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3 Biggest Shirted Bench Mistakes

3 Biggest Shirted Bench Mistakes
1. Collapsing Under the Weight
 
Too often lifters don’t put much focus on leg drive and that’s a huge mistake. Your leg drive is used to maintain your arch and in a game where millimeters matter you can’t afford to let your setup collapse.
 
Drive hard in your setup and maintain that through the take and the press to ensure that you keep your position and watch how much more stable and confident you are with you press.
 
2. Tucking Too Early
 
One of the more common equipped cues is tuck elbows in. While this can be needed in order to touch in a tighter shirt the mistake is tucking as soon as they begin the descent. You want to load the chest plate and stay flared until the shirt begins to lock up and then begin to tuck down towards your belly.
 
3.Making too Many Shirt Adjustments
 
Adjusting the shirt by moving the collar down or bunching the sleeves is a great way to get more pop it also makes the weight harder to control and touch. It also makes it harder to train consistently as adjustments are hard to keep the same over a training block.
 
Once the shirt is on properly I’ll keep it that way for the majority of my training. Save the adjustments for some really heavy lockout work or for competition day.
 
🔥 We are always looking to add highly motivated athletes to our team! If you want to make some substantial progress in strength and technique, use the link below apply to our coaching program today!

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UNEVEN LOCKOUT QUICK FIX

UNEVEN LOCKOUT QUICK FIX
💥 UNEVEN LOCKOUT💥
 
Having one arm lag behind the other when you’re benching can be extremely frustrating. Often times it’s a mobility restriction that eventually you can fix but sometimes it’s an anatomical issue that you just have to work around.
 
The most common issue that causes this is a restriction in the scapula preventing a lifter from being able to drag down and back and lock that in. The side to side difference in mobility can be enough to cause an uneven lockout in the bench press.
 
You can take the time to do soft tissue work and correct the issue but in the meantime there is a quick fix.
 
All you need to do is change your grip width on the arm that is lagging behind. By taking the hand out it shortens the press on that side and can help you even out the bar
 
Since we are moving that hand out and ending up with an even lockout you won’t feel lopsided or have the bar sway around on you. It really is a quick fix that you implement in your next training session

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How Fast Will My Bench Improve (Yearly Bench Gains)

How Fast Will My Bench Improve (Yearly Bench Gains)

YEARLY BENCH GAINS

How fast can I improve my bench press? This is the question everyone wants the answer to as soon as they start benching

The chart breakdown above is a reasonable goal for an average person with average genetics. Female lifters can take 25-35 off of these numbers for a good gauge on their yearly growth.

Your training age is one of the determining factors here. As soon as you pass by your newbie gains progress is going to slow down.

200-300lbs

You’re in the greatest stage for big gains here because your bench isn’t very much just yet. Spring chickens can expect 50-60lbs of gains while more experienced athletes can see 30-40lbs on their bench. This stage usually just requires more reps and more practice to improve.

300-400lbs

If you’ve been training for 3+ years you can see a 20-30 lb increase in your bench press. If you’re still fresh to training you can see 40 to 50lbs added to the bar in a year Often in this stage it just takes something to click together and you can see your bench improve.

400-500lbs

If you’ve gotten this far you’ve reached a level that many will never get to. The lbs on the bar you’ll see here are going to be slow and hard fought. Most people have been training for 3+ years to hit this and can see a 10-20lbs increase a year. If you’re naturally just strong and bench has come quick for you, a 30-40lbs increase is not unheard of.

🔥 We are always looking to add highly motivated athletes to our team! If you want to make some substantial progress in strength and technique, use the link below to apply to our coaching program today!

 

💥 YEARLY BENCH GAINS💥

How fast can I improve my bench press? This is the question everyone wants the answer to as soon as they start benching

The chart breakdown above is a reasonable goal for an average person with average genetics. Female lifters can take 25-35 off of these numbers for a good gauge on their yearly growth.

Your training age is one of the determining factors here. As soon as you pass by your newbie gains progress is going to slow down.

200-300lbs

You’re in the greatest stage for big gains here because your bench isn’t very much just yet. Spring chickens can expect 50-60lbs of gains while more experienced athletes can see 30-40lbs on their bench. This stage usually just requires more reps and more practice to improve.

300-400lbs

If you’ve been training for 3+ years you can see a 20-30 lb increase in your bench press. If you’re still fresh to training you can see 40 to 50lbs added to the bar in a year Often in this stage it just takes something to click together and you can see your bench improve.

400-500lbs

If you’ve gotten this far you’ve reached a level that many will never get to. The lbs on the bar you’ll see here are going to be slow and hard fought. Most people have been training for 3+ years to hit this and can see a 10-20lbs increase a year. If you’re naturally just strong and bench has come quick for you, a 30-40lbs increase is not unheard of.

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Build a Bigger Bench Press with Your Back Tension

Build a Bigger Bench Press with Your Back Tension

BACK TIGHTNESS

 

 

Back tightness is something that a lot of lifters chase but have trouble executing properly.

 

Think of your back as brakes on a car. If you try to push it you’ll be met with nothing but resistance.

 

If you get on the bench and easily let the weight hit your chest you’re not properly utilizing your lats.

 

We want to really load into your lats, drive your shoulder blades down to your hips and create tension with the bar. It should be difficult to bring the bar down if you’re using enough tension.

 

The benefit to loading the weight in your lats is increased stability, a safer movement and an increased pop off the chest.

 

Give this a try in your training, having your back work as brakes might just be what you need to have this concept click. Once you learn how to properly load your back you can really add on to the amount that you can bench.

 

🔥 We are always looking to add highly motivated athletes to our team! If you want to make some substantial progress in strength and technique, use the link below bio to apply to our coaching program today!

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Leg Drive Bench Tips to Improve your Arch!

Leg Drive Bench Tips to Improve your Arch!

EXPLOSIVE LEG DRIVE 

 

Today we have another analogy to help break down leg drive

 

Leg drive is like the cap on a bottle while your bench position is the bottle. Getting a good setup and working hard to create an arch builds a ton of pressure  

 

Leg drive helps you keep that position that you work so hard for in the setup. When you have it locked in the leg drive allows you to keep your position throughout the lift

 

If your foot slips or you start dancing around with your feet the pressure escapes and your setup collapses. Just like the bottle the top goes flying and all the pressure escapes. 

 

The lesson here is maintain leg drive both during the setup, the takeout and the press! Doing this will ensure that you are doing everything you can to set yourself up for success! 

 

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