WHAT CAN YOU BENCH, DUDE?
For high school athletes bench press is king. It’s what separates the alpha male from the rest of lifters in the gym. If you want to talk about deadlift or squat records you can go play with the rest of the betas getting tangled up in the resistance bands. I mean come on, it’s chest day!
The fact is, high school athletes immediately look towards bench press as the number one display of strength. Things were the same when I was in high school. There were about 15 times as many athletes in the 300lb bench club as the 500lb squat club. Our football team never threw the ball during the game, but the receivers and QBs would always leave on squat day (never on bench day!) to practice routes! Like I said, not a whole lot has changed.
Now I could untangle the previously mentioned beta male from those resistance bands and show you how his deadlifts and squats made him the more explosive and stronger athlete on the field. Not to mention, he probably doesn’t need a butt pad in order for you to make out his backside while in game pants.
Despite the fact that bench is generally over-trained and over-emphasized by high school athletes (typically males), there are of course some benefits to adding this lift into many athlete’s strength programs.
So as long as you promise to not skip leg day, here are three tips to help you improve your bench press (and up your bragging rights…)
USE YOUR LATS
Use your lats to assist you in your bench press by keeping your shoulders stable.
How To:
- Activate your lats by trying to bend the bar.
- While gripping the bar as tight as possible, try to spin your hands out slightly, bringing your elbows towards your body.
- Keeping full-body tension, pull your elbows down to lower the bar to your body.
- The steps above will help you actively pull the bar down to your body, instead of relaxing on the way down where you have to suddenly tense up on the change of direction.
ADJUST THE BAR POSITIONING
The key here is that you want your bar to travel the least amount of distance possible. When you are in an arch it’s probable that your heels will be off the ground and your toes will be on the ground.
How to:
- Set-up underneath the bar with your body in an arched position. It’s important to note that although some of the arch is coming from your back, your whole body is creating this arch.
- After un-racking the bar, at the top of your press, position the bar directly over the point you will be contacting your body (at the highest part of your arch).
- Once you tap the bar to the highest point of your arch, press the bar directly up instead of towards the rack.
These steps will allow for a more linear, short press!
USE YOUR LOWER BODY
You are missing out on a whole lot of power if you are not using your entire body when you bench press. Yes, that includes your legs!
How to:
- As you lower the bar down to your body try to drive your heels towards the floor. They might not make it down to the floor and that’s ok. Driving in with your heels still creates total body tension.
As you drive your heels towards the floor, you are able to utilize your lower body to control the bar on the way down and assisting you as you drive the bar up.
Give these 3 tips a try and let me know how you do!
For more tips and information on our sports performance training program at Skill of Strength, check out @SOSCompete on twitter and skillofstrength.com.
About The Author
Steve Sheppard is the head strength and conditioning coach at Skill of Strength. He specializes in working with athletes of all levels of competition and has a passion for using his knowledge to help his athletes reach their full athletic potential.
Steve holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and Exercise Science from Endicott College. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Steve is also a StrongFirst Kettlebell Instructor (SFG), Hardstyle Kettlebell Certified (HKC) as well as a Sports Performance Coach through USA Weightlifting (USAWL1-SP).