These bigger lifters are better suited to use a type of horizontal leg drive. Good benches are a bit stickier than cheap ones and will help you keep your upper back in place. Edit: this just about bodybuilding and whether lifting your pelvis will diminish the growth effect of the bench on your chest, not talking about any actual rules for powerlifting or competition. But its important to learn how it can potentially help you based on your needs and limitations when trying to press as much weight as possible. I know arching your back is fine, but lifting your hips up off the bench allows me to lift heavier but also feels like it might be taking away from proper bench form.

But strictness of powerlifting federation in which you compete can also influence your position. This , Step by Step Guide to Better Bench Press Technique, Addressing Weak Points | Lockout in the Bench Press, Pillars of Bench Technique | Leg Drive & Bar Path, Building A Bigger Bench With The Cube Predator Cycle, Narrow Your Thinking For A Bigger Bench Press, Scientific Principles of Strength Training, 3 All-Time Badasses You Need To Know About, 4 Easy Tactics to Keep Athletes from Self-Sabotage. We still need to be aware of this as a potential issue. When I began powerlifting, I competed in small federations, some of which arent around anymore, that had no rules against keeping the heels off the ground. This allows for even more weight to be used in addition to the butt being lifted off the bench.

Trust me, you can get a lift turned down on this minor heel shift. Building massive pressing power requires a combination of strength through the pecs, triceps, shoulders, biceps, forearms, lats, rear delts, rhomboids, and . Then, as you begin to press the weight up, drive your legs as explosively as possible until you get past your sticking point. Now, from the greater eccentric overload, we can hold more weight and train and strengthen the tricep, which is pivotal to the lift itself and other sports. Squeeze the Bench Between Your Thighs (for narrower stances only), 9. Awesome site dude, I just came across it. Gradually increase the force of your leg drive as you lower the bar to your chest. So if we take the bar off with the butt off the bench, we are shortening the range of motion slightly, about one to two-inch. Be sure to download my free PDF mini-guide to increasing your bench press. Thankfully, there are exercises that mimic the same position and train the muscles used during leg drive. Think of your bodyweight pushing your shoulder blades deep into the bench. The compressive force on top of the bridge disperses down the sides of the arch. My goal is to help you learn proper weight training and nutrition principles so that you can get strong and build the physique of your dreams! Hi lvaro, thanks for the great question. If your shoulders cannot move, you will be using your legs to squish yourself into a more supported, arched position. The elevated yet flat hard sole also allowed me to feel more grounded and kept me from shifting my feet as I pressed. I think the rules are different for each fed which is one of the complaints some people within the powerlifting community have with the scene. The IPF requires for all benches in their powerlifting competitions to meet this spec because its the best height range for maximizing leg drive for most people. The rectus femoris crosses both the hip and knee joint. Pretty sure powerlifting rules stipulate that the ass does not leave the bench, just like the heels can't leave the floor.. While I didnt exclusively compete in equipped powerlifting, I did my share of meets in bench press shirts, especially when I began to specialize in the bench. Either way, you should lead with your heel, actively pressing it down into or toward the floor throughout the lift. If your butt moved farther away from your shoulders, it would do so along the plane of the bench. I can tell by your questions that youre smart and very analytical about how you approach exercise technique. Of course, youre not shifting your bodyweight, so much as your leg drive is stabilizing your torso and creating a tighter back arch. The bench press may seem simple at first glance. Very informative and great visuals! The tension created from pushing into the floor would not transfer efficiently to your upper body. It may just be an unconscious need to move your lower body while your upper body is moving the weight. There are a few different why the butt lift in the bench press should be done. Start using leg drive before you move the barbell. So lets say considering I use the heels off ground, thus, ball of toes only on floor method (Yes, I really confused the terms, it is not the tip of toes, but the balls haha), according to the guide, in a step by step way of thinking it would be something like this? / Am I making the correct bar path? The way to proper bench press form is through the arch. You should always arch. Whereas the same cue for another person may do absolutely nothing. This well-timed leg drive, of course, exists in the realm of a powerlifting competition, when the point is to lift as much weight as possible within the rules of the federation. To practice this, grab a friend next time you bench. This isn't true, the sternal head of the pec works best at a decline angle, so for bodybuilding purposes you SHOULD arch your back. Great post, lots of good solid info. As for if it has an effect on your lift, there's a reason it's considered cheating/improper form. Everything you need to improve your bench technique in one convenient place. Yes, there can be a lot of compression in the lumbar spine, and yes, with chronic use, someone could develop a parse fracture. Missing a bench at lockout is always frustrating, stop it from happening. This can also happen in other sports as well. These are a few of the big arguments against lifting the but when bench pressing. So, I have no doubt youll eventually zero-in on a set of cues that works perfectly for youand that will eventually become second nature. And if they do manage to force themselves into this position and try to drive their legs, they end up cramping in their hips or legs. In short, it involves using your leg strength to drive your feet/heels into the floor. The arch decreases the range of motion, thus you can lift more weight.

