[quote]El_Animal wrote:
Leg drive from a bench press…wow. How about learning to bench properly?[/quote]
Blasphemy!
I saw in an MMA article they were doing it also. I guess this is more in the form though if your in the guard…your handling heavy weights with your arms…I dunno…i say just bench iwth your feet on the floor, unless you have that back injury other people were talking about before.
[quote]El_Animal wrote:
Leg drive from a bench press…wow. How about learning to bench properly?[/quote]
I’ve heard of powerlifters tearing quads while benching… I guess it just depends on what you care about more: hypertrophy or lifting a maximal amount of weight.
Using your legs has nothing to do with causing your chest to increase in size, so it probably doesn’t matter if you have bodybuilding goals.
If you’re a powerlifter, then you would be a total douche to bench press with your feet on the bench.
View feet up bench as a variation, tats it
noting more nothing less.
Can be dangerous hhowever since no balance.
[quote]AgentOrange wrote:
El_Animal wrote:
Leg drive from a bench press…wow. How about learning to bench properly?
I’ve heard of powerlifters tearing quads while benching… I guess it just depends on what you care about more: hypertrophy or lifting a maximal amount of weight.
Using your legs has nothing to do with causing your chest to increase in size, so it probably doesn’t matter if you have bodybuilding goals.
If you’re a powerlifter, then you would be a total douche to bench press with your feet on the bench. [/quote]
Well said.
I obviously don’t get more weight from my legs, but it helps stabalize and create a powerful arch so I get to lower the bar less distance=more weight.
Powerlifting benching and benching for pec hypertrophy are entirely different creatures.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
ohagajosh wrote:
People do it to eliminate leg drive derived from an arch. I do it sometimes, maybe you don’t, but really who the hell cares?
I do. I haven’t slept in 3 weeks worrying about this. Either way, if you are driving that much with your legs that you can’t control yourself, dropping the weight to a range that doesn’t require your spotter to shrug two thirds of it while you grunt and scream through the other third would make the most sense.[/quote]
i don’t know anybody who drives so much with their legs that they can’t control themselves without leg drive… do you?
either way, leg drive is something i always use when benching in order to stablize my core… the more stable and tight your core , the more you can lift by making it easier to activate all muscles that are involved in moving the bar.
when i’m all wired up and tight like that by driving hard through my legs, while NEVER lifting my butt off the bench by even a hair, the more i can lift. i get my lats in there, my elbows are in tight, etc…
there is no one absolute way to bench press that everyone must do. you r post seems to imply that those who train with powerlifting technique on the bench cannot handle the weight they are moving properly.
[quote]hueyOT wrote:
there is no one absolute way to bench press that everyone must do. you r post seems to imply that those who train with powerlifting technique on the bench cannot handle the weight they are moving properly.[/quote]
I think I have been pretty clear as far as what I meant. Those who are arching their back that drastically either need to justify it by claiming they are “powerlifters” or drop their ass back on the bench so they can actually work their chest which is the point of the movement in bodybuilding.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
hueyOT wrote:
there is no one absolute way to bench press that everyone must do. you r post seems to imply that those who train with powerlifting technique on the bench cannot handle the weight they are moving properly.
I think I have been pretty clear as far as what I meant. Those who are arching their back that drastically either need to justify it by claiming they are “powerlifters” or drop their ass back on the bench so they can actually work their chest which is the point of the movement in bodybuilding.[/quote]
i can’t see why anybody would ever pick their butt up off of the bench, bodybuilder or powerlifter. it’s not allowed in powerlifting and is unstable. you’ll never see me doing that or recommending that.
personally, i like to kinda balance the two things out a bit, but i’m not gonna pretend that i’m not in the gym to build muscle.
still, even with my bodybuilding goals, i arch my back when benching and drive through my legs, i also keep my elbows in and activate my lats when i lift.
and the ‘point’ of benching is not to simply build the chest . when i do flat bench, and as my strength in the lift progresses, i’m trying to get growth in all the muscles involved. if i wanted to do just chest i’d stick with cable crossovers. but i’m a badass so i do bench.
bodybuilding <without drugs, anyways> is about progression in performance. if you’re getting stronger over time, you’re building muscle… regardless of whether your back is flat or arched.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
ohagajosh wrote:
People do it to eliminate leg drive derived from an arch. I do it sometimes, maybe you don’t, but really who the hell cares?
I do. I haven’t slept in 3 weeks worrying about this. Either way, if you are driving that much with your legs that you can’t control yourself, dropping the weight to a range that doesn’t require your spotter to shrug two thirds of it while you grunt and scream through the other third would make the most sense.[/quote]
I workout alone. I sometimes drive through my legs for that last rep, but this is my signal to rack the bar before I drop it on myself. Feet on the floor is the only way to bench, anything else is theatrics.
stands up
My name is Dre, and I use to bench with my feet on the bench and in the air.
It’s been a month or two since my eyes were opened to the stupidity of benching like this. I would like to thank Mr. Eric Cressey for showing me the light into proper bench pressing form. I use to bench with my feet on the bench or gasps in the air because I thought it was better to have my lower back flat against the bench. I now know better.
Since switching to the proper form my bench has gone up, my shoulders don’t both me as much and I feel a TON more stable while benching. I feel like it’s my duty to spread the word to the masses about the proper form while bench pressing.
Again, a BIG THANKS to Mr. Eric Cressey for showing me the light.
sits back down
[quote]Professor X wrote:
ohagajosh wrote:
Not sure if that was directed at me specifically, but there isn’t much of a difference between my feet up and normal bench, so no I’m not using a retarded amount of leg drive in the first place. Normal bench with leg drive: 365x1. Feet up bench: 340x1.
That’s strange. When I bench, my feet don’t have much do with it and damn sure don’t INCREASE the amount of weight I can use. They are simply placed flat on the floor for stabilization, not to arch the hell out of my back to get more weight that I can’t really do with the target muscle group. What you are really saying is you can get more weight up if you turn the flat bench into a pseudo-decline bench. Well, gee, who couldn’t? [/quote]
Having your feet properly spaced on the floor will increase your stability though. So if you’re benching around your 1RM range, you’d probably be able to move more weight with your feet on the floor rather than on the bench.
But it shouldn’t make a much of a difference (in ohagajosh case it’s only 7% difference).
[quote]F13 wrote:
Come one guys, feet on the bench is not the worst you can see in the gym. I have seen a couple of idiots benchpress with their feet up in the air, knees bent at 90 degrees and everything. I’ve never bothered to ask what their rationale is for doing it this way, but I guess they have their reasons:)[/quote]
Just wait until they start crunching, too.
Guys,
How can benching with feet on the floor and lower back not pressed into the bench be wrong. Your back has an arch in it.
MOst have found that something between a oldschool body builder bench arch and powerlifting bench arch to be correct for most purpose.
The arch, with leg drive creates a solid structure. From waste down, all is “locked” into place. Creating a stable base to bench off of.
Without an arch or feet in air, from waist below is a flimsy structure, can be dangerous.
Feet in air I think has some purpose in body buidling but the weight should be a lot lower to comensurate.
The powerlifting arch is as high and tight as rules allow, to shorten bar distance and create the most stable structure. I don’t think most of us should use the powerlifting arch but something in between - a tight, locked arch with feet flat in floor and stability force thru the thighs so that the lower trunk is locked into place.