bench again

[ijustmegdu]

i posted a few months ago about upping my bench, i got alot of good advice that i have used alot and have seen some real good results. my problem now is the bottom half of my movement is increasing way faster then the upper half. the 2 exercises that come to mind to fix this are board presses and lifting with chains. are there any others? can someone please explain good movement and starting positions for board presses. abcbodybu... isn't helping me enough, i want to make sure i'm not wasting my time.

[Grizzly]

Are you a powerlifter? Honestly, if you're a BB, then I don't see the point in doing any of that. Bodybuilders only need to LOOK like they lift alot. Actual lifts mean nothing and, many times, heavy, heavy lifts for years on end do more harm than good since they have a higher chance of causing injury.

[ijustmegdu]

Originally Posted by Grizzly

Are you a powerlifter? Honestly, if you're a BB, then I don't see the point in doing any of that. Bodybuilders only need to LOOK like they lift alot. Actual lifts mean nothing and, many times, heavy, heavy lifts for years on end do more harm than good since they have a higher chance of causing injury.

no i am not a powerlifter or a BB. i am still young by both sports standards. i would like to leave both open and want a good foundation for each. to me it seems like a good bench, good forum, good weight is the basis for each, if not for the muscle, then for the confidence. i am not a larger man, but have some good weights, i would like them to be better.

[Grizzly]

Originally Posted by ijustmegdu

to me it seems like a good bench, good forum, good weight is the basis for each,

And that, my friend, is where you have gone completely off the path. A good bench is absolutely meaningless in BB and minimalized in PL.

The basis for each is the SQUAT. You might be able to make a case for the deadlift, also.

[thick]

if you are not focusing on powerlifting why not do some heavy closegrips?

[Bob Smith]

Rack lockouts or board presses. Strengthen your tris.

[ijustmegdu]

Originally Posted by Bob Smith

Rack lockouts or board presses. Strengthen your tris.

this is exactly what i am looking for info on, i did a few sets of rack lock outs today, but how low do i start? i started so my elbows were at 90 degrees, then up-down, set on the rack, pause, up again. is this correct?

[ijustmegdu]

Originally Posted by thick

if you are not focusing on powerlifting why not do some heavy closegrips?

i can't find a solid way to do closegrips, do i just put my hands as close as possible and don't worry where my elbows go, or do i put some space inbetween and try to keep the elbows on close?

[thick]

well the reason i said to do cg is b/c you havent specified your goals. Since you want strength and size I think cg is your best option. Lose some here and gain some there sort of deal. For cg I put my pinkies just insider where the gnurling sp?? starts. So your hands will be a few inches. I keep my elbows close to my side. I cant picture how u could do cg with hands almost touching and elbows flared?? There are good articles on Tmag that go into further details about increasing your bench. I am sure we already told you that a few weeks ago.

Originally Posted by ijustmegdu

i can't find a solid way to do closegrips, do i just put my hands as close as possible and don't worry where my elbows go, or do i put some space inbetween and try to keep the elbows on close?

[Bob Smith]

Originally Posted by ijustmegdu

this is exactly what i am looking for info on, i did a few sets of rack lock outs today, but how low do i start? i started so my elbows were at 90 degrees, then up-down, set on the rack, pause, up again. is this correct?

Place the pins at roughly the area where your sticking point is. Do a rep, pause on the pins for a full second, next rep and so on.

i can't find a solid way to do closegrips, do i just put my hands as close as possible and don't worry where my elbows go, or do i put some space inbetween and try to keep the elbows on close?

I put about 10-14 inches between my index fingers. Much closer than that makes for a very unstable bar and puts a ton of unneeded stress on your hands and forearms. As you do the rep, your arms should flare about 45 degrees from your body.

[Hogg]

Originally Posted by ijustmegdu

i can't find a solid way to do closegrips, do i just put my hands as close as possible and don't worry where my elbows go, or do i put some space inbetween and try to keep the elbows on close?

