Bench Press Cue: Pull Your Fists Back!

Jordan’s arms are straight, but notice the position of her fists in the picture on the left versus the position of her fists in the picture on the right (i.e., with shoulders retracted).

(This article is a Blast from the Past article originally posted on 04/30/21.)

When we set up to bench press, we retract our shoulder blades before we start the movement. We do so as this process creates more stability (i.e., it creates a wider base of support on the bench itself) and puts us in a stronger and more efficient position from which to bench. It also has the added bonus of reducing the distance the bar has to travel throughout the lift.

Compare the height of the barbell in the photo on the left (incorrect: fists not pulled back) with the height of the barbell in the photo on the right (correct: fists pulled back). For a reference point, look at the “Exit” sign in the background.

However, lifters occasionally have a bit of trouble pulling their shoulders back into the proper position. Sometimes this is due to a lack of understanding of what this position looks and feels like, and sometimes it’s simply an inability to exert conscious control over something they can’t see. Either way, if you struggle to retract your shoulders blades, try cueing yourself to pull your fists back instead.

The cue “Pull your fists back” implies that - when you’re set up on the bench with the bar locked out overhead on straight arms - you’re going to try to pull your fists back toward you as far as possible (i.e., as close to you as possible) without bending your elbows. You can try this with or without a bar, and either way, you’ll find that you can actually pull your fists back toward you at least an inch or two, and having done so, you will have successfully retracted your shoulder blades into the correct position without having ever thought about your shoulders.

Pull your fists back the next time you set up on the bench - it will help you develop a stronger and more efficient bench press, and that’s always a good thing. If you’re interested in more tips to help your bench press, check out the included videos.

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How to Safely Bench Press Alone!

not like this . . . not like this.

Don’t be that guy. Or gal. Just . . . don’t. The bench press is the most dangerous lift we perform in the weight room. It’s the only one wherein - should something go wrong - your face and/or neck could be trapped between something heavy (the bar) and something immovable (the bench). Ideally, you have a spotter when you bench press, but even when alone, you can perform the lift in a perfectly safe manner, so if you don’t want to end up with a barbell on your face, read on.

Equipment
You need a power rack like the one in the included video, or you can use a squat stand with adjustable spotter arms. Your power rack should have safeties (also known as “pins” or “crash bars”). If it doesn’t, throw it out.

Setup Requirement #1
Set the safeties low enough that you can perform the bench press without having the barbell run into them when the bar touches your chest. Your legs are driving you up the bench, your arch is set, your shoulders are pinned back, and in this position, the safeties need to be just low enough that you don’t hit them with the bar.

Setup Requirement #2
The safeties also need to be high enough that - should you fail a rep - you can simply lower the bar back down, relax your body, and allow the bar to sit on the safeties. At this point, you roll the bar out of your way and get out safely from the situation.

In other words, the safeties must be low enough that they don’t cause a problem, and they must be high enough that they save you from any problems.

Test It Out
When you have your safeties set where you think they should be, test your setup. Perform a few reps with the empty bar to make sure the bar doesn’t hit the safeties, and then after that, set the bar down on the safeties (i.e., pretend to fail a rep), and make sure that you can get out from under the bar. It’s an especially good idea to roll the empty bar (when it’s sitting on the safeties) back toward your face to make sure the safeties are high enough to protect your face and neck.

Write It Down
Record the height of your safeties in your training log. If you train at home, you can write numbers on your rack (if it doesn’t already have them) with a permanent marker and then record your pin height in your log. If you train at a commercial gym, find a way to make sure that you set the safeties at the correct height and then write it down.

One Last Thing . . .
Don’t use collars when you bench press. The safeties will protect you, but just in case you forget to set them up, you can simply tip the bar to the side, and the plates will fall off (one side and then the other) in a rather loud and semi-disastrous manner, but you’ll be alive, and that’s the important part. This is not nearly as good of a solution as setting the safeties correctly, but it’s better than nothing.

