Learning How to Bench Press

Almost all movements resulting in extension, flexion, adduction, or medial rotation of the shoulder joint will involve using the chest muscles. Some examples of such actions would be swinging a baseball bat, catching a pass in football, paddling in rowing. The bench press is the best exercise to help you develop and gain strength when training the chest region. There are many ways to bench press. Other methods involve machines and dumbbells. Machines are a great way to introduce a beginner to the bench press exercise. If you are a novice weight trainer you may want to use dumbbells or a barbell. Free weight bench press exercises tend to be more difficult because you are required to use more muscles, and maintain balance and coordination as you complete the lift through different plans of action.

Here are some quick tips to help your bench press numbers sore.

BODY POSITION: To begin the bench press you should always start with placing your feet in the proper position. Your feet should be flat on the floor and no wider than shoulder width apart. Once your feet are secure, lie back on the bench keeping your feet locked into the floor while your hips, back, and rear deltoids are horizontally positioned on the bench

HEAD & NECK POSITION: Be sure your neck and head are placed flat on the bench to prevent any unnecessary muscle strains. This will be crucial as the weight gets heavier. If your neck or head is in a stressed position this could cause the low back to tighten up and force you to lose any power coming from the lower body.

lPROPER GRIP: The proper grip when bench pressing is called the overlapping thumb grip. You should place your hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart. The wrist should be positioned under the palm in a locked out position.

SPOTTER POSITIONING: A spotter should be used at all times. Spotters will assure that if you fail at an attempt someone can help you raise the bar back to the rack position. While training, the spotter should be aware when the lifter is ready to begin and end the lift as well as offer technique advice. The spotter should be positioned behind the bench press bar to help give the needed lift offs and re rack support. The spotter should place their hands under bar when the lifter signals for a lift off, and should never release until the lifter signals that he or she is ready for the decent.

STARTING POSITION: The barbell should be at arms length directly positioned over the middle of your chest.

LOWERING THE BAR: Once you are ready for the decent, you should take a deep breath in before lowering the bar. The elbows should stay close to the body so there will be no added stress on the shoulder regions. As the bar travels downward it must touch the mid-chest region.

RAISING THE BAR: After the bar touches the chest, the lifter should start the acceleration phase. The lifter should not bounce the bar off of the chest. When the lifter begins to press the weight to the start position they should contract the back muscles and apply force to the ground with the feet. This will add extra force from the lower body to the upper body to give the extra boost needed to move the bar past any sticking points. At this point your elbows should be close to your body so the triceps will aid in the acceleration phase.

FINISHING POSITION: The lifter should finish the lift while accelerating and exhaling until there arms are at length directly positioned over the middle of the chest. Technique should not break down at any point of the bench press until the spotter and lifter returns the bar to the racked position.

KEY POINT
As you progress into heavier weight make sure that your technique does not diminish. It is important that you focuses on a couple of common errors while bench pressing.

EXAMPLES OF Common TECHNIQUE BREAKDOWNS:

• IMPROPER GRIP: Not overlapping thumb around the barbell
• IMPROPER FEET POSITION: Feet not secured on floor while presses the bar
• ELBOWS IN OUTWARD POSITION: If the elbows are pointed there is added stress to the shoulder regions which can cause major injuries. Also there will be minimum muscle involvement from other regions.