Use This Grip for a BIGGER Bench Press and Press!

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 11/24/23)

Want a bigger bench? A bigger press? Of course you do. Let’s get right to it.

figure 1: Compression grip (bench press configuration)

This article is the first in our short series on the correct grip for each lift - from pushing movements like a bench press or a press to pulling movements like a deadlift or a row, and we’ll also discuss the differences that come into play when you have an Olympic movement like a snatch or clean.

Today’s Topic: Pushing Movements
The grip we are covering today is the type of grip you would take for the bench press (Figure 1), the press, the incline bench press, the close grip bench press, etc. This grip is commonly referred to as a compression grip.

An important concept to remember is that - and this is true for both pushing and pulling movements - gravity alway wants objects to move downward.

This includes the barbell that’s in your hands, so when you’re pushing on the bar, you don’t want to put the bar in a position that permits the bar to accidentally reach a lower position (in your hands) than the position it’s already occupying. In other words, make sure that the bar is in the lowest, stable position you can achieve . . . right from the start.

figure 2: Do not put the bar up here.

What NOT To Do
For example, when you unrack the press, don’t support the barbell up high in the hand (Figure 2). If you do this with a heavy weight, it’s simply going to bend your wrist backward (thus lowering the bar). As a result, your flimsy, little, dainty, baby wrists are in a rather unstable position of extreme extension (Figure 3).

You’ve created an energy leak, and this is not a productive position from which to press or bench heavy weights. What to do?

figure 3: wrists in extreme extension - don’t be like this fool.

Figure 4

The Answer
Before unracking either the press or the bench, get the bar sitting over the base of the palms - not up by the base of your fingers, but at the base of your actual hand (Figure 4).

This position permits the bar to be stacked right over the bones of the forearms, which is excellent for force transfer.

From here, pronate your grip just enough that your thumbs can grip the bar (Figure 5). This positions the thumbs so that they can wrap around the bar in the opposite direction of the rest of your fingers.

Squeeze the bar tightly, and that’s it - this is your grip (Figure 6).

figure 5: pronate the grip slightly until the thumbs are below the bar.

The Result
This grip permits the bar to sit deep in the base of your palm - whether you’re benching or pressing. Your wrists are as straight as they can be, although they won’t be entirely straight - let’s call it a neutral position.

As a side not, wrist wraps can help achieve and maintain this position, but they shouldn’t be a crutch - learn to achieve the correct position without wraps, and then start using wraps as your work weights get heavier.

Figure 6: squeeze the bar tightly.

The wrists certainly are no longer bent back in extreme extension, and they also aren’t so straight that it feels like the bar is pushing down on the webbing of your thumb.

As previously mentioned, the bar is now positioned right over the bones of the forearm (Figure 7), which makes for efficient force transfer between your arms, hands, and the bar, and this makes for a stronger press or bench press.

figure 7: compression grip (press width)

Next up - the tension grip.

As always, we hope these tips help you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

---

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

8 Things Successful Lifters Do Before Benching HEAVY (plus BONUS tip)

Let’s cover 8 things that successful, intelligent, wily lifters do before bench pressing, and at the end, we’ll address a bonus tip that people rarely consider. Let’s dive in.

#1 Stance
The bench isn’t that wide, so it doesn’t give you much lateral stability. Instead, it’s your stance that performs this job; in addition, your stance gives you the ability to effectively drive with your legs (covered later in tip #4) and therefore make yourself more rigid and stable.

With this in mind, take a roughly squat-width stance – you can go wider if you like, but a squat-width stance generally serves very well. Also, keep your feet flat on the floor as you can drive your feet into the floor more effectively when they are flat on the ground than with your heels up in the air (this is also often a rule in competition).

#2 Grip
Take a grip that is about a hand-width wider than where the knurling starts (a thumb-length will also often work quite well).

This will serve nicely to get started, and you may need to make a small adjustment inward or outward once you start benching. Record yourself on video or have a friend watch you – specifically, you’re looking for a grip that permits vertical forearms (as seen from the head or the foot of the bench) when the bar touches your chest. 

Also, you want the bar positioned over the bones of your forearms, so pronate your grip slightly and make sure the bar is supported in the base of your hand and not up by the pads of your fingers.

Lastly, do not take a thumbless grip (AKA “suicide grip”). Wrap your thumb around the bar when benching – always.