Bench Press lovers can get carried away with discussing technique and leg drive. It doesnt take a PHD in biomechanics to figure out that if your toes are turned out excessively or they roll when you press, that you need to work on your ankle mobility. Now, using your legs, push into their hands. Note: This tip applies more to those with a medium to narrow bench press stance width. However, for it to be more all encompassing, I would personally use that cue combined with the trying to lower my heels to the floor cue. It also increases the chance of a hernia as well.

In turn, we can train the amortization period, that stretch-shortening period. Visit hellotushy.com/logic to get the exclusive discount for podcast listeners. When you arch your back in the bench press, you are both raising your chest and the touchpoint that marks the bottom of the movement, shortening the distance vertically. But the arch is not easy to maintain at heavy weights. Now if we are dealing with mobility and handling the hip girdle properly outside of bench pressing, as well as teaching bench pressing properly, it is likely not to be a big deal when the athlete goes for big weight. Pressing the heels down puts your feet/ankles in a position that creates tension and the right leverages for generating more force when you fully initiate leg drive. Its not that bad to train the butt lift. With sufficient weight on the bar, the vertical downward force of the bar pins your shoulders in place. The foot position that is optimal for you personally may not fly in competition because your heels may visibly sift in your flat, soft shoes.

Good leg drive wont make or break your bench press and truthfully I never fully understood its use myself until I started pressing some heavier weights. As I said in tip #1, you should start the lift using a good amount of leg drive Consider this your baseline amount of leg drive during your set. Follow these 4 steps to improve your Bench Press technique, Cover Photo by 9for9 Media But If you do not compete in stricter federation such as USAPL, and weightlifting shoes are a little pricey for you, youll have to figure out an optimal foot position that allows you to get adequate leg drive without lifting your shifting your heels. The pad also gives a slight shortening of the range of motion too. Because I had good hip mobility and wasnt too big yet, I was able to arch pretty high with my feet set back. Rather, the lifter drives up toward his head into the arch, which maintains the arch. My name is Alex, and I'm the owner and author of King of the Gym. Secondly, it improves your stability because your thighs are essentially anchoring your body to the bench. Just make the athlete aware that technical progress needs to be consistently made. So, while there is friction against the bench, it is less effective than at your upper back. Its not that bad because they extend their hips to apply a lot of force.

We do have to look at the butt lift in the bench press as a tool.

But the issue with telling a more novice powerlifter to set their feet as far back as possible is that many people dont have the hip mobility or even stability to create useful tension and drive in this extreme position. As an expert strength coach (developing D1 football recruits, Olympic athletes, and state champions), Dane designs football workout programs and strength and conditioning programs for speed training and power development. Almost anyone can extend initiate a downward push against the ground (think top of leg pushed slightly toward the ceiling when doing this) in this position and initiate the leg drive in the pressing action without the butt lifting off the bench. I like how the article cover content related to the powerlifting style of bench press, which is the one I use.

