This Bench Press Fix is a Game-Changer
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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
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