Confused about Bench Press technique..

[Dada]

Now I am way MORE confused. Tate is absolutely contradicting himself, in the video saying to press towards the rack in a J shape and in his older article saying that such pressing is moronic. Also it seems the fundamental thing about Tates Bench pressing reccomendations are that they are for competitive powerlifting, reducing the range of motion and maximising the weight.

But what is the best way to bench as a strength exercise? Surely letting elbows fall as low as possible to INCREASE range of motion is a good thing? Thats one of the thing I though I was sure about as that is like proper push ups and rippetoe recommends it too.

Mehdi, are you suggesting that we should just experiment and find what is best for us? I dont think I can decide, id really appreciate a reccomended method.

He did change his view on the J press thing because it's supposedly safer for the shoulders. I'm thinking you should be able to acutally press more if you did it his old way b/c it's a straight line but if it's safer the J way then it's probably the way to do for most people. I haven't tried the new way but am seriously considering it now.

[Faraz]

I've started the way he advocates in the new article and feels a lot more stable and stronger...

Even the narrower feet position without the heels on the ground seems to work well.... I read an article by cressey who advocated to push the legs out as wide as possible and to keep heals on the floor.

[Mehdi]

Now I am way MORE confused. Tate is absolutely contradicting himself, in the video saying to press towards the rack in a J shape and in his older article saying that such pressing is moronic. Also it seems the fundamental thing about Tates Bench pressing reccomendations are that they are for competitive powerlifting, reducing the range of motion and maximising the weight.

But what is the best way to bench as a strength exercise? Surely letting elbows fall as low as possible to INCREASE range of motion is a good thing? Thats one of the thing I though I was sure about as that is like proper push ups and rippetoe recommends it too.

Mehdi, are you suggesting that we should just experiment and find what is best for us? I dont think I can decide, id really appreciate a reccomended method.

LIke I said, more experimentation. I always tended to bench towards my head (and resisted it), but assumed that was because I pressed shoulder-dominant (maybe from all the oh pressing). Now I think it might be because it's just a more natural way of pressing.

Also I do agree (think I posted this elsewhere) that Tate's method is aimed at powerlifting (equipment).

What I'd recommend is to stick with 1 method for long, really long. And get really proficient at it. After months/years of doing it a certain way, you can get better judge how changing 1 small thing will change things.

Personally:
* squeeze bar hard, try to break it
* Elbows close to body on way down
* chest up, shoulder-blades back & down
* Upper-back arched as much as possible
* Wide stance, feet back, push from the heels (keep butt on bench)

Some of these are not inline with rippetoe's stuff, but I think I also said this before that you shouldn't listen to 1 person only (including me). Come up with your own philosophy.

[Mehdi]

Merged the 2 threads on topic.

[DaveT]

He did change his view on the J press thing because it's supposedly safer for the shoulders.

... but less safe for the head. I know which I would prefer to injure.

I also feel there are contradictions in his recommendation for benching towards the rack. Unfortunately, I wrote them down on this other thread. Apologies.

[lint]

I've always though that the technique he describes in his older video doesn't make sense. If you start with the bar over your shoulders and bring the bar down to your lower sternum, well below your shoulders, how can you bench straight up, while still keeping your forearms aligned under the bar not to mention finishing with the bar directly over the shoulders? You HAVE to push it up and back, towards the rack. There is a difference between finishing with the bar above your face and above your shoulders, which is maybe what he was intending. I would also say that if your start/finish position has the bar directly above the shoulders and your midpoint has the bar at your sternum, the difference between pushing it in a straight line back vs a slight arc is negligible.

[biasedbulldog]

And I used to ignorantly think benching was simple... Ugh, I'm confused.

[guru]

I've always though that the technique he describes in his older video doesn't make sense. If you start with the bar over your shoulders and bring the bar down to your lower sternum, well below your shoulders, how can you bench straight up, while still keeping your forearms aligned under the bar not to mention finishing with the bar directly over the shoulders? You HAVE to push it up and back, towards the rack. There is a difference between finishing with the bar above your face and above your shoulders, which is maybe what he was intending. I would also say that if your start/finish position has the bar directly above the shoulders and your midpoint has the bar at your sternum, the difference between pushing it in a straight line back vs a slight arc is negligible.

Correct. Also, if you lift the bar vertically up from your xiphoid process, your hands will be slanted when you lockout - not a strong position to lockout heavy weights.

[Linds]

Is it just me or are there two styles of BP akin to high bar and low bar squats?

Ding ding ding, we have a winner. One style is focused on moving as much weight on the bar as possible because that's how you win in that sport. The other could be for developing strength to use in another sport or vanity or whatever. Neither is objectively better. It all depends on your goals.

[lint]

Is it just me or are there two styles of BP akin to high bar and low bar squats?

Ding ding ding, we have a winner. One style is focused on moving as much weight on the bar as possible because that's how you win in that sport. The other could be for developing strength to use in another sport or vanity or whatever. Neither is objectively better. It all depends on your goals.

In the case of the bench, a hb/lb analogy doesn't seem quite right. The bio mechanics of the shoulder seems to indicate that one method IS better than the other.

[DaveT]

In the case of the bench, a hb/lb analogy doesn't seem quite right. The bio mechanics of the shoulder seems to indicate that one method IS better than the other.

I agree. Pushing towards the rack so that the bar ends up above your shoulders, and remains in line with your wrists and elbows, must be healthier for the shoulders. Any position other than this vertical lock out will produce an imbalance in the stresses on the shoulder. If you push the bar in a straight line up, then your hands will be in front of your elbows, which means there will need to be more tension in the tops of your arms and shoulders to prevent the bar from falling down onto your lap (and vice versa if you press above your face). Unbalanced stresses are more likely to lead to injury.