chest and reduce the shoudler flexion - so its the chest that gets more overloaded - the downside is this positioning tends to mean that addcution of the arm casues greater internal rotation and decreases subacromial space - potentially more stressfull on the shoulders


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## Kyusho (Aug 24, 2007)

Thanks for the response guys.

Glen- that definately makes sense. I think i'll have a play around with the tucked position anyway, well a hybrid between the two. My bench is pretty weak at 125kg, but that's flared. I suppose we're not powerlifters though, so no point in worrying about the weight aslong as the muscle is worked. Still nice to have a reasonable bench though eyy!

Nice little demonstration of flared and tucked here:

http://timwescott.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Talk&action=print&thread=6389


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## Kyusho (Aug 24, 2007)

Just had a play around with the techniques in some of these vids, tucked elbows and added another 10kg to my bench. Don't know if that's the Anavar i've just started taking or the new technique  Definately puts a hell of a lot less stress on the shoulders with tucked elbows; think i'll bench like this from now on.


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## strange_days (Aug 6, 2009)

Kyusho said:


> Just had a play around with the techniques in some of these vids, tucked elbows and added another 10kg to my bench. Don't know if that's the Anavar i've just started taking or the new technique  Definately puts a hell of a lot less stress on the shoulders with tucked elbows; think i'll bench like this from now on.


Nice work. I have definitely found it more comfortable and feel a better stretch in the pecs with tucked elbows, and arched back. Slowly slowly getting stronger...


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