#3 Chest & Shoulders
Your chest should be up and your shoulders should be pinched back and down.

Doing this puts your shoulders in a stronger, safer position from which to bench, and by getting your chest up, you also position your pecs into a more mechanically advantageous position.

#4 Leg Drive
Drive your feet forward and downward (i.e., diagonally) into the ground.

This is closely related to the concept of getting your chest up and providing yourself with a nice arch – your feet should be driving into the ground almost as if you are trying to slide up the bench, i.e., as if you are trying to slide toward the uprights.

Of course, you don't want to slide toward the uprights, but the bar is pinning you in place, so don’t worry about that.

Be sure you aren’t driving your legs in such a way as to cause your butt to come up off of the bench (your rep doesn’t count when you do that).

You drive with your legs so that you compress yourself slightly and create as stable and rigid of a platform (i.e., a more rigid and stable you) as possible from which to bench.

#5 Focal Point
First, have a focal point, and second, it’s not the barbell (don’t stare at something that moves).

With the bar locked out, pick a spot on the ceiling directly above you and note that you can still see the bar in your peripheral vision. That bar needs to finish in the same place every single time at the top of each rep.

#6 Breathing and Bracing
We’ve covered how to do this for lifting in general, and we’ll link to a video below that addresses these general principles of breathing and getting tight. 

Here, let’s cover two interesting notes specifically related to breathing when benching.

First, the bench is a rare lift wherein you might consider doing multiple reps on one breath. That is perfectly acceptable, but don't take this as a test of your manhood (or womanhood) to see how many reps you can get on one breath. Passing out while benching is always a lousy idea.

Second, when you have the bar locked out at arms-length between reps and need to take a breath, don't take the biggest possible breath. When you do that, it's moves your upper body, which makes it difficult to keep your shoulders pinched back into place. Instead, think of the breath as a smaller, “topping-off-your-gas-tank” breath.

#7 How to Unrack a Heavy Bench Press By Yourself
If you’re training with someone, it's great to have your buddy help you with the unrack (i.e., the “lift-off”) so that you can stay in position efficiently and keep your shoulders pinned back and down.

However, if you're lifting on your own, it can be difficult to lift a heavy barbell up off the j-hooks and then maneuver it horizontally to the starting position directly above your shoulders.

The key is to use the leverage provided by the rest of your body to help you accomplish this task. Check out the short video below for an explanation and very useful demonstration of this process, but in short, the steps are as follows – first, flare your elbows out and back slightly. Second, lift your hips up off the bench. Third, unrack the bar, and fourth, bring your hips back down as you bring the bar into position.

#8 Safeties and Spotters
When possible, get a spotter. 

A spotter is great for the lift-off, and a spotter is also great if you get into trouble – after all, the bench press is the most dangerous lift in the room, so be smart about this and have a spotter when possible.

However, having a spotter is not always possible, and in this case, make sure that you set the safeties at the appropriate height. They need to be set low enough that you don't run into them when benching, but they also need to be set high enough that they save you from trouble if you fail a rep.

Check out the short video below for a demonstration of this.

Be sure to practice this, i.e., practice failing a rep with an empty bar and with the safeties set at the correct height. You should be able to relax your arch, set the bar on the safeties, and then slide out safely from under the bar. If you can’t do this, raise the safeties until you can.

We also recommend not using collars when benching as you can dump the plates (side-to-side) if you fail a rep, but the absence of collars is not sufficient as it won’t save you from the type of catastrophic disaster that can occur during the unracking or racking process and results with a bar on your face or neck.

Get a spotter or use safeties correctly. These are the only two options.

Bonus Tip
Use chalk.

Take a look at the big bench presses on YouTube or on social media, and you’ll notice that these guys and gals use chalk (you’ll see a few examples in the video below as well).

Chalk is most important in pulling movements like the deadlift, but it’s still important in the bench as well, and if you’re ever had your hand start to slide outward slightly when benching, you already know what I’m talking about.

You don’t need a lot of chalk, but it is wise to use some. Also, remember that if you’re training at a commercial gym, you’re not only dealing with the moisture and oils from your hands – you’re also dealing with the moisture and oils from whoever has used that bar before you.

