Do You Make This Mistake on The Bench Press?
Jan 17th, 2008 by Mehdi Tags: Bench Press, Exercise, Weight Lifting
Image credit: Andy Murray
Reader Shahim asked:
I’ve been weight lifting for a while and have performed the Bench Press with my feet placed on the leg extension bar of the bench.
I find that this position is a lot more comfortable than keeping my feet on the floor. Is there anything wrong with this position?
Feet Up. You have 2 reasons to Bench Press with your feet on the bench, in the air or on the leg extension bar:
- Lower Back Pain. Your lower back hurts when your feet are flat on the floor. Stop avoiding what hurts, work on spinal flexibility: cat/camels.
- Overload. You want to make the Bench Press harder by removing your legs from the movement.
Feet on The Floor. I recommend to Bench Press with your feet flat on the floor. It has 2 benefits over pressing with your feet up.
- Safer. Feet flat on the floor is more stable. Your body isn’t fixed when pressing with your feet up or on the bench.
- Stronger. You can squeeze your glutes & calves more easily when your feet are flat on the floor. This makes you stronger.
How to Put Your Feet. The correct foot placement to achieve more stability & strength on the Bench Press:
- Weight on Heels. Curl your toes up if necessary. Push from the heels. Squeeze your glutes & calves while pressing the bar up.
- Knees over Feet. Makes it easier to drive from your heels. Put your shins perpendicular to the floor.
- Wide Stance. Wide is more stable than narrow. Push your knees out. If it feels uncomfortable, you’re overdoing the foot width.
Feet up feels better because you’re used to do them like that. Change to feet flat on the floor. You’ll get used to it after a few weeks.
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Great post, I also think you get some added power on the wide stance when you press your feet into the floor. Pressing your feet down won’t cause your hips to raise up as long as your stance is wide enough. Feet up on the bench doesn’t give you the stability you need.
Good points. I struggle with benching I have to admit.
Lifting in my basement and not having a spotter certainly are factors for me. I have been using dbs but it is very difficult to push the weight higher as it gets more and more difficult to get into position with heavy dbs i find. I am good up to about 57lbs on each but beyond that I cant seem to swing them up . Last night I lifted with a barbell and set the pins as low as I could on my bench but at that point the bar only goes to about 8 - 10 inches from my chest so I lose full range of motion if I want to have a safeguard and try and push the weight amounts higher. I really want to be working out with my body weight (175lbs) as a goal in coming months. (And hihger if possible as time goes on) Hopefully there are some pointers out there?
@Jason
Agreed.
@RJ
I think this post will help you out.
Thanks for the link. I can take advantage of all the tips except the power rack one. I wish I had a larger basement so I could fit a good one . But the ceiling of my basement is only about an inch higher than me (I am 6′2.5). I had to look high and low for a chin up/dip station that would fit a few years ago when I finally found one. So there must be a rack that would fit somewhere out there. As it is when I hang from my chin rack my knees touch the floor lol so I have resorted to propping the back corners of it up on a couple plates. Have to be careful with that though so it doesnt tip, and also I hit my head coming up sometimes
@RJ
My gym setup is also not perfect, we do our best. You could try to make your own rack, this guide might help.
I cringe when my training partner bench presses with his feet up on the bench. It’s an accident waiting to happen. Or at least it’s going to turn a small accident into a very unfortunate one.
Most people who do it tend to say it helps them isolate their chest more, but I say one should put more effort into mentally concentrating rather than forcing body parts out of the equation.