[quote]KBCThird wrote:
Raw Power wrote:
First, cambered bar pause presses. Use a 2 board in conjunction with this. If you use just the bar without the board you will go way past the ROM (range of motion)and be too deep and end up with an injury. Most cambered bars have a 6" curve in them. With a 2 board in you will go about 1 1/2" - 2" deeper. Add in the pause of a 5/1000 count and then exploding up you develop explosiveness off of the bottom that is crucial for raw benching.
I’ve used the cambered bar before but never paused with it. Do you relax on the boards and then try to explode into teh press and quickly overcome the inertia? Or do you keep your muscles tense the entire time youre in the hole?[/quote]
No, you do not relax while you are holding the bar on the board/chest. Keep the muscles tense with a firm grip on the bar as if you were doing a touch-and-go. If your a powerlifting competitor then you would hold the bar on the board/chest the same as you would if you were doing a pause. The only difference here is that you are exaggerating the pause for a count of 5/1000. You can lessen it if you want.
Some people make the mistake of pausing each rep when using boards and actually letting their grip loose and relaxing. I know one lifter who would actually take his hands off the bar.
Just keep the pressure/tension on the bar while you are holding the pause in the hole and then explode up. Check the curve (in inches) on your cambered bar and adjust your ROM accordingly.