This article is intended for beginner/novice lifters, but many intermediate and advanced lifters can benefit from it as well. I’ll walk you through, step by step, from setup to lockdown and everything in between. On the surface, the bench press looks like a simple exercise, but in reality, at a competitive level, there are a ton of different little techniques that can maximize your pressing. Always remember that you are not a bodybuilder trying to isolate your chest muscles. This is a total-body movement, and almost every muscle in your body is used to perform a powerlifter-style lift.

Startup

When you’re ready to bench, you’ll want to position your body in the best way to maximize strength and minimize the chance of injury. You will need to focus on several things during your setup:

1. You want to pull your shoulder blades down and back as hard as you can. Think about trying to touch your shoulder blades.

2. Your chest should be as high as possible. You’ll want to arch your upper and lower back while making sure your butt stays in contact with the bench. There should be room between your lower back and the bench, at least enough for someone to slide their hand under you.

3. Foot position. There are two (2) basic styles of foot position: feet forward and feet back. Each style has advantages and disadvantages. I have seen great bankers use both standing positions. You have to try both styles and see which one works best for your body style and bench press technique.

FEET IN FRONT: This is the most common standing placement. This foot placement has two advantages. First, it puts you in position to generate the maximum amount of leg drive. The second advantage is that its wide base will help keep you balanced throughout the lift. Your knees will be bent so that the top and bottom of your leg are fairly close to an 80-110 degree angle. You will bring your foot forward so that your toes want to go through the front of the shoe without the foot moving on the ground. Try to imagine using the same force to perform a leg extension with the only difference being that your leg will remain stationary. The force you generate with the leg drive will help you maintain your upper and lower back arch and help you transfer your full body force to the lift.

FEET BACK: This is a less commonly used foot placement technique. If you are not flexible, it will be difficult to get to this standing position. This foot placement does not allow you to generate as much driving force in your legs. It is also more difficult to maintain your balance throughout the entire lift. However, he has a big advantage over the feet in the forward position. The position of the feet back will allow you to have a more aggressive arch. By having a larger arch, you will shorten your range of motion.

When you get into the feet-back position, you will most likely be on the balls of your feet. I’ve seen a couple of lifters able to get their legs back with their feet flat on the ground, but that’s very rare. The upper and lower legs will form a 60 to 40 degree angle. You will want to lower your heels while doing the same leg extension press.

4. Find the best hand position on the bar. Every lifter has their own preferred grip width. Most lifters prefer to have their pinky, ring, or middle fingers on the smooth ring of the bar. A tighter grip gives you better bottom-end strength, but increases range of motion. A wider grip is harder on your chest, but it shortens your range of motion. Experiment with different hand positions to find out which one works best for your banking style. Now that you’re ready, grab the bar with your thumb wrapped around the bar. Squeeze it as hard as possible. This will activate your muscles and let your body know that you are about to lift. Once you get a grip on the bar, if you feel like the coil has loosened or your shoulder blades aren’t as tight as possible, you should try to reset and tighten more while maintaining your grip on the bar.

5. It’s time for you to take your hands off. A good takeoff man is worth his weight in gold. You want him to lift and bring the bar towards you until you are in an optimal starting position. I prefer my starting position to be in line with the bottom of my chest. Make sure your take off man doesn’t raise the bar too high, that will open your shoulder blades and take you out of the correct position.

6. Now that you have the bar in your hands, you are ready for the descent/negative. The rate of descent is different with each lifter. The speed with which you feel strongest will be your best speed. A bodybuilder may have a 90 degree angle between his upper arms and his body. You should try to have a maximum angle of 70 degrees, closer to 60-40 ounces, you get used to it. Always make sure your elbow and wrist are in line. If he tries to touch your lower chest and his elbows aren’t tucked in far enough, then his wrists will be in front of his elbows; that’s a dangerous position to be in. Try to slowly play more and more until you find your strongest point. It should be around the bottom of your chest, or a bit lower if you’re pulled back enough and have a decent arch.

If you’re benching correctly, you’ll feel it in your back and lats. Try to bend the bar as it goes down. You will bend from your little fingers by turning your hand so that your right hand rotates clockwise and your left hand rotates counterclockwise. As the bar lowers you should engage your lats and try to think of it as if the bar lowering your body is a rubber band. You’re building up kinetic energy, and when it hits your chest, you explode with all that built up energy. If you’re benching correctly, you’ll feel it in your back and lats.

7. As you press down on the bar, it’s natural for most people’s elbows to widen. Try to keep your elbows tucked in until at least halfway through the press. You will experiment and find out what works best for you; Whichever way allows you to bank to the maximum will be your best option. Each repetition of the working series should be pressed with maximum effort. You should always explode from below and use that momentum to your advantage. Speed ​​and momentum are your friends; using speed and maximum strength from your chest will become second nature. When it comes time for max effort lifts, you will instinctively push through any natural sticking points.

8. Now, enough reading. Get under the bar and smash a PR.