I thought I knew how to bench press. Like any good American male, I’ve been doing that exercise for years. However I had been stuck around the same point for years (on and off), and battling shoulder pain whenever I really put some focus on the exercise to try to break that barrier. In working out a solution, I’ve learned a few techniques that I’d like to share.
- As with all strength work, there must be tension. I find that one can focus on four specific points of tension and in order to pump myself up for a set I apply this tension to these four points in order, as a sort of countdown.
- Feet – The feet must be planted firmly on the ground. The feet and legs can actually push against the ground and drive energy to your lift. Think of trying to anchor your feet into the ground and push against it.
- Core – This is the primary tension that must be present for just about any act of strength. Imagine a straight line through your body between your belly button and your anus. Now contract your core to make that line as short as possible.
- Back – Arch your upper back by expanding your chest out vertically as much as possible. Think of squeezing a tennis ball between your shoulder blades.
- Grip – Squeeze the life out of the bar. Squeeze extra hard and push/pivot your hands slightly outward at a sticking point to help give you an extra boost.
- Arch the back. Your primary support on the bench should be the shoulders and feet, with your butt touching lightly but not supporting signifiant weight. If you’re applying pressure per above, this will come naturally. Don’t believe that high school gym teacher who taught you to keep your back flat and suggested feet on the bench. That will rob your strength and tension and put your joints in a more precarious position.
- Keep arms angled in – you don’t want your elbows out from your body at any more than a 45 degree angle. Any further out is inviting shoulder problems.
- Bring the bar down to your chest close to your sternum and push it straight up. This may feel like you’re pushing it too far towards your feet if you’re used to angling it back like I was. This position will relieve stress on the shoulders by transferring most of the load to the triceps and, when you get used to the different motion, gives you better leverage against the bar.
- During a liftoff, use your lats. The motion of getting the bar into the starting position should feel like an overhead pulldown.
- Stretch your chest up to meet the bar at the bottom of the lift and don’t be afraid to let the bar rest there for a short pause during your last set. This can help work through the bottom of the lift, which seems to be a common weak point.
- Lift every weight as if it’s your one-rep max. If you apply the tension per step 1, the difference between heavy and light gets less noticeable, and you can gain using lighter weights for most sets. Always keep the number of reps low so you don’t get tired and lose tension.