The simple answer to this is, as close as possible while feeling comfortable and anatomically smooth. Some have rather inflexible wrists and cant touch their thumbs together, others can. Wider than index fingers on the first section of knurling, not the middle knurl, the first patch of knurl going away from the center, is about as wide as I would go. Beyond this, your nearly doing a tate-style press.

Remember, any lift that is uncomfortable means either

1.) Severe strength imbalance

2.) Structurally, your body is under strain during the range of motion

3.) You have an impingement of some sort which is precluding you from doing the lift comfortably.

Aside from item 1 which can be corrected with a slow adaptation period, it is best to just follow a comfortable range of motion.

I'll give you an example. I am 5-10 and have a very long torso. My bench grip is pinkies on the rings and sometimes outside...and believe me my arms are perpendicular at the bottom with a grip that wide. . That is where I am most comfortable and also strongest.....and it is the shortest range of motion for me. If I come in with my grip, it becomes a heavy triceps exercise. One might argue "Well, just strengthen the shit out of your triceps and you can bench with a closer grip", yes and no, there is a point of diminishing returns where driving the load further cannot be made right by a stronger set of triceps....unless it is in the cards for me to have 26" arms. Hopefully that makes sense to you. You will have a certain hand/foot position that gives you the most leverage based on your own structure and lever arm pivot points.

[thick]

good point hogg. 14" seems way to wide for my body type. i can go about 6-8 inches comfortably. I also bench with a very wide grip. this is just what' s fits me. Find what fits you and work up slow

Originally Posted by Hogg

The simple answer to this is, as close as possible while feeling comfortable and anatomically smooth. Some have rather inflexible wrists and cant touch their thumbs together, others can. Wider than index fingers on the first section of knurling, not the middle knurl, the first patch of knurl going away from the center, is about as wide as I would go. Beyond this, your nearly doing a tate-style press.

Remember, any lift that is uncomfortable means either

1.) Severe strength imbalance

2.) Structurally, your body is under strain during the range of motion

3.) You have an impingement of some sort which is precluding you from doing the lift comfortably.

Aside from item 1 which can be corrected with a slow adaptation period, it is best to just follow a comfortable range of motion.

I'll give you an example. I am 5-10 and have a very long torso. My bench grip is pinkies on the rings and sometimes outside...and believe me my arms are perpendicular at the bottom with a grip that wide. . That is where I am most comfortable and also strongest.....and it is the shortest range of motion for me. If I come in with my grip, it becomes a heavy triceps exercise. One might argue "Well, just strengthen the shit out of your triceps and you can bench with a closer grip", yes and no, there is a point of diminishing returns where driving the load further cannot be made right by a stronger set of triceps....unless it is in the cards for me to have 26" arms. Hopefully that makes sense to you. You will have a certain hand/foot position that gives you the most leverage based on your own structure and lever arm pivot points.

[ijustmegdu]

Originally Posted by thick

good point hogg. 14" seems way to wide for my body type. i can go about 6-8 inches comfortably. I also bench with a very wide grip. this is just what' s fits me. Find what fits you and work up slow

ok here is what i tried today: i set the bar so that with my hands inside the "knurlings" testure" my hands were about 12 inches apart. i did not put my thumbs over the bar but rather turned my wrists and closed my fistes so my elbows would come in. can i do this only cuz i did low weight for my trial sets? is that a good form tec? i felt it in my tris but also in my chest.

[thick]

I am not sure what you are saying. You will no if u r hitting your tri's good by fatigue and some soreness the first few times on the following days.

Originally Posted by ijustmegdu

ok here is what i tried today: i set the bar so that with my hands inside the "knurlings" testure" my hands were about 12 inches apart. i did not put my thumbs over the bar but rather turned my wrists and closed my fistes so my elbows would come in. can i do this only cuz i did low weight for my trial sets? is that a good form tec? i felt it in my tris but also in my chest.

[Biggriz]

I'm not quite sure what you said either, but I think you said you grabbed the bar with an open grip(thumb on same side of bar as fingers)....bad move on the bench. It will take away up to 10% of your power and could possibly lead to wrist problems (injury). And it's normal to feel it inthe chest as well as tri's, just concentrate on the tri's when performing the move