Hi all,
I was wondering if you guys know of any flexibility drills or exercises that will increase my back arch when I bench. I know a lot of powerlifters put a foam roller underneath their back during their warmup sets to work on the arch. However, my back isn’t flexible enough to do that yet. What do you guys suggest I do? Thanks a lot.
Go on YouTube and check out EliteFTS’s channel. Dave Tate has a lot of instructional stuff on the bench uploaded.
Just lots of back stretching. I had been stretching my lower back for years before getting into powerlifting, and the arch came very naturally for me because of this. I don’t think that you need any special exercises…just stretch.
You can use PVC pipes of different sizes to build up the arch.
Practice, practice and practice. I’ll paraphrase Dave Tate and say that you should never feel comfortable while benching. A lot of people in the gym bench press because it’s easy to be complacent - just flop down on the bench like a sofa and press. Do the opposite.
Hip flexor, quad and calf flexibility are big limitations as well. It’s a good idea to stretch the lower body before your upper days in any case.
PVC is a good idea as well as 1 & 2 boards. I never used either though, stretching and practice were enough for me.