Hey, i am a beginner to weight lifting and i read alot of tnation. Lately when i am benching at the location gym, there are always people telling me not to arch my back. Many of them say they study physio and that arching my back can seriously pull some ligaments. Whats up with that? Is it a myth? What should i do?? Thanks for replying.
well… i dont know about pulling a ligament but ive always been told that its cheating. whatever the case, from what i hear, you just shouldnt do it.
I arch my back some but I have heard it can fuck up your back over a period of time “years” but I think they get a fucked up back from streching it to bend more your back has a natural arch if your like me your not flexible enough to bend your back so much that you can get hurt I dont think its cheating… if your not useing a shirt use every advntage you have to bench more whats “cheating” is arching your back takeing steroids and then useing a shirt
I hate people who come up to you in the gym and give advice like the 120 pound personal trainer talking about how his supplements work I like to try to make them mad by saying stuff like well if I dont go low on squats Il have legs like yours ect get creative with it
[quote]n3wb wrote:
I arch my back some but I have heard it can fuck up your back over a period of time “years” but I think they get a fucked up back from streching it to bend more your back has a natural arch if your like me your not flexible enough to bend your back so much that you can get hurt I dont think its cheating… if your not useing a shirt use every advntage you have to bench more whats “cheating” is arching your back takeing steroids and then useing a shirt
I hate people who come up to you in the gym and give advice like the 120 pound personal trainer talking about how his supplements work I like to try to make them mad by saying stuff like well if I dont go low on squats Il have legs like yours ect get creative with it[/quote]
dude its not ok to sacrafice your back for more weight its simple as that. if it were ok then nobody would say anything. thats the mentality of saying even though you arch your back on curls its ok because you need to get all the weight you can. if you cant lift the shit, then you use less.
i dont think he cares about “special circumstances”. as far as arching your back goes. it does make it a little easier on me. i dont know what it is, but it makes it feel as though im pressing the weight down hill.
Arching your back is standard practice in powerlifting, it helps stabilize your body and shoulders so you can lift more, as well as shortening your stroke. check out some powerlifting articles on how to arch correctly, it is not bad for your back, or cheating. It DOES save your shoulders from being destroyed by lying flat on the bench with your elbows flared. benching with your elbows out wide WILL destroy your shoulders eventually.
Here you go.
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=570881
There are a few more on the topic if you search a little.
Rule of thumb- People in a gym that tell you what you are doing wrong are full of shit.
Look for people that are telling someone what they are doing right, and how to improve it.
Since you are a beginner and if your goal is building a chest then stick to good form with your back flat on the bench through the movement.
Power lifters going for extreme poundage’s use an arch as part of their technique, but that isn’t for a newbie. If down the road you get into powerlifting then you can learn the technique for that. Right now stick to the basics and again if you are lifting to develop you chest keep it flat on the bench.
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If you’re just starting out, don’t arch your back…However, like others have said, it is very common among powerlifters and it is safe, and legal in competitions.
If you’re at end of range thoracic extension while benching then there might be some risk, however it seems to me that it’s more likely that your spinous processes will impact before doing a lot of damage to your ligaments.
It is safer to stay in the mid range of flexion/extension, though, especially in the upper lumber-lower thoracic area.
Anyone with other info on this please chime in, it would be interesting to hear from someone with more extensive anatomical knowledge.
Thoracic extension is about the upper back.
Arching your back in benchpressing is about the lower back.
I think you should still arch your back some. I’m not talking about extreme arching, but keeping your whole body tight.
Maybe it’s more of a neutral spine possition, I don’t know, but I really don’t think your back should be flat on the bench.
A small, tight arch won’t hurt you, and will help to keep your whole body tight and powerful.