Powerlifting

8 Steps to Great Bench Technique


Written by

Cover Photo by 9for9 Media

Building massive pressing power requires a combination of strength through the pecs, triceps, shoulders, biceps, forearms, lats, rear delts, rhomboids, and traps, as well as technique and confidence. It is important to understand that as with all the lifts, much of the information you have been presented with in the past via articles/videos was written with geared lifters in mind. While these lifters are strong, the techniques and exercises (max width grip, reduced range of motion lifts, accommodating resistance) they use to improve won’t necessarily translate to your success.

Key technical points in the bench are:

1. Grip width will be individual based upon limb length. Set your hands at a width that allows the bar to be right over your wrist and wrist right over your elbow when it is on your chest. Keeping these three things in line is critical to maximizing power.

2. A tight setup is critical to a big press. In your setup, your knees need to be aligned below your hips to ensure that your butt stays down on the bench through the movement. Think about squeezing your shoulder blades together as tight as possible, and make sure your chest is as high as possible.

3. Whether you are using a thumbless or full thumb grip, you need to squeeze the bar as hard as possible. This will send a tightness response through the body.

4. Tuck the elbows as you bring the bar to your chest. Whether you want to think about bending the bar or any other cue, it is key to engage the lats. Thinking about loading your lats, like you are loading a spring.  Elbows do not need to be overly tucked though, think of a 45 degree angle from your torso with them.

5. There are two styles that are widely used in the bench, a more dynamic style (Dan Green style), in which you lower the bar quickly letting it sink into your chest before the press command-which allows for great leg drive but is a more high-risk, high-reward technique. The other is a more strict style (Brandon Lilly style), in which you pause the bar on your chest by touching it as lightly as possible, maintaining as much tightness as possible through the whole body before getting the press command. One isn’t necessarily better than the other, you just need to see what works best for you.

6. Regardless of style you use, leg drive is critical. Your leg drive should drive you down the bench toward your head, but since your shoulder blades are dug into the bench, you won’t move; instead, the high point of your chest will rise. Your feet should be pressed into the ground (heel up or down depending on federation and comfort), and you should think about doing an explosive leg extension action, but instead of you leg extending, you will drive your body toward your head.

7. The bench press is a violent movement. As you loaded the spring with the descent of the bar, now you must violently uncoil it in the press. As your elbows tuck on the way down, they should flare on the way up.

8. Practice a strong lockout by fully locking out every rep, rather than cutting them short as “bodybuilder reps” and hold the final rep of each set at lockout for a 3-5 count before racking it.

You may also like

What I Learned At The Russian Strength Seminar
Powerlifting

What I Learned At The Russian Strength Seminar

Recently, I was fortunate enough to partake in the Russian Strength Seminar, a good perk of working for Juggernaut Training Systems.  The Russian Strength Seminar was …

Pause Your Way To Bigger Lifts
Powerlifting

Pause Your Way To Bigger Lifts

Paused variations of any lift are great accessory movements to build the full lifts in the most specific manner possible. I say that these variations …

Deadlift Tips and Tricks
Powerlifting

Deadlift Tips and Tricks

Team Juggernaut is home to some of the strongest deadlifters in the World! With 7 deadlifters having pulled over 750 pounds in competition, TeamJTS is …

Considerations for Beginners
Powerlifting

Considerations for Beginners

As an advanced lifter it is often easy to lose track of how you started off in training. I have been writing my own programming …

The Best 40 Articles from 2014
Powerlifting

The Best 40 Articles from 2014

1. The Best Damn Squat Mobility Article, Period. The title says it all.  The most-read article of the year, and one that's absolutely crucial for all …

Training is for Building, Not Testing
Training

Training is for Building, Not Testing

If you are a competitive athlete, what is the purpose of training? To improve your competition result. Training is not for showing off, it is not …

How to Build A Big Meet Squat
Powerlifting

How to Build A Big Meet Squat

As the Juggernaut Squatapalooza rolls on, check out the first seven parts of this series if you’re just tuning in:Part 1:  Setting up for a …

CWS 30 for 30
Training

CWS 30 for 30

If you don’t watch ESPN’s documentary series 30 for 30, you’re missing out on a lot of great stuff. My personal favorites are The Two …