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Top Bench Tips

Top Bench Tips
💥 TOP BENCH TIPS 💥
 
 
Patience on the Unrack
 
 
This is a tip that I cannot stress enough. This is one of the worst ways to “fail” a bench press at a meet by jumping the gun and failing to wait for the start command. Aside from that if you rush the takeout you miss the opportunity to load into your lats. As the weights get heavier there’s also going to be some momentum that the bar picks up between the rack and your start position. The heavier it gets the worse it gets. This is the easiest tip to implement, hold the start position of your bench press load into your lats and then start the movement.
 
 
Intensity
 
 
Whether there’s an empty bar, the days working sets or a meet environment, I bring the same intensity to my bench setup. Intensity is everything, you can find different ways to incorporate that into your session. (Working on position, tightness, setup, etc)Whether it’s bringing more to the setup or being aggressive on the takeout the practice with extra intensity is going to pay dividends when you do end up benching heavier.
 
 
Control Your Breathing
 
 
Breathing and bracing on the bench press works a bit differently than on the squat/deadlift. Since there’s minimal load on your spine this is probably one of the most overlooked aspects that can really help you improve. We want to be able to take a big breath inflating our touch point and brace. This helps cut some range on the press. Additionally if you’re searching for maximum poundage you should hold the breath for the entire rep.

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Breathing Tip for Better Handoffs

Breathing Tip for Better Handoffs
💥 HANDOFF FIX 💥
 
 
One of the most rushed aspects of the bench press is the takeout. Combine that with a handoff person who you’re trying to communicate with and you can find yourself unable to properly breath and brace and end up rushing and not maximizing your positioning for in the bench press.
 
 
 
 
There are two methods that I’ve found success with that allow me to really dial in my breath. Instead of counting 3,2,1 then rushing a breath I’ll do a silent 1, this ends up looking like 3,2,(breath). Then once the handoff person sees my breath finish then they’ll start the takeout process.
 
 
 
 
Lately what I’ve been doing especially with my shirted lifting is giving the count to the handoff person. This lets me just focus on breathing and bracing. The added benefit to this is when things get heavy and I need a three man handoff, the lead person can coordinate the side spotters.
 
 
 
 
Having a handoff can be a great way ensure that you can maintain the best position out of your setup. Changing the way you go about communicating with that person not only helps you but makes it easier for the person handing you off.
 

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Foot Position On the Bench Press (Toes Back Vs Feet Flat)

Foot Position On the Bench Press (Toes Back Vs Feet Flat)
💥 Foot Position 💥
 
Your foot position on the bench is going to take some practice and experimentation to find out what works best for you. There’s a bunch of factors some that we can control (shoe choice, mobility prep work) and others that we’re just stuck with (limb length). Much like a squat the further out you go the hips will be more involved.
 

 

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Bench Press Leg Drive Quick Tip (Get the Most Out Of Your Leg Drive!)

Bench Press Leg Drive Quick Tip (Get the Most Out Of Your Leg Drive!)

💥 BENCH FROM THE HIPS 💥 

 

Properly done the bench press is a full body movement. We want to maximize our leg drive by trying to generate force from the hips back towards the head of the pad.

 

 

 

Often a lifter will try to incorporate leg drive and it’ll show up as a hip pop at the bottom of the press then the bar comes up. When you cue bench from the hips a lifter will start to generate that force horizontally rather than vertically and you’ll be able to feel a big big difference.

 

 

When you’re working with an empty bar or lighter weights on warmups it might not be enough weight to have you pinned down on the pad. So if you’re doing this correctly you may have to reset after your rep because you lose position from the force of your leg drive.

 

 

 

If you’re finding that your struggling with traction putting down something tacky like an old yoga mat or even changing your shoes can make a world of difference in how effectively you can use your leg drive. 

Next time you’re benching remember it’s all in the hips! 

 

 

🔥 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

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EQUIPPED BENCH TIP FINESSE THE TOUCH

EQUIPPED BENCH TIP FINESSE THE TOUCH

💥 FINESSE THE TOUCH 💥 

 
Equipped benching is a sport of finesse. In a game where inches matter and a bad groove can cost you your lift it’s important to try to work with finesse.
 
When you try to power through the movement when you shirt locks up and you’re struggling to touch that’s where a bunch of bad things happen. Oftentimes the shoulders will roll forward the head lifts off the bench and our arch starts to collapse. All of these just increase the risk of injury without helping you actually touch, you’re just losing position.
 
 
When the shirt starts to lock up on the descent it’s important to stay patient and allow the chest plate to load until it locks up 🔐. From there we can begin to tuck to the touch point. You want to land the bar like you’d land a plane on a runway. From there you can flare back and finish the movement.
 
 
Next time you’re in a shirt remember finesse the touch, don’t force the touch. Don’t fall into the trap of forcing the bar and trying to dump touch in order to complete the press.
 
 
🔥 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!

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