You might have heard about many popular gym exercises and one of them is Flat Barbell Bench Press. Many youngsters these days are working hard in gyms to improve their power and strength but only a few of them know about the best technique to be followed during each rep.
People do read many articles which boast of revealing rare techniques to improve your bench press but we are sure that all of them might have failed by now. But the tips here will improve your bench press at this very moment and all that you need to posses is the eagerness in you to learn something new. Don’t worry; these tips have been tested by experts.
1. The best way to start your bench press rep is with no weight on the bar. Do not forget to check the hand spacing on the bar.
Unrack the bar as you always do and lower it to your chest. Request your partner to note the way your forearms have taken shape. There are chances to gain the best power and sometimes nothing from your exercise. It is always suggested to gain at least the average power from your exercise. For average power (the optimal required amount), you must bring your forearms as close to the vertical as possible and they must be at the bottom of the rep too. One must adjust the placement of his hands as per the rings on the bar. The optimum placement is something with which you are comfortable. After all, it’s your health!
Different ways people place hands on the bar leave different effects on their bodies like: in case your hands are placed closer to each other then the direction of force will be inwards instead of being upwards. If your hands are placed away from each other then the resulting force will be directed outwards instead of being directed upwards. In case your arms are vertical then the resultant force will be directed upwards pushing the bar up. Did you observe that all these cases weren’t in your favour when it comes to handling the bar properly?
2. Step 1 taught you how to grip the bar. Step 2 will teach you how to manage your body and how to generate proper strength / stability for your body.
After gripping the bar properly you will have to lay yourself on the bench and remember that your feet must be on the floor NOT on the bench. If you place your feet on the bench then there are chances that you will lose your balance and you will fail to completely utilize your energy. It is always suggested to place your knees at an angle of 80 degree for best results (we will throw more light on this later on).
One method that one can use to lock your shoulders in order to gain maximum stability and strength is:
- Prefer to place your hand on the back of the bar. Placing hands on the bottom might not result in better results (we will learn this with an image later on).
- It is time to rotate the bar so as to bring your palms underneath the bar (don’t remove your grip). Now, you will feel like you have locked your shoulders and they are stuck in the most suitable position.
- While you were busy with the above step, remember to lift your body (not your arms and legs) slightly above the bench and adjust the blades of your shoulder below the body (in the gap which is created between body and bench).
- This way your chest will bulge outwards and it will make your body look a lot thicker. Your pectoral will achieve a much better line of pull if you follow the above steps.
- Remember that your shoulder blades remain squeezed in between the body and the bench during this complete setup.
3. It’s time to tighten your muscles as now you will be asked to displace the bar from the racks. Start lowering the bar and inhale as you lower it close to a point which is even with your breastbone. You will feel like your muscles are springs which are now ready to force back with a bang!
Let the weight slightly touch your chest. Never apply a sudden force to push back the weight. It might cause broken bones or other injuries. This will also reduce the tightness in your chest and hence will not be helpful in building strength for your body as you might have expected.
4. Your legs will play a major role when you start to push back on the bar. Many ‘experts’ do not know about this method. The energy of your legs will help you to bench press extra weight than what you are capable of.
As stated before, your knees should be bent with an angel of 80 degrees. This helps your legs to push back with ease and apply greater force than what you will apply with other angels. You must try this technique using some empty bar so that you do not injure yourself when the weight is added.
- When you push the bar up and use your legs for the same, it will feel like you are pushing your body against the bench. When the bar is empty you will easily be able to push the body against the bench but after being loaded the force which is generated from your legs will directly be applied on the bar and hence you will be able to push the bar upwards.
This method of using legs to push the bar up is known as ‘driving using legs’. This way your complete body is involved in this exercise and not just the arms.
5. While bringing the weight down we asked you to take deep breaths in and when you push the weight up you must exhale forcefully but slowly. Breathing out slowly helps you to maintain the body posture else you might even stumble with the weight and hurt yourself.
- Remember that the contact of your feet with the floor is the reason why your legs are able to push the weight upwards. So, never move your feet away from the floor even if you feel like you are stumbling with the weight. You are likely to fail if you move your feet.
- If your feets start moving around and they don’t seem to be under your control then you should consider placing some weights on your feets. These weights are meant to warn you when your feets move. If they shake or fall down then you will know that you messed it up.
- The bar should not be forced ‘directly upwards’. An arced movement starting from your lower ribs and moving towards your face (when it is at its zenith) is the best way to push the bar upwards.
6. Congrats! You just now finished one complete rep. Now start again…
If you follow these tips then you are bound to get better results when compared to other hoax tips available on the Internet.
