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 HAND TIGHTNESS 

Laying down on the bench and just grabbing the bar isn’t going to cut it anymore after you try out this setup tip. Ideally we want the bar low on the palm really worked into your thumb and have it come out low on the pinky side.

 Speed Bench Program   

This is a complete speed bench program that I like to use myself. It’s a full 12 week conjugate style program with 3, 4 week cycles. Everyone has their own take on speed work often you’ll see 1-3 reps I prefer a 5 x 5 style program.

 Touch Point   

As a raw lifter touching low doesn’t do much to help your bench press. When you touch too low you tend to get into bad alignment with your wrists in front of your forearms. When this happens you almost have to do a front raise off your chest to get the bar back into a good groove. What also happens at the bottom of the bench press your shoulders will lift up and raise off the pad. 

 UNEVEN SETUP  

You might notice that you’re not symmetrical side to side on your setup but is this a cause for concern? The answer here is that it depends on where you’re uneven and if it’s influencing your bench press.

 TIGHTER SETUP   

A tight bench setup is key to transferring force on the bench press. If you’re loose and able to wiggle around while benching that’s a guarantee that you’re not benching as much as your capable of. Here a few quick tips and tricks that you can utilize IMMEDIATELY to get a better tighter setup.

Bridge Up 

It can be difficult to make contact with the pad with just your upper back and traps if you just plop down. From the bridge position we can wedge our traps into the pad and drive our shoulder blades down towards our hips. 

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Use the Uprights/Safeties 

If you have an upright or a safety to grab on to use them!  By using our hands to push against them you’re able to really drive those shoulder blades down towards the hips. In combination with bridging this will help you create a big(er) arch. 

Use the barbell 

Not all of us have uprights or safeties to use when benching but hopefully you do have a barbell. If you’re in a tight bench shirt odds are you also can’t reach out wide enough to touch the uprights. Here we can use the barbell hook our hands on the bar to lift ourselves up and wedge in a similar fashion. If you’re a raw lifter you can push against the bar to also create that pinch and tuck with your shoulders. 

Do the Shoulder Shimmy 

We don’t want to be moving around while benching but often I’ll shimmy my shoulders into the mesh material of the pad itself to create a tighter setup. If you have a sticky bench or another product to help with traction you want to shimmy one shoulder have that catch then shimmy the other side and work your way up the pad to drag your shoulders down. If you’re stuck at a commercial gym and have those smooth pads then find some ways to get some traction. I use a benchmark pad but when traveling I’ll throw either a yoga mat or some bands on the bench to create that tacky surface.

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