Half Bench Presses?

I was just reading Dave Tate’s article called ‘Bench press 600 pounds’ and one of the tips was to lower the bar to the upper abs and relatively low on the rib cage. Problem is that I have long arms, wide shoulders, but flat rib cage so my elbows go way past the bench to reach my torso. I’ve tried increasing my flexibility but just can’t touch the bar to my body without pain. And before I get jokes about it, I do have decent chest development but just can’t lower the bar to my all the way to my rib cage. I know there has got to be other guys out there with this problem, what do you do? Half bench presses? Like I said, I’ve already tried stretching the pecs/shoulders for several months.

Have you tried arching?

Start benching with a 3 board press (nail 3 2x6’s together, bring the bar to the boards…don’t just touch them, compress them) and work your way down to 2 boards and finally one board presses. You can even start with 4 or 5 board press. Try floor presses and rack lockouts as these are also partial range movements that can be used to help your bench.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Arching over time can be damaging to your lower back. I’ve tried to gradually increase the range over time similiar to what Jim suggests but keep hitting sticking points. But I do appreciate the comments. Do any of you have experience with doing partial movements exclusively for pressing exercises?