For what it’s worth, that’s a meet video of me in my super katana. I don’t really have any advice other than to tuck the shit out of your elbows. Then tuck some more, and touch low.
Also, lift your head off the bench (if your fed allows it) and watch that fucking bar. I, for one, find it easier to touch where I want it to touch if I’m looking at it, rather than just bringing the bar down by feel. Also, bringing my head up off the bench allows me to “roll” my shoulder [girdle?] forward to touch my belly.
This next thought is just my own theory, but I think it sounds right in my head… If your shirt is binding up (mine doesn’t, still need to get bigger) and you ‘roll’ forward, when you bring your head back down to the bench, it will give you a little bit more pop.
That said, pretty much all of our lifters watch the bar when they’re bringing it down, so you might want to try that, too.
Hanley, I have no idea how you touch that high with that shirt! hahah… I feel like I’m watching a bodybuilder do presses.
Also, being really fat helps.
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I take back all my making fun of you. You got my respect back. You got strong fast.
I got a question for you guys. I’ve had about three sessions in a shirt and when i get to the top set i have a tendency to dump back toward my head. DANGEROUS, i know. I touch low but not ridiculously low. I get the bar going and then its almost as if my wrists come back to far and i end up dumping as i literally push my hands back from the bar. WHen throwing the weight up and back when you feel is the time to be throwing back? i think that if i make sure to stay with the bar rather than pressing the hell out of it, it might lessen this problem but im not 100%. I have a session on Sunday to try it.
This may be a stupid question, but you’ve got the arched back version of the katana, right?
Lift your head up off the bench. Watch the bar touch your belly. Lose that belt for a skinny belt, or a normal clothing belt. Also, you’re seriously underestimating how much your belly will protrude if you wolf down a sleeve or two of double stuf oreos and a few glasses of milk before you bench.
I honestly think you may be able to touch from those last two tips alone.
[quote]bjjwannabe152 wrote:
I got a question for you guys. I’ve had about three sessions in a shirt and when i get to the top set i have a tendency to dump back toward my head. DANGEROUS, i know. I touch low but not ridiculously low. I get the bar going and then its almost as if my wrists come back to far and i end up dumping as i literally push my hands back from the bar. WHen throwing the weight up and back when you feel is the time to be throwing back? i think that if i make sure to stay with the bar rather than pressing the hell out of it, it might lessen this problem but im not 100%. I have a session on Sunday to try it.[/quote]
Could be a few things…
-wrists getting behind elbows
-touching too high
-trying to throw back too soon
-you MAY be trying to touch too low, and in order to get the bar moving you’re throwing it back too hard
I’d say it’s most likely the first or second one to be honest.
This may be a stupid question, but you’ve got the arched back version of the katana, right?
Lift your head up off the bench. Watch the bar touch your belly. Lose that belt for a skinny belt, or a normal clothing belt. Also, you’re seriously underestimating how much your belly will protrude if you wolf down a sleeve or two of double stuf oreos and a few glasses of milk before you bench.
I honestly think you may be able to touch from those last two tips alone. [/quote]
It’s the arched version.
Do you think it’s a smart idea to wet the chest plate?
Every single time I lift my head up from the bench, it’s an automatic dump for me.
[quote]detazathoth wrote:
Do you think it’s a smart idea to wet the chest plate?
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If it’ll get you to touch, I guess. hah Before you do, though, try this…
If you can touch a half board in that belt, you may able to touch if you put a thinner belt on. Also, when you jack the shirt and secure the belt, have someone pull half an inch/an inch out from the belt so it’s easier to push your belly up.
If you can’t watch the bar, have your spotter tell you where the bar is (ie: “two inches, one inch, half inch, BELLY UP”
Also, I’ve got this disgusting ability to protrude my belly to the point where I look pregnant. PL style benching is the only thing on earth where it’s served me any purpose. Some bodybuilders do ‘vacuum’ poses, why not try protruding your upper ab muscles?
Another thing you can try to help row the bar down to you in a shirt:
Set up a reverse band bench set up but don’t put any weight on the bar. Set up for your bench, and row the bar down to wherever it is you’re trying to touch. Make sure to try to stay in what would be your groove in your shirt, and touch the bar wherever you would touch on a normal bench.
Depending on how much you weigh, how strong your back is, etc, you may need to have a training partner hold your shoulders down on the bench. This isn’t a half bad idea anyway, as it kind of mimics having the bar weight push you down like on a normal bench, since the bar you’ll be rowing will be lifting you up.
I’d start with a green band, then just add more bands on top of that.
