I have been trying to improve my bench press form but I’m worried that I put my feet too far. I have watched the dave tate vids on benching but I still have this question about foot placement.This is a photo of me benching. By putting my feet in this position I feel as if i takes some strain off the hips and keeps my arch tighter.
I dk man. Its personal preference im not a great bencher by any means 345@198 but i keep my feet wide and walk them back into my arch and keep my heels flat. If you plan on competing check the feds rules about benching. My fed makes you keep your heels on the ground.
Watch the beginning of Part 2 again (hell, watch the whole thing again). As Dave notes, your feet should be wherever you need them to be to stay tight on the bench.
If this is the best spot to keep a tight arch and the weight on your traps, and if it allows you to get a solid leg drive and keep your ass on the bench, then go for it. But don’t be afraid to play around with it and see if a different foot placement does better in this regard.
Doesn’t answer your question directly but, when I put my feet where yours are I could not get any leg drive with out my ass coming up. Then I switched to this and feel much better in general.
Well I think I have to mention that I’m 6’2 and if I keep my feet in front of my knees my knees are going to be higher than my hips. I’ve been experimenting with foot position and found out that if I want to keep my heels on the ground I have to spread my legs really really wide.
This position MIGHT give me more stability(not sure yet) but it’s really hard on the hips and it’s a bit more awkward to dig my traps into the bench. When I’m benching off my toes under my back I can really keep the arch up for consecutive reps.
[quote]DeathSoSwiftly wrote:
Well I think I have to mention that I’m 6’2 and if I keep my feet in front of my knees my knees are going to be higher than my hips. I’ve been experimenting with foot position and found out that if I want to keep my heels on the ground I have to spread my legs really really wide.
This position MIGHT give me more stability(not sure yet) but it’s really hard on the hips and it’s a bit more awkward to dig my traps into the bench. When I’m benching off my toes under my back I can really keep the arch up for consecutive reps. [/quote]
I’m the same height, and having the same issues. I was using feet tucked for a long time. I tried feet wide and flat, felt awkward at first. Like you you said more stability, but less of an arch. It sucks being long legged and using average/low height benches.
However, over the weekend, I watched a TON of Clint Darden’s videos. He’s our height, and he has about 6 or so videos on the Bench Press, actually just had an article yesterday on it on EliteFTS. Go watch all his videos, THEN give it a try. I gave it another shot Monday with the wide stance, and I got a TON of leg drive, and was able to reinforce my arch with leg drive every rep. I’m not saying it’s the best foot placement out there, but I’m going to give it a legitimate shot over the next 3-6 weeks and see if I can get it down.