Fear of Bench Press and how to conquer it and get good form

[snackwitch]

Hey guys,

I've been doing stronglifts for some months and I have been a lurker on this board since then. It's really good to get the perspective and experience of some veterans on here keep my own motivation level up.

Problem is I am stalling on the bench press. Part of the problem is that I have a weak rotator cuff on my right arm, but I think the larger problem is psychological. I am afraid of the bar doing down faster than I control it. Especially seeing news stories like that of USC football player Stefan Johnson almost killing himself when a loaded barbell of 275 lbs fell on his neck (http://forums.rxmuscle.com/showthread.php?t=20014) adds to my fears.

Currently I train without a spotter and I have been able to get my squat and deadlift past bodyweight, but my bench press remains anemic. I find that when I squat I am able to find a groove with my reps (I breathe in before I go down controlled and then breath out at the bottom, rinse and repeat) but my bench press is really erratic and I am having trouble keeping the barbell level and controlled.

Any advice fellas? I have never had a big bench press, but I'm still young so I should be able to get to 1.5 BW (my goal).

[DeadStrength]

Bench in the power rack. Set the safety pins so that the bar can't hit you if it falls. Don't eyeball it; set the pins, then lie down on the bench and lower the empty bar to see what height works for you.

Second, though there have not been official reports on this particular point, Johnson was almost certainly using a thumbless a.k.a. "suicide" grip. He didn't have his thumb around the bar, he had his thumb aligned with his fingers. This is stupid. Don't ever take a loaded bar out with a thumbless grip, just too dangerous.

If you have a proper grip and are gripping the bar hard, the bar can not "slip out" of your hands like they said Johnson's bar did. Read the how to bench article. http://stronglifts.com/how-to-bench-press-with-proper-technique-avoid-shoulder-injuries/

You'll be ok, just set the pins in the rack and work on technique. Test the range of the pins. For me I have the pins set so that when I'm in proper form, my chest is just barely above the bars at the xiphoid process, but if I don't make a "big chest" or if I move the bar literally an inch towards my waist or shoulders the bar would hit the pins. Hopefully that makes sense, lol, I can try to clarify if it doesn't.

[DeadStrength]

Also if you have or have access to Starting Strength it's great. It has a lot of tips: for one, fix your eyes at a point on the ceiling directly overhead and keep your gaze there during the lift. This helps a lot. Similar to when you're driving - if you stare at the road right in front of your car it's hard to drive straight (you tend to waver back and forth a bit) but if you stare straight in front of you the car follows.

[Portillo]

Im really struggling on the bench press without a spotter. Does a rep still count if its with a spotter?

[coroho]

^if you can do it without assistance from the spotter, why wouldn't it? A spotter's job is to help you pick the bar up if you start to fail a rep, not help you out if you're struggling (though I hear many don't understand this).

[Barry101]

DS wrote:
Test the range of the pins. For me I have the pins set so that when I'm in proper form, my chest is just barely above the bars at the xiphoid process, but if I don't make a "big chest" or if I move the bar literally an inch towards my waist or shoulders the bar would hit the pins.

+1 on this technique. Exactly the way I do it. If your arch begins to collapse, you will know, cause the bar will touch the pins. This really helps drill in the correct form (arch anyway). The only time I am in the rack anymore is if I am going UP on weight. If I am on a deload, I use the regular bench (unless they are all being used).

I wonder how much the fear of dropping the bar on yourself is hurting your bench? Get in the rack and go for it!