Bench lockout.........

[Imnotdutch]

Ok I figured out today that I have a new weakpoint in my bench. It has always been at the bottom in the past, but now that I'm training heavy again I could see that my lockout is now the problem.

I was going for 5 x 363.........the first four were good but number 5 stalled about 4 inches from lockout. My stroke is about 13 inches so this is definitely the top When I went into the rack to find out more I could lockout 416 when moving over 4 inches. I figure I have to revamp my training to hit this now.

Somebody give me some ideas about how to address this.......this is a new problem for me

For whats its worth, I train bench twice a weak and have moved away from a speed day. So I have two heavy days........this might sound stupid but I feel that the lift is far more solid than when I include a speed day. I always flat bench, then do some work for the weakpoint. This is followed by back (rows, rows and more rows).

I can give more info.........just ask.

[phatman42]

3 board presses
4 board presses
floor presses

[powerlifterjay]

I would use the 3 and 4 brds a s well and after failure on them go to a 5. I incorporate all of them in my workouts. I do triples on the three till its tough then i go to a max on the 4 and once i reach it or fail i then max on a 5. Usually after my last set on the three baord were only talking about 3 to 4 more sets. Also the use of heavy band tension helped my lockout like you wouldnt believe. And again just remeber to push everythign fast as possible.

[solidj55]

This may sound stupid the thing that seemed to help my lockout the most was closegrip incline press. I noticed after about a month of doing these for heavy sets of five that my lockout was the strongest it had ever been. But maybe thats just me.

[Little_Lee]

I don't think that sounds silly at all! Close grip bench is an excellent exercise for locking out because your triceps are the main body part used when locking out! To help my lock outs I either train close grip or headcavers!

[strongerthanall]

I train Westside and I have to tell ya that you need to drop the two day heavy stuff for the bench. You need recovery and speed work. Board presses are great. Try adding bands to them. Also, are you tucking your elbows in? If you are letting your elbows flair too soon this will cause you to use more pec/shoulder and will take your tri's out of the lift. A way to learn not to do this is grab a mini band, double it up, and put it around your wrists. Now take your grip on the bar. You should feel your elbows pulling inward. It will feel a little weird but look out! Perfect bench form! Let me know what ya think.

[BigBad]

Close Grip Decline Presses have actally helped me out a lot. -BB

[Imnotdutch]

I read this and thought 'oh boy, yet another wannabe westsider' (no offence to westsiders......I am talking aobut those that cite the literature as their only source of info). Then I saw your numbes......2455 total. Sheesh. So now I figure that I had better pay attention

Ok let me say something.......I have used speed days in the past. They worked great for a while but then I started stagnate. I only recently switched things up and 2 heavy days was the only thing that got my numbers moving again. So I stuck with it. At the moment my speed is still as high as when I stopped my speed day.....and I keep improving on my PR using my current regimen (now at 440).

Regarding elbow tuck.........
I bench raw (I WANT to use a shirt but there is nobody around to help me put it on right!) and was always weak at the bottom. When I tucked elbows in as far as I have seen shirted lifters do I was even weaker at the bottom. So I compromised.......I do tuck my elbows but not as much as you would probably like. This helped me get the bar moving.......but not my lockout. It was a compromise.

Do you think that raw lifters commonly have this problem? I think that now that the bottom of the lift is now strong for me I will alter my form totuck more.........reckon I'll give the band trick a try.

I'm always interested in criticism........fire away if you think I am being stupid in what I am doing

Originally posted by strongerthanall
I train Westside and I have to tell ya that you need to drop the two day heavy stuff for the bench. You need recovery and speed work. Board presses are great. Try adding bands to them. Also, are you tucking your elbows in? If you are letting your elbows flair too soon this will cause you to use more pec/shoulder and will take your tri's out of the lift. A way to learn not to do this is grab a mini band, double it up, and put it around your wrists. Now take your grip on the bar. You should feel your elbows pulling inward. It will feel a little weird but look out! Perfect bench form! Let me know what ya think.

[strongerthanall]

You're not stupid for trying new things. Hell, thats all we do at WS. We're like Lou's guinea pigs. LOL! I do believe whole heartedly that two days of ME training will eventually lead to overtraining. I look at speed work as being a light day. But being a light day doesn't mean an easy day. Cut your rest time between sets and up your reps a bit to increase the intensity. I get just as much of a workout on speed day as I do ME days.

As for tucking your elbows and getting weaker, I had the same problem. It's learning a new technique, something that you're not used to that makes you feel weaker. A couple of months ago George Halbert wrote an article about my bench and its problems. The guy really helped me turn my bench around. Check the article out and you will see what I mean.

[TheyoungJason]

I agree with stronger... 2 may days will lead to overtraining. If I were you, hit the decline press hard and also 5 board press. best of luck.

-Jason