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How to Bench Press Correctly and save your Shoulders

BigJim

BigJim

Member
Found this and found it really easy to follow. Will definitely be giving it a go tomorrow.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUcjOIZc80c"]YouTube - How to Bench Press, Get a Big Chest, Add Muscle All Without Wrecking Your Shoulders[/ame]


Key Points to Remember​

There are very important key points to remember when performing the bench press to ensure healthy shoulders and longevity. In fact, these key points apply to all the horizontal pressing movements in this manual.

1.Keep a tight grip on the bar at all times, a tighter grip equates to more tension in the lower arms, upper back and chest.

2.Keep your chest up (thoracic extension) throughout the movement.

3.Elbows should be tucked and end up at approximately 45 degrees from your side.

4.Unrack the weight and take a deep breath and hold it.

5.Row the weight down to your chest, like a bent over row. Do not relax and let the weight drop.

6.Back, hips, glutes and legs are tight and isometrically contracted.

7.When you touch your chest, drive your feet downward and reverse the movement.

If there is pain with this movement, regress back to neutral grip dumbbell bench pressing. This means that you take a set of dumbbells and do bench press with your hands facing each other. Sometimes this is referred to as a "hammer" grip or a neutral grip. If there still is pain my suggestion to you is to regress further to more of a basic, fundamental movement, such as a push-up. Push-up are an incredible tool that most lifters don't do because they want to build a big bench and a big chest. So they spend hours in the gym on the bench press, with poor form wrecking their shoulders. Follow the video below to learn how to bench correctly, but don't forget to always include basic movements such as a push-up.
 
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Good find BigJim, thanks for that. This vid addresses a major problem I've got atm with my delts copping a hammering when I bench press. I've just done dumbbell bench for the last couple of months because of it.

The other day I cbf changing the plates on my spinlock dbs, went to barbell instead and bang, same problem all over again...feeling it all in the shoulders.
 
Yeah, good vid.

Confirmed a lot of the stuff I learnt recently reading this instructional stuff from Dave Tate:

T NATION | Dave Tate's Six-Week Bench Press Cure

There's a few more tips in Dave's linked stuff like pausing for a couple of seconds after unracking the bar to let the weight compress you down into the bench and compress your body in the hold. I feel it drop a good inch or more once I pause and allow the compression before I rip the bar apart and lower to just below my rib cage. I also breath out with a tight pursed mouth all the way up as this helps give me that little bit more. If I forget to breath I am more likely to get stuck half way.

Good stuff, thanks for linking.

Cheers,
Mike
 
MikeW said:
Yeah, good vid.

Confirmed a lot of the stuff I learnt recently reading this instructional stuff from Dave Tate:

T NATION | Dave Tate's Six-Week Bench Press Cure

There's a few more tips in Dave's linked stuff like pausing for a couple of seconds after unracking the bar to let the weight compress you down into the bench and compress your body in the hold. I feel it drop a good inch or more once I pause and allow the compression before I rip the bar apart and lower to just below my rib cage. I also breath out with a tight pursed mouth all the way up as this helps give me that little bit more. If I forget to breath I am more likely to get stuck half way.

Good stuff, thanks for linking.

Cheers,
Mike
Click to expand...

This is a good tip for when doing your 1rm or your on your last rep of a 3rm/5rm, I do it while letting out a loud growl/grunt. Gives you that little bit more.
 
JDizzle said:
This is a good tip for when doing your 1rm or your on your last rep of a 3rm/5rm, I do it while letting out a loud growl/grunt. Gives you that little bit more.
Click to expand...

That's what I did before some coaching. Now its big breath in, row down weight, pause, press, lock out, breath out.
Took a while to get the hang of, but a few little things like that have made a big difference in my pressing.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
Sticky said:
That's what I did before some coaching. Now its big breath in, row down weight, pause, press, lock out, breath out.
Took a while to get the hang of, but a few little things like that have made a big difference in my pressing.
Posted via Mobile Device
Click to expand...

So you hold your breath for the entire rep, then exhale once you have completed the lift.
 
Yep, thats what we do, and my girls have NR in the BP in the 60-67.5-75-82.5kg classes, we know BP lol
 
PTC said:
Yep, thats what we do, and my girls have NR in the BP in the 60-67.5-75-82.5kg classes, we know BP lol
Click to expand...

I understand breathing is a big part of lifting efficiently. When i do rep work i usually breath in at the top and hold my breath until i am about half way up, then i start to exhale and then repeat this for each rep.

Wondering what other people do?
 
I hold for at least 1 full rep. I try and do a couple though. And im trying to get in the habit of not exhaling, only inhaling to top up my chest.
Obviously this only works with 5 reps or less - unless you can bench real fast.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
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I hold my breath for max work (1rm or otherwise), for regular working sets/reps I hold on the way down and as I come up exhale.

I was getting an odd pain in my abdomen after heavy squats/deadlifts (not a muscle pain... very hard to describe), this has solved the problem for me at least so far.
 
Also another good tip is to get a healthy looking female to spot you
that way all you gotta do is lie down and stare at the boobies and press, just dont get your wife/girlfriend to do it. She might remember something you said and deliberately drop the weight on you if you fail the rep
 
breathing is a huge part. it takes a while to learn tho. i slightly exhale on the concentric.
 
JDizzle said:
Also another good tip is to get a healthy looking female to spot you
that way all you gotta do is lie down and stare at the boobies and press, just dont get your wife/girlfriend to do it. She might remember something you said and deliberately drop the weight on you if you fail the rep
Click to expand...

Isn't that want you want, so they have to bend over to get the bar off your chest.
 
OK, but what about the body position. I now understand high and tight and get a solid arch with legs back beside the bottom of the bench and shoulders in really tight. BUT, I don't bend that much that my toes are on the ground and its really only the inside of my thighs on the bench. Do you powerlifter types really arch that much? In the Dave Tate video and I think the one above, the guys arch that much that they're right up on their toes.

Just a form check question. I still have my foot flat on the floor.

Cheers,
Mike
 
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