Bounce. Image credit: Mowling.

Galapogos’ reply to How to Bench Press with Correct Technique:

The bencher in your video should lower the weight with more control, and not bounce it off the chest that much.

Just touch & go for the stretch reflex to kick in would be ok. Some recommend a pause – mandatory for Powerlifting meets – to get rid of the stretch reflex effect. The eccentric seems to be faster than the concentric, especially on the later reps.

Bouncing vs. No Bouncing. This is the video Galapogos points to, it’s my brother doing the Bench Press. He bounces the weight on his chest on each rep.

Here’s a video of me doing the Overhead Press. I don’t bounce the weight off my upperchest, each rep starts from a dead stop.

The Stretch Reflex. When you lower the weight on the Bench Press & Squat, your muscles are stretched. Energy is stored in these muscles. By bouncing off your chest/hamstrings, you can use this stored energy & lift more weight.

The Deadlift & Overhead Press both start from a dead stop. Weight starts on the floor with the Deadlift. Weight starts on your chest on the Overhead Press. You can’t bounce on the first rep, you can’t use the stretch reflex.

That’s why I never bounced on the Deadlift & Overhead Press. You can’t bounce with heavy singles, so why doing it with reps? Better is to do multiple reps like heavy singles: starting each from a dead stop. At least that’s what I thought.

Benefits of Bouncing. I was exchanging emails with Mark Rippetoe regarding Starting Strength 2nd edition. I told him I was frustrated with my Overhead Press. I’ve only added 5k on my max this year. His advice:

If you start taking your breath at the top for reps 2-5 and rebound eccentrically out of your armpits at the bottom, you will find that to be immediately worth 5k.

This goes against what I’ve believed & did so far. I thought about what he wrote & did some research on using the stretch reflex.

• Harder Muscle Contraction. Try a vertical jump with & without a dip. Muscles contract harder when preceded by a stretch.
• More Weight. You can use more weight by bouncing. Get stronger on your 5 rep max & you’ll get stronger on your 1 rep max.

To Bounce or Not To Bounce? I now do 5×5s with over 50kg. I also hit a PR of 62,5kg for a single, which is 10kg away from a body-weight Overhead Press. I think it’s the result of the Timed Total Tonnage approach & bouncing.

I don’t believe you should always bounce. However it’s a good idea to alternate between bouncing & pausing to get both benefits: more weight using bouncing, strength from a dead stop when pausing.

Don’t bounce if you’re a beginner. You need to stay tight & be fast when the bar hits your chest. Else you’ll lose strength because of bad technique.