Comments on: Bench Press Technique

By: Jerry

Jerry — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:45:06 +0000

I compete in NASA (Natural Athlete Strength Association), in the Unequipped Bench-Press 308 Pure Division. As you can probably guess, my competition numbers are not as high as my “Gym Numbers”. NASA has very strict rules on technique (which is a good idea for safety and fairness).

By: Jerry

Jerry — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:33:19 +0000

I am 6′ 4″ , weigh 290, and bench nearly 500, drug free and no equipment (raw). I have been lifting for nearly 20 years and still think I have more strength to gain, before I have to begin one thing I truly dread… downsizing!!!

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 08:59:18 +0000

This post has really helped me realise some errors in my technique. Next session I’ll be decreasing the weight and following your technique pointers to try and fix things up. Note to self: keep forearms vertical from all angles throughout the entire rep, every rep. Thanks, Lyle.

By: lylemcd

lylemcd — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:07 +0000

Your comment/question, while interesting, has no relevance to this article. Go to the support forum.

By: Jordan

Jordan — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:31:48 +0000

Good article, Lyle. One question, I’m following your generic bulking routine and I was wondering if it would be a good idea to switch up the barbell bench with dumbbells from the first upper body day to the next? I feel like dumbbells hit my chest differently than barbell but I want to still keep barbell bench in there as I may get more into powerlifting in the future.

By: freddy

freddy — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 22:12:05 +0000

“shoulders pinned back”. When doing standing military press(or any free weight shoulder press), does this apply as well?

By: Luke Bradley

Luke Bradley — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:10:09 +0000

I bench with my shoulder blades retracted, bum on the bench and a small arch; (lower back about 2-3 inches off the bench, fist depth) is this safe?

Thank you

By: lylemcd

lylemcd — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:33:33 +0000

“With that said, I would note that some types of body mechanics often make the bench press a poor choice of exercises for targeting the pecs (especially without tearing up the shoulders). Usually this is folks with very very long arms for whom full-range bench pressing tends to do awful things to the shoulders.”

By: matt

matt — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:58:52 +0000

I really like this article. its well written and hits the major issues of the bench movement clearly. One more big debate on the bench that would benefit from your input…

elbow position at the bottom of the movement and touching your chest. when people like me touch bar to chest my elbows go below the bench. well below. Some people argue you need to keep elbows in line with the bench, or more accurately, keeping your upper arms parrallell to the floor (90 degrees). That would keep the BB a good 6 inches above the chest in my case.

What are your thoughts on this?

Matt

By: Bench Press Technique

Bench Press Technique — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:50:45 +0000

Excellent article on proper bench press technique and form. A lot of people just don’t understand how to perform this exercise with the right form. Unfortunately, they often times end up injuring themselves in the process. I’ve put together a short article and video detailing how to perform the bench press with good weightlifting form over at my site as well as a link to this awesome article.