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

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This Mistake Will RUIN All Your Lifts!

Want to improve every one of your lifts with one fix? Make sure you're doing this.

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Spotting the Bench Press: Don't Make These Mistakes!

Spotting the bench press shouldn’t be complicated, but people mess it up frequently, so let’s briefly discuss how NOT to spot the bench press.

Don’t Yank Your Lifter Out of Position
Take an over-under grip on the barbell (i.e., one hand facing up and one hand facing down - also known as an alternating grip or mixed grip) and simply provide enough assistance to help guide the bar into place. Don’t pull your lifter out of position because you’re so eager to help.

Stay Out of Your Lifter’s Line of Sight
You should give your lifter an unobstructed line of sight to the ceiling; with this in mind, stay relatively close to the bench so you can provide assistance if necessary, but beyond that, stay out of the way. Don’t straddle the bench, don’t straddle your lifter (yes, I’ve seen this), and don’t even lean over your lifter.

Keep your hands, your face, and your body out of the way and out of your lifter’s line of sight - none of those things are in the way of your lifting buddy on his other lifts, and they shouldn’t be in the way on the bench press, either.

Don’t Space Out
Pay attention to your lifter. Get your hands out of your pockets, put down your coffee, and simply pay attention to your lifter so that - in the event that he needs assistance - you’re actually prepared to provide it.

Don’t Touch the Bar
This is the big one, folks - they’ve even got shirts about this one. Lifting is not a team sport. Benching is not a team sport. If you touch the bar, the rep doesn’t count, so stay out of the way. Don’t. Touch. The. Bar.

“I’m all pinkies, bro!” Don’t be like these fools.

Of course, you need to be able to provide assistance in the event that the barbell goes anywhere other than up, but beyond that, stay out of your lifter’s way. The spotter shouldn’t exist (figuratively speaking) unless the lifter needs help.

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

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The Bench Press: You're Forgetting to Do This - Part 4

In this article - our last in this series - we cover an aspect that is forgotten very frequently by new lifters (ahem . . . sometimes even experienced lifters) . . .

Retract your shoulders blades.

Which picture is correct? Hint: It’s not the one on the left.

Imagine you’re sitting upright and have a pen oriented vertically between your shoulder blades. Now, pull your shoulder blades back so that you’re pinching the pen in place (see photos below).

This is what you want to do when benching as well - only lying down. Retract the shoulder blades before you unrack the barbell, re-retract them after the unrack as well in case you lose some shoulder positioning during the process of unracking, and then keep them retracted throughout the set. Additionally, if needed, re-retract them between reps if they get out of position.

Retracting the shoulder blades creates more stability and puts us in a stronger, safer, and more efficient position from which to bench. Not having your shoulders retracted is the benching equivalent of squatting while standing on your toes - just plain dumb.

Retracting your shoulders also has the added bonus of shaving off just a bit of distance that the bar has to travel (just like squatting while flat-footed means you don’t squat as far as you would if you stupidly squatted while balanced up on your toes).

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

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The Bench Press: You're Forgetting to Do This - Part 3

You’re all set to bench - your grip is pronated, your shoulder blades are pinched back, and you’re driving with your legs, but you’re still forgetting one thing . . .

Jeremiah correctly fixes his gaze at a point on the ceiling.

Find your focal point.

After you’ve unracked the barbell but before starting the first rep, find a point directly above you on the ceiling and stare at that point. You now have created a “sight picture” as you can still see the barbell in your periphery even while staring at the ceiling. You’re going to recreate this picture at the end of each rep, so remind yourself that the bar needs to finish in this exact same position every single time.

Then, simply stare at that focal point during each rep and even between reps - there’s no need to introduce unnecessary variability into your benching by having to re-find the focal point before each rep, so just keep looking at it like you do in the squat (watch the included video).

Having a stationary reference point makes for a more consistent and efficient bar path, and it makes for better balance as well (we don’t watch the bar since it’s a moving reference point).

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

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If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.

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