This causes 2 problems. Your back arch would be less profound and weaker, thereby reducing upper back tightness and creating a less stable base to bench off of. Again, this one may work great for me, but it could just confuse someone else. Good leg drive in the bench press isnt just pushing your heels straight down to the ground as hard as you can. Even more importantly, there would be a disconnect between your upper body and lower body. I think youd reallly enjoy ityou pickup a few more technical cues and other nuggets of information thatll lead to a bigger bench. There is a lot of muscular tension necessary to hold that position. Yes, the DOWN and FORWARD motion you describe (i.e. And as a lift starts to grind out, benchers will really start to lift their butt. But who cares whether this visualization is accurate or not What matters is that it improves your leg drive and helps you bench more.

Beyond strength training for athletes, coach Dane Miller works with strength and conditioning coaches on periodization training and lifting technique. For training info at Garage Strength call/text (484)575-1502 or visit 8832 Allentown Pike, Fleetwood, PA 19533. Their goal is to keep you from sliding upward and off the bench. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Thank you for reading, watching, commenting, sharing, and spreading all of our information around the web. Now, what would happen if you dont keep your glutes contracted while benching? I like your second cue about leg extension the most. Hope my long-winded response helped! On-Site Strength Coaches Summit (June 3-4). That means Im going to be lifting 460 to 480 lbs, somewhere in that realm. Dont know what leg drive is? What you should feel is a squeezing and supporting of the arch in your back. Hopefully someone else reads these comments and is able to use that same cue to execute leg drive and improve their bench press. Figure out where your strengths lie and what positions are best for you and go to work on using them effectively.

Telling a lifter to just haphazardly place their feet as far back as possible and arch can be more of a detriment than anything else. But after I began competing in USAPL, I figured out quickly that an Olympic Weightlifting shoe with a big heel lift was necessary if I was going to get lifts passed. Garage Strength is a professional strength training facility based in Berks County, Pennsylvania, helping athletes dominate in Football, Wrestling, Olympic Weightlifting, and more. I found this confusing because equipped bench pressers often talked about this ad nauseam when I was competing and now it seemed to be a mystery for these younger lifters.

