Thread: Raw Bench at Bottom

Some people (mono) are very worried about tempo, I don´t think it matters that much.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/tempo.htm

Nice link V. The main thing I'm thinking about is the legality aspects of a raw bench meet. Do I need to pause for it or keep going.

Oh the legality of it, yeah I presume it is ok, afterall they want you to lift that thing. I don´t know.

Originally Posted by Rocco32

If I decided to do a Raw Bench PL competition, do you pause at the bottom of the rep or is it a continous motion....down/touch/up all at once? Did that make sense?

There has always been a pause in raw bench competitions, but some will let you get away with touch and go. It's better to train for a pause, most judges expect it.

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

There has always been a pause in raw bench competitions, but some will let you get away with touch and go. It's better to train for a pause, most judges expect it.

Thanks foreman

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

There has always been a pause in raw bench competitions, but some will let you get away with touch and go. It's better to train for a pause, most judges expect it.

Not only that, but training with a pause at the bottom of the lift will help increase your starting strength. Therefore, if given the opportunity to go touch and go, you will be better prepared.

However, I think you should train both ways so that you can use a tiny bit more weight when you use the touch and go method. This should provide your triceps with a little extra resistance that could be beneficial if your sticking point ever moves higher off the chest. Even so, standard competition style should be prioritized.

I suggest the bottoms up bench press. Set the pins in a rack at chest height so the bar just grazes your chest. This allows you to bypass the negative portion of the movement to eliminate that elastic energy from the equation and force yourself to use pure strength.

Also, when performing your DE work, it might be beneficial to pause in between reps.

Thanks Cow, I've been doing suspended Bench here lately and that is tough. Course I don't have a rack cage either so I've been resting the bar on my chest for 3 seconds LOL.

Originally Posted by Rocco32

Thanks Cow, I've been doing suspended Bench here lately and that is tough. Course I don't have a rack cage either so I've been resting the bar on my chest for 3 seconds LOL.

That's OK for you now, but what about when you get up to 400 lbs?