Hi everyone. I maxed out today on bench and I put up 225 and lifted it pretty easily. But as I progressed and finally put 240 on the bar, I had to arch my back quite heavily to lift it. My question is: Since I had to arch my back, does 240 count as my new bench max? If so, I’m primally elated. (6ft, 155, bf 7-8)
unless you plan on competing in a powerlifting meet - who cares? in a powerlifting meet there are rules you must follow. if you don’t follow them, the lift doesn’t count. in a gym, arch, bounce, whatever. it only matters to you. however you do it, just do better next time you max.
Whatever you do to lift the weight is up to you. If you want to cheat and pretend that you can lift more than go ahead (if your into working your ego and not your muscles). I don’t compete in powerlifting so my max doesn’t matter and I don’t want an injury so I use proper form.
I would count 240
I wouldnt count it if my bum came off the bench, or if the spotter touched the bar even if he said he didnt take anything
pete has a point though it doesnt really matter unless your powerlifting where a maximum arch in the back is if anything encouraged
unless your going to go compare it with all your buddies (most of whom will probably be lying about theres anyway) it is only a number that you have to beat later
Well, I didn’t really have a spotter, that’s the problem. I lift in my basement always by myself. I do have a free IBM Gym 15 minutes away, but I prefer the basement feeling. So usually, if it falls, it falls, and I have to maneuvre it off my chest putting red rip marks across it and my abs.
I suggest you read TC’s article on his pec tear. Why would you risk injury performing a max bench without a spotter. Maxing out can be dangerous.
Lyvoa, an arch in your back isn’t a bad thing. Any successful powerlifter tries to increase the arch to it’s upper limit(i.e. the more arch you have in your back, the shorter the distance that the bar has to travel). Search t-mag for “Benching 600 easy” (I think that’s the title), by Dave Tate. All of his recommendations on form have helped increase my bench, and if I’m not mistaken, he addresses having a big arch.(This is all considering that your ass is on the bench,not in the air)
As I understand it, an arched back is okay (in competition) as long as (1) the feet stay planted to the floor, and (2) the butt stays on the bench. If you’re not going to compete, then only you can decide if that’s a problem for you. In essence, by arching the back, you’re making a flat bench into a decline bench. Most people I know have a bigger decline than flat. I’ve also seen people arch so much on the decline that they might as well be doing dips. For me personally, when I was doing benches in various locations, having my feet on the floor was a problem as the different benches had different heights, making the arch different each time. What I do now is to put my feet on the bench. Not legal for competition, but it does 2 things for me – eliminates the arch (which can cause low back problems in some people), and eliminates the difference in benches. But you need to decide what you’re going to track as your top bench, and if you plan on competing some time in the future, you might as well get that form down now.
first of all, an arch in the back is perfectly legal in all bench press competitions. and whoever said, that max lifts are no good or dangerous is a fool, that is the only way to really get strong. ever read the WestSide Program, with louie simmons, those guys do singles all the time, every single max effort day, they do max lifts. but they do different exerices. u need to mix up ur lifts, to keep gaining. if all u do is the regular bench press, u will stop making gains after awhile, u need to start doing inclines, close grips, reverse grips, floor presses. and mix in some dumbell work also. thats the real way to get stronger.
FYI, conan, Dave Tate at Westside has torn both pecs. Make you strong, yes. Safe, no.
well, i agree with what everybody else said. i personally always try to get a good arch before i start the lift. also to clear something up, allthough the westside guys do try to decrease the distance the bar travels they dont all necessarily arch their backs. i know dave tate doesnt. he encourages good leg drive without arching and pushing the bar in a straight line at the lowest part of the chest.
dave tate tore both pecs? so what, you know how many guys they train, how many world champions they have. maybe they don’t all train with arched backs, but it is perfectly legal to do it in competition.
it is not safe if you DON’T arch your back, within reason. first if you only care about muscle developement than you MUST arch to get the pecs to anywhere near full contraction (the bench press still won’t come close to fully contracting your pecs but atleast w/an arch you can get closer to full contraction)the arch should be enough so the lower back is off the bench but the but is firmly planted on the bench, but not so much of an arch that you feel compresion of the spine. back to the safety issue, first the pressure on the rotatorcuff without an arch is unnatural and will first lead to strained conective tissue and/or nerve impingment first and later you will wind up with a torn rotator. for the pecs, benching without an arch will give your pecs almost no base near completion and will probably lead to you rolling your shoulders forward which in turn puts the pecs in a “0” base position at completion and eventualy you WILL wind up with a torn pec.ALWAYS ARCH BUT NOT SO MUCH THAT YOU FEEL YOUR SPINE COMPRESS
Thanks everyone for the info. I’ll use it as future reference for my max lifts.
Just my .02 - Arching is safer as it takes strain off your front deltoids and rotator cuffs. Max benches aren’t as dangerous as made out to be - I’ve been maxing for 8 years - no problems - up to 360. The key is having a good spot and/or cage for protection and to NEVER allow one side to cheat over the other - keep it level.
There is NOTHING wrong with max single reps or singles training as long as you prepare your body for it by training in a low rep range to begin with. Someone mentioned pec tears. Yeah, there is a possibility that you might tear a pec or injure yourself some other way if all you’re used to is higher rep training and then all of a sudden you decide to try max reps. This is not the brightest thing to do. Low rep training helps prepare not only the muscles but also the tendons & ligaments for max attempts.
For example, before going to a singles system if all you’ve done is higher rep training, you would prepare yourself by doing a 5X5 system for a cycle, Then go to a 5/4/3/2/1 system for a cycle and follow that up with singles training and throw in some rack training from bottom & lockout and some floor presses as well. Watch not only your max attempts go up and your strength increase, but you’ll bve pleased with the size increase as well.
Ricoflex- thanks for the input. I’m actually starting to incorporate high-rep training into my litin’ and I’ll switch back with your suggestions in about 1-2 months of that.
To HETYEY225, you gave out the best advice for benching. Arch but don’t overkill the spine. As you press up, focus on pressing your head back in the bench. To Lyova, it’s risky maxing out by yourself unless you have safety pins or a rack to drop the weight if you can’t press it up. Better to be conservative and focus on maxing out 2-3 reps. A little safer.