So I am a 20 year old guy who is keen on taking up powerlifting as a sport. As a kid I have always had strong legs and deadlifting+squats have been strong lifts for me (380+365 after a 4 month lay off). My only issue is with the bench press…I have spent months reading all the articles and know what is expected of me in terms of technique but I still can’t get my numbers up. When I bench I cannot keep my back (upper back) tight when I unrack the weight. My back just loosens up and it all goes downhill from there…any advice??
So I am a 20 year old guy who is keen on taking up powerlifting as a sport. As a kid I have always had strong legs and deadlifting+squats have been strong lifts for me (380+365 after a 4 month lay off). My only issue is with the bench press…I have spent months reading all the articles and know what is expected of me in terms of technique but I still can’t get my numbers up. When I bench I cannot keep my back (upper back) tight when I unrack the weight. My back just loosens up and it all goes downhill from there…any advice??
P.S - Aside from benching my military press is also a tad weak…ok not a tad VERY weak and I have a slouch in my posture ( http://neckpaincausesinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/poor-posture.jpg ) if that provides any additional insight…Thanks!!![/quote]
First off, stop slouching you lazy slug! Second, search the web for: upperback mobility drills (or even on this site you lazy…), how to unrack a bench press, etc… And third (of course as suggested) post a video of your set-up and press.
Beyond this it suffices to say that you should: do more rowing movements, strengthen your upperback, watch videos of how good pressers set-up, and strengthen your triceps.
Get on with it…
Suggested exercises that help everyone regardless of weakness for pressing and everything else:
Bent Rows
Kroc Rows
Pull/Chin-Ups
Face-Pulls
Safety Bar Squats (yes they will help your bench by making your upperback wicked strong)
Heavy Partial Presses (board presses and partial overhead presses)
Speed Bench also known as dynamic effort (you don’t have to have bands or chains, plus it’s more practice)
^ try rolling out the upper back on a foam roller. Works wonders for me. Also, when you set up for the bench, arch your upper and lower back hard to the point where your weight rests on your traps. This will help keep you from loosing tightness.
When I bench I cannot keep my back (upper back) tight when I unrack the weight. My back just loosens up and it all goes downhill from there…any advice??[/quote]
Well, assuming that you actually know and use the correct form, I’d say that your back is weak. What do you do for your upper back to strengthen it? Do you do 2-3 times the rowing work for every set of pushes? You don’t have to answer these questions, they are simply to make you think about what you are doing in the gym. I bet if you really stop and think about it you’ll see that you haven’t been doing wise stuff. Obviously you are unhappy with what you ARE doing now so step one is shit canning that and trying something else. Maybe consider the order of your training sessions. For example, I can’t bench press near my best when my back is sore or tired from heavy deadlifting…
I’ll dare say that you more than likely need to just get stronger all over. If you are squatting 380 / dead lifting 365 pounds using the vast amounts of muscles involved in those movements, how much do you realistically expect to bench? Everyone has lifts that are “easier, funner, better, good at” etc. Don’t get bogged down in small things. Maybe your problem is mental. I was “stuck” at 315 because it was “3 wheels” to break that dumb shit, I used 225 and threw a couple quarters on the bar looking over all I saw was 225, then I smacked up that 325 like it was shit… Jedi Mind tricked myself… dumb as fuk yes, but highly effective for me. Learn your Jedi Mind trick
I once read that Strong men don’t ask how much stuff weighs, they just ask where you want it moved to… lol good luck
also a lot of people unrack the bar by pressing the bar up instead of pulling it straight out of the rack. This usually causes the back to lose tightness. Also try band pull aparts and scap retractions.
maybe try positioning yourself as high as possible on the bench that you can without the rack getting in the way of the bar, so you don’t have to move the bar as far while unracking. Other than that get a spotter to help you unrack and do a shit load of facepulls and rows.
Get stronger back, shoulders, traps, continue benching and working on bench form, and it’ll go up again. Safe to say your back probably is piss-poor-weak.
Thanks for the advice I checked my form and it is a combination of a weak back and the way I unrack the weight…the Dave Tate video helped a lot and I will also do the back exercises you guys recommended, I jut did some bench work today and just saw an improvement, now it’s a matter of practice!!!
First off, stop slouching you lazy slug! Second, search the web for: upperback mobility drills (or even on this site you lazy…), how to unrack a bench press, etc… And third (of course as suggested) post a video of your set-up and press.
Beyond this it suffices to say that you should: do more rowing movements, strengthen your upperback, watch videos of how good pressers set-up, and strengthen your triceps.
Get on with it…
Suggested exercises that help everyone regardless of weakness for pressing and everything else:
Bent Rows
Kroc Rows
Pull/Chin-Ups
Face-Pulls
Safety Bar Squats (yes they will help your bench by making your upperback wicked strong)
Heavy Partial Presses (board presses and partial overhead presses)
Speed Bench also known as dynamic effort (you don’t have to have bands or chains, plus it’s more practice)[/quote]
Hahaha I’m more of a sloth then a slug, but what you say makes sense I don’t do nearly enough rowing outside of chins, pull ups, and bent rows…my gym doesn’t have a safety bar with which to squat (Toronto doesn’t have too much in terms of hardcore powerlifting gyms)…but I can do the other stuff for sure.
When I bench I cannot keep my back (upper back) tight when I unrack the weight. My back just loosens up and it all goes downhill from there…any advice??[/quote]
Well, assuming that you actually know and use the correct form, I’d say that your back is weak. What do you do for your upper back to strengthen it? Do you do 2-3 times the rowing work for every set of pushes? You don’t have to answer these questions, they are simply to make you think about what you are doing in the gym. I bet if you really stop and think about it you’ll see that you haven’t been doing wise stuff. Obviously you are unhappy with what you ARE doing now so step one is shit canning that and trying something else. Maybe consider the order of your training sessions. For example, I can’t bench press near my best when my back is sore or tired from heavy deadlifting…
I’ll dare say that you more than likely need to just get stronger all over. If you are squatting 380 / dead lifting 365 pounds using the vast amounts of muscles involved in those movements, how much do you realistically expect to bench? Everyone has lifts that are “easier, funner, better, good at” etc. Don’t get bogged down in small things. Maybe your problem is mental. I was “stuck” at 315 because it was “3 wheels” to break that dumb shit, I used 225 and threw a couple quarters on the bar looking over all I saw was 225, then I smacked up that 325 like it was shit… Jedi Mind tricked myself… dumb as fuk yes, but highly effective for me. Learn your Jedi Mind trick
I once read that Strong men don’t ask how much stuff weighs, they just ask where you want it moved to… lol good luck
[/quote]
Makes sense I once benched 225 by fluke but after that day I’m not sure why I went back to normal with my 165 1RM :S but yeah my back needs a lot of work by the sounds of things
