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

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 06/10/22)

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

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 05/27/22)

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

What should you take care of before a heavy bench press? We cover 8 simple and effective tips - plus 1 bonus tip - when preparing to bench press heavy.

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The Bench Press: You're Forgetting to Do This - Part 2

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 05/06/22)

When benching, you know you’re supposed to retract your shoulder blades, push with your legs, and drive that bar up and back to its original starting position, but you’re still forgetting one thing . . .

Get your grip right.

When taking your grip for the bench, you want the barbell to rest on the base or heel of the palm, i.e., directly over the bones of your forearm. This ensures that you have efficient force transfer between you and the bar, which is rather important when trying to move heavy weights. On the other hand, having the bar back toward your fingers causes your wrists to be in full extension (i.e., bent backwards), which is a flimsy and weak position for them to be in when trying to support a heavy load.

To achieve the correct grip, pronate your hands slightly by internally rotating your arms a bit and then squeezing the bar tightly with your fingers (scroll through the photos below for a demonstration).

If this doesn’t quite make sense, you can use the “diamond grip” approach described in this short article.

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

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

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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How to Improve All of Your Lifts with ONE Cue!

Improve all of your lifts with only ONE cue?! We'll show you how in less than 3 minutes.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 05/30/22)

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Spotting the Bench Press | You're Doing It WRONG!

Spotting the bench press isn't complicated, but people do it wrong all the time. In under 2 minutes, we cover some basic mistakes as well as how to spot the bench correctly.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 05/28/22)

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Click the button below to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach and start getting stronger TODAY.