[quote]confusedjake wrote:
Jakebambeeno wrote:
Be sure to focus on those triceps much harder than you are. Tricep pushdowns are one of the worst tricep exercises for building strength.
Focus on rolling dumbbell triceps extensions (dumbbell hammer grip extensions rolled down shoulder and back up with a decent speed), close grip rack bench presses, jm presses, and dips (not machine dips). This, in addition to a strong back (do more pullups), will give you a bench increase.
Focus on your technique… this is key. With your bench either choose a metal militia technique or a westside technique, and WORK on it till you have it perfect. Technique is much more difficult then many people assume, and it can either make or break your lifts. Put in the time, am you will reap the benefits. Good luck to you.
I totally agree with you about technique, it’s definitley a weak point of my bench and I really need to improve it. I don’t really understand what you are describing with the first exercise, I’ll look online for it.
As far as technique, right now im trying to focus on keeping my shoulders back and my back tight. Do you have any tips on how to achieve this?[/quote]
I would look into getting the eliteFTS “bench index” on elitefts.com. This shows you how to preform either metal militia or westside techniques. Also, read all the benching articles on site. Things you need to focus on are:
- Having a solid upper back
- Leg drive
- Being very tight (so tight you about cramp)
- Arch
What you want to focus on is driving your upperback into the bench. Pull your shoulder blades together and down while trying to flex your traps at the same time.
This is going to give you the upper back foundation for an impressive bench. This takes time to learn and of course it takes time to build up your back and traps to be able to do this to any respectable level.
While you focus on that, you need to have your body tight. Many people don’t understand how tight you want to be. As I said above, you want to have your body so tight you almost cramp.
Leg drive is very important. This helps you stay tight. Many big benches say that leg drive can add between 200-400lbs on your bench. I used to train with a guy that bench pressed over 800lbs.
When I was first learning how, we mainly focused on leg drive and upper back tightness. As I would bench, he would kick my knees! If my knees wobbled back and forth, he would tell me I had no leg drive. This gets back to staying tight.
When you drive with your legs, the power should transfer to your upper body. This power is transfered through your arch. You don’t need a huge arch to bench a lot. But, the idea is that you want to have your torso be very tight so you can transfer the power from your legs to your upper body. Remember, you need to keep you butt on the bench, or the lift doesn’t count.
One way I like to set up on the bench is to first get on the bench with my head off the top end of the bench. With my head off the bench, I place my feet wide out to the sides. Next, I grab the bar with an over hand grip and pull my head from being off the bench to being right under the bar.
While I do this, I keep my butt and legs in the same position I set them up to be in. While I am pulling my head right under the bar, I get my back and shoulder blades into proper position before I set my back on the bench.
And that is just the setup.
Hope this helps.