Question about the benchpress

[Tayman]

I have read many articles and watched quite a few powerlifters who arch their back while they bench press. I have been taught in the past to never arch my back, and I have heard many people make fun of those who arch their back "like the golden state bridge" as if it is bad form. Which is correct?

[BARBENDER29]

It's ok to arch your back as long as you keep your butt on the bench.This is true mainly in competition but if you're competing you need to keep constant practice on your arch,it takes a little getting use to.

[Dude-Man]

Arching your back does a lot of things for you.. decreases the distance that you have to push the bar, moves the bar into a motion that is more powerful because you are using more of your lower pecs, and gives you better utilization of the triceps. Think about it, you can bench more on decline, right? most people can anyway. And i don't know about anyone else, but my max dip is a 120 lb db for one rep.. which would put me at 280 lbs.. my max bench is 255.

[Swellin]

Well, ChrisAdams is right on. When you arch, you change the movement. It is no longer a flat bench, but an amalgamation of flat and decline. This is only if you are successful in rotating your lower chest upwards.

I have found that I am actually a little stronger in the flat bench if I keep my feet flat on the floor, my butt on the bench and my shoulder blades as a point of contact with the top of the bench. While doing this, my waist and lower torso still arch upward, and slightly change the angle of the lift (with respect to my pecs).



Extreme arching is an extreme no-no! It is actually dangerous. You can injure your back and your shoulders rather easily by mimicking the Golden Gate.

[Tayman]

Ok, here is another problem that I have recently encountered. Now that my benchpress has surpassed my bodyweight by a decent amount, it seems harder and harder to get "grounded". Feels like I don't have any weight on my feet. What should I really do about this? I read somewhere that you have to dig in to the ground, but there has to be a better way to descibe this.

[Frozenone]

The same thing happens to me... I am 167.2(4% bodyfat) lbs and my max bench is 242lbs is suck at this bench teknique

[hybrid]

Good post guys. Very informative.

[Swellin]

Feels like I don't have any weight on my feet. What should I really do about this?

I would suggest doing some sets with 55%-75% of your 1RM and focusing on "the feel." You need to develop a feel of your feet being nailed to the floor, your butt being strapped to the bench and so on. You can't really get this feel with lower weight. Another option is to eliminate the bounce. When I am doing flats, I stop the weight on my chest for a count (when working the flat bench on low to medium weight). I tend to bounce a little when I get some weight on there. When I remove the bounce, I am not thinking about getting a certain number of reps by blasting through, I am concentrating on the lift itself...the feel...the push. I seem to plant my body much better when I use this method.
HTH.

[Dude-Man]

I find that i get the best plant when my legs are at less of an angle than 90 degrees.. almost under my butt during the movement. the only problem is that most benches don't have adjustable height.. which can be very helpful for leg plant feel. If you're a taller guy, toss a 25 lb weight under each leg(end/corner whatever) of the bench. Make sure it's stable though. If you're a shorter guy, there's not much you can do.

[Warrior]

Personally I always tuck my shoulder blades underneath - it sticks my chest out more. As well as using a thumbless grip to better "feel" the pushing movement. Like chrisAdams mentioned, a little arch better isolates the pec major (the lower, larger of the two pec muscles).

[john martinez]

I would suggest arching. with that said put a little round ball (6" round)half way deflated under your lower back to help get the arch. Then put your feet back underneath you until on the balls of the foot. Or slide forward until flat. Hope this helps.

[hoss827]

Good post, for me its kinda the opposite. It hurts my lower back quite a bit if i arch it, but it does work your lower pecs more that way. I try to keep my back flat, but do what you think is best for you.