Stay chalked, my friends.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

---

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

Your BENCH PRESS Waits Your WHOLE LIFE For You to DO THIS (Don't Mess This Up)

Lifters make these bench press errors their whole lives and never realize it, and if your bench is stuck, you might be making one of these four common mistakes. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers how to fix them fast and bench more effectively.

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

---

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

This Mistake Will RUIN All Your Lifts!

Want to improve every one of your lifts with one fix? Make sure you're doing this. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 05/27/23)

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

---

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

This Bench Press Fix is a Game-Changer

Did that last rep of your bench press set actually count? Let’s find out.

Movement Standards or “Who Am I Kidding?”
In last week’s article, we discussed a movement standard for the press. Specifically, the knees have to remain straight – if the knees bend, it’s no longer a press (as you just accidentally performed a push press), so the rep doesn’t count.

Likewise, in the squat, there’s a movement standard. Get your hip crease below the top of your patella at the bottom of the squat. If you didn’t do that, you didn’t squat – you just performed a curtsey with a barbell on your back.

That’s weird, so make sure you hit depth.

Not surprisingly, there are movement standards in the bench press as well. Of course, the barbell has to touch your chest at the bottom of the rep, and you have to lock out your arms at the top of the rep.

However, many people forget – or are simply unaware – that your butt has to stay in contact with the bench throughout the entire rep.

If your keister comes up off of the bench (Figure 1), the rep doesn’t count, and it’s easy to make this mistake by using the legs incorrectly when benching.

Figure 1: Mike mistakenly lifts his butt up off of the bench . . . this is no good.

Leg Drive in the Bench Press
Executed properly, use of the legs creates stability and supports your arch. To do this, you endeavor to drive your body up the bench (in the direction of your head). You don’t slide in that direction, of course, because the bar is pinning your shoulders down to the bench, but the act of attempting to drive your body up the bench gives increased lateral stability (since you’re utilizing a roughly squat-width stance), a supported arch, and a certain amount of compression and therefore rigidity in your torso.

When people lift their butt up off of the bench, however, they are accidentally using their legs to drive their bodies vertically upward instead of horizontally “up the bench.”

The Solution
To fix this, drive your feet diagonally forward and down into the ground. You don’t drive your feet entirely downward as this will cause you to bridge your hips up off of the bench, and you can’t drive your feet entirely forward as they would simply slide across the floor.

figure 2: Mike correctly keeps his hips in contact with the bench . . . much better.

Thus, you push your feet diagonally into the floor, and in doing so, you’ll provide the horizontal “up the bench” drive you’re looking for without accidentally lifting your butt up off of the bench.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

---

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

Ain't Nothing Worse than a Slippery Bench!

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 09/24/21)

If you’re dealing with a bench that has a slippery surface, this is a situation that needs to be remedied.

We use our legs on the bench press as they provide lateral stability and support our arch, but we can only effectively drive up the bench with our legs if our shoulders are firmly pinned to the bench itself. In other words, sliding up the bench is not what we want, so if you’re training on a bench that’s a bit slick, this is a problem. Below are a few solutions, and if you don’t feel like reading, you can watch our videos on this topic instead.

Figure 1

Option 1
Take a couple of strength bands (AKA resistance bands) and place one (lengthwise) around each side of the bench as shown in Figure 1. The bands will stick to the bench quite nicely, and you, in turn, will stick to the bands quite nicely. Since many commercial gyms have these bands, this can be a handy solution if you’re training at a commercial gym while traveling.

Figure 2

Option 2
Find and buy a non-slip rug pad (or non-slip shelf liner). A 2 ft x 4 ft section should be more than sufficient, and you can get something in this size for under $10. Simply place the rug pad on the bench as shown in Figure 2, and you now have a very grippy bench on which to train.

This is probably my favorite option as it’s flexible, rolls up easily and compactly, and is therefore easy to bring with you in your training bag.

Option 3
If Options 1 and 2 aren’t available for whatever reason, you can substitute a yoga mat for the rug pad listed in Option 2. Most commercial gyms have something like this lying around. It will be a bit on the wide side, but it will usually get the job done.

Option 4
There are a few companies out there that manufacture shirts with grippy sections of material. These are designed to help keep the bar secure on your back when squatting as well as keep you in place on the bench when benching. A7 is one such company, but you can simply google “bench grip shirt” or “bar grip shirt” to find other options. I don’t have any personal experience with these types of shirts, but I’ve heard excellent reviews from those I know who train with them.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

---

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?