In the past couple of months my bench has gone up quite a bit incorporating the tips in one of Dave Tate’s articles. But one thing I can’t seem to get down is using the legs. I can plant my feet, but when I do the lift and push with my feet I can’t seem to generate any leg drive at all. Any tips on this? Thanks.
Yeah I could use help with this too… its the one thing im having the most trouble with.
If you really want to learn how to bench with good leg drive, seek out a good powerlifting gym and get in a session there.
The first time I lifted with a PL crew I set a 30 pound PR.
Set up is huge, but you have to stay tight from head to toe. Otherwise, your leg drive doesn’t ever make it up to the bar.
It’s hard to explain the leg drive in the bench press. It’s really just a matter of keeping everything in your lower body squeezed and full of tension. You want you feet pulled back under your hips to produce tightness in your quads and spread out wide for tension in your hips.
As far as the “drive” itself, think of spontaneously contracting every muscle in your lower body when you start the push of bench press.
I’m far from an expert, but I hope this makes some sense. It takes practice.
[quote]malonetd wrote:
It’s hard to explain the leg drive in the bench press. It’s really just a matter of keeping everything in your lower body squeezed and full of tension. You want you feet pulled back under your hips to produce tightness in your quads and spread out wide for tension in your hips.
As far as the “drive” itself, think of spontaneously contracting every muscle in your lower body when you start the push of bench press.
I’m far from an expert, but I hope this makes some sense. It takes practice.[/quote]
So when you start the descent should your lower body basically only be partially flexed while your upper body is flexed? Then as you start the drive you would flex your glutes, quds, hams etc?
[quote]MikeyKBiatch wrote:
malonetd wrote:
It’s hard to explain the leg drive in the bench press. It’s really just a matter of keeping everything in your lower body squeezed and full of tension. You want you feet pulled back under your hips to produce tightness in your quads and spread out wide for tension in your hips.
As far as the “drive” itself, think of spontaneously contracting every muscle in your lower body when you start the push of bench press.
I’m far from an expert, but I hope this makes some sense. It takes practice.
So when you start the descent should your lower body basically only be partially flexed while your upper body is flexed? Then as you start the drive you would flex your glutes, quds, hams etc?
[/quote]
Wow, I suck at explaining this. Your body should be tight the whole time. And uncomfortable. The harder and more uncomfortable it is to bring the bar down, the easier it will be to push up.
With leg drive and lower body tension, you’re actually trying to drive your upper back, traps, and shoulders hard into the bench. This should feel like you’re driving your body down and away from the bar as opposed to pushing the bar up.
How much of an arch do you use? You can “feel” the leg drive more with less of an arch.
I hope I’m making more sense now. Maybe someone more qualified can chime in here.
Ok, I do stay as tight as I possibly can the whole time im benching… I do use a good amount of arch… do you think it would be a good idea to stop using as much of an arch while im trying to perfect this technique?
Doing DE bench really helped me get down leg drive and arch.
It is really hard to explain, and eventually things just sort of click.
[quote]MikeyKBiatch wrote:
Ok, I do stay as tight as I possibly can the whole time im benching… I do use a good amount of arch… do you think it would be a good idea to stop using as much of an arch while im trying to perfect this technique?[/quote]
It’s a trade off that only you can find the answer to. Do you gain enough in pounds using an arch and shorter stroke or will a longer ROM and stronger leg drive be more beneficial to you. If you compete in full meets, you probably want the leg drive because most people I know get back cramps with big arches and that can affect the deadlift.
Leg drive is a black art. You definitely know when you are getting it right, but it takes alot of practice to get there. It seems like it is easy to lose too if you lay off benching for a while. Lots and lots of practice. Imagine you are trying to push the floor out from under you right as you start the press. It takes great concentration.
[quote]the juggernaut wrote:
Leg drive is a black art. You definitely know when you are getting it right, but it takes alot of practice to get there. It seems like it is easy to lose too if you lay off benching for a while. Lots and lots of practice. Imagine you are trying to push the floor out from under you right as you start the press. It takes great concentration.[/quote]
I think im getting what you guys are saying, I plan on working on this a lot with my DE days.
Thanks for the advice guys. Now that I think about it, I don’t think my lower body is all that tight when I’m pressing.
Flexibility might be an issue to. It’s hard for me to put my feet back far, while still being able to plant them flat on the ground. Maybe this is just a matter of preference, but is it more important to have them placed back or wide?
Leg drive is maximized when the force of your legs stabilizes your torso, helps you hold your arch, and helps build tension in the hwole body to maximize your strength. If you are a up on the toes bencher you are pushing down with your toes to get that sternum as high to meet the bar as you can.
If you are a flat foot bencher you are pushing your body toward your head, again stabilizing and getting that sternum up. Lots of little things like squeezing with the glutes and lowering on the lats, tucking your chin or lifting your head, and rolling yoru elbows as you come up. Not easy to learn but very worth it!
Bench Press went from the least to most technical powerlift over the last 5 years. You really need to learn this from PLers in person.
[quote]jackreape wrote:
Leg drive is maximized when the force of your legs stabilizes your torso, helps you hold your arch, and helps build tension in the hwole body to maximize your strength. If you are a up on the toes bencher you are pushing down with your toes to get that sternum as high to meet the bar as you can.
If you are a flat foot bencher you are pushing your body toward your head, again stabilizing and getting that sternum up. Lots of little things like squeezing with the glutes and lowering on the lats, tucking your chin or lifting your head, and rolling yoru elbows as you come up. Not easy to learn but very worth it!
Bench Press went from the least to most technical powerlift over the last 5 years. You really need to learn this from PLers in person.[/quote]
Thank you for jumping in here.