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what can i do to help the bottom part of my bench press?


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Posted by: White_Pony

i can bench with good form and what not up to a certain weight, but when i get up there, i can't bring it all the way down to my chest. i usually can only get as low as 3-4" above my chest on heavy lifts.
so my question is, what exercises can i do to gain strength in the bottom half of the lift?


Posted by: Mudge

Strengthen your lats, make sure your form is correct. I have two links to articles on technique in the sig.


Posted by: White_Pony

as far as form goes, is it better to bench with elbows tucked against your sides, or have them out, kind of like your upper arm is in line with the bar, if that makes sense.


Posted by: greekblondechic

I think you can also break it down, just rep the bottom part to get better at it? May sound silly.. I Dunno how to explain it but I read it somewheres..


Posted by: DimebagDarrell

agreed. id take the bar from your chest until your upper arms are parallel with the floor then negative it down, rinse and repeat


Posted by: Var

As Mudge already said, your lats are whats failing you in that portion of the lift...more so than chest.


Posted by: CowPimp

Quote:
Originally posted by White_Pony
as far as form goes, is it better to bench with elbows tucked against your sides, or have them out, kind of like your upper arm is in line with the bar, if that makes sense.
Don't tuck your elbows against your sides. That is only for close grip benchpress. It causes more tricep usage to become involved.


Posted by: takopoke

I think you should to close grip bench presses. Former world strongest man, Bill Kazmier used to do a lot of close grip bench presses. His competitors were always amazed at how fast he was able to move the bar off his chess back up using world record poundages.


Posted by: plouffe

Do partial reps. Only move the weight 3 inches above and below your normal sticking point.


Posted by: J'Bo

Quote:
Originally posted by takopoke
I think you should to close grip bench presses. Former world strongest man, Bill Kazmier used to do a lot of close grip bench presses. His competitors were always amazed at how fast he was able to move the bar off his chess back up using world record poundages.
he may have done them....but they wont help him with his benching problems.....as said before its to build the triceps.


Posted by: Mudge

Quote:
Originally posted by CowPimp
Don't tuck your elbows against your sides. That is only for close grip benchpress. It causes more tricep usage to become involved.
Tucking the elbows in is the only way to bench heavy without injury, I say again I have two articles linked in my sig which explain this. If your elbows are out in outer space, good lock to your shoulders.


Posted by: White_Pony

Quote:
Tucking the elbows in is the only way to bench heavy without injury, I say again I have two articles linked in my sig which explain this. If your elbows are out in outer space, good lock to your shoulders.
but by tucking my elbows in, i find that i can't lift nearly as much, and the bar tends to go up in sort of a "zig-zag" motion.


Posted by: Mudge

It takes practice to get it right, it does not litterally mean pull your elbows in. For me to do this I bench about 2-3 inches below my nipples. Before I used this technique I was only doing 265 max and it was starting to bother my shoulders, now I do 285*10 with no shoulder problems.

I practiced for a week with 135 before I felt I had the entire technique down.



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