. Executing a perfect lift can still lead to injury if they sneeze and get out of position. Drive Forcefully from Start of Rep; Increase Force as You Lower & Press, 5. Ideally, we want to focus on improving the traditional bench press technique, but know the pros and cons of lifting the butt. The rectus femoris acts on these joints opposite of this. Even in this position with my heels up, I still felt a strong leg drive as I actively pushed my heels toward the floor when I pressed. This shows that the butt lift does help with strength gains because of the longer, heavier eccentric. Bad Coaching & How to Not Be Bad, Tactile Cues for Correct Lifting Technique. Note: This tip only applies to you if you keep your heels on the floor while benching. I started this website back in late 2009 during college, and it has been my pet project ever since. Flat back is hard on your shoulders unless youre using birch weight. More advanced lifters, who compete in powerlifting, may use a more aggressive leg drive up the bench with their paused competition bench press. They cannot lock their position in as good as smaller lifters and so if they drive their feet down their hips will lift up. }); The world is filled with objects that are not barbell shaped, symmetrically loadable, or set in a rack for Niki & CJ discuss what makes a bad strength coach and how to avoid the pitfalls of bad coaching. As a nutrition coach, I will always recommend fresh, whole-food options when possible, but weve all got a few New to the banded chin-up or looking for a quick technique tutorial? This position is a weak pressing position. Because, I imagine, that if I were to ONLY press DOWN with the balls of the feet, somehow I cant visualize the force being transferred to the upper back, the only thing I can imagine is the possibility of the hips lifting up, and the upper back remaining the way it already was, without being modified by forces originated from the leg drive. The hips are extended with the glutes and quads extending the butt off the bench. We want to lift more weight, though, so we want to have an arch. Simply becoming aware of what youre doing should fix this. In addition, throws coaches like to use pads. Sounds simple, but its easier said than done. I looked , The methods used by a certain powerlifting gym in Columbus, Ohio are undoubtedly among the most popular in powerlifting and strength & conditioning today. Secondly, lifting the butt off the bench press disqualifies you in any legitimate powerlifting or strengthlifting federation (and many bad ones). You can do this with whatever breathing or relaxation technique you practice. The moral of the story here is to flex your butt muscles hard throughout your bench press set. But these coaches never seem to define what this means or specify how far back you should put your feet. The type of shoe I wore wasnt too important because keeping my heels down wasnt important. The first problem is thatlike bending the knees for a push pressthis removes the stress to the target muscles of the upper body. So to increase available range of motion in this position, it makes sense to imitate this stretched position. leg extension once your feet are in the proper position) is the final movement (however subtle a movement it is), which would really engage leg drive on your bench press setup. Benching with my elbows out and not in was the reason I messed my shoulder up a few years back. Heres the link to get it: https://www.kingofthegym.com/how-to-increase-your-bench-press/. Read more, 10 Tips for Improving Leg Drive on Bench Press, 4. Namely, that it is a potent tool that can be used to increase those big-time strength gains. If you find yourself doing this, find out why youre doing it and then stop! I can improve by using greater eccentric overload, with the butt lifted, I can handle more weight because Im shortening that range of motion. Please note, comments must be approved before they are published. Additionally, these shoes allow you to transfer the force from your legs directly into the floor without loss of energy, thanks to the non-compressible soles. These exercises are glute bridges and hip thrusts, which can be done with bodyweight or with added weight. Growing up, I was a butt lifter, especially when I started to grind through weights.

Again, look at it as a tool. ? Think about the hips being higher, shortening the range of motion. While the shoulders are not going to come up off the bench, a few things may help maintain the arch on the other end of the arch. Get 10% off any bidet attachment. Ive also got a pair of the Adi powers in white, Ive been using for a while now. The reason there is a new variation , Like most people when I started working my way from a casual gym-rat, to a competitive powerlifter I found a mass of information. This slight shifting is within the rules of most federations. Although when I do remember and do it correctly the legs make a huge difference. They start to grind. , Thanks, Kamal.

Imagine the Leg Drive Pushing Your Bodyweight onto Your Upper Back, 8. It happens with a lot of different sports.

Take note of how your legs feel in this position and try to maintain that squeeze. But they dont lift their butt at weights lower than 90%. But (pun intended) does this actually hinder strength gains?

Or should I just press DOWN with the tip of toes (While still trying to lower my heels to the floor)? Imagine trying to crack a walnut between your cheeks if you must , Imagine driving into the ground and transferring force up your legs, through your torso and down into your upper back and shoulders. Bridging or driving the legs up and lifting or popping the butt up off the bench incorporates the legs to such an extent that it shifts some of the stress from the upper body to the legs while not providing enough stress for the lower body to grow or get stronger. Gradually decrease leg drive intensity back to the baseline level as you lockout. We have Olympians who lift their butts when training the bench press. There's usually a side judge on bench competitions. To restore the mobility needed for this specific position, we need to take a closer look at the hip flexors. The heel lift allowed me to keep my feet a little further back which allowed me to drive into the floor in a way more similar to how I did when I could keep my heels up. That pressure is supported by the friction of the bench. So can that lead to injuries or problems? Figure out what your needs are long before competition so you dont waste time training unspecific to how youll have to lift to get two or three white lights.

Super heavyweights will almost always struggle to drive their hips upward while keeping their butts in contact with the bench. Then as the muscles lengthen the nervous system fires like crazy and we can drive up very, very rapidly. Whether you are looking for the knowledge and confidence to coach others effectively or seeking to understand better the hows and whys of your own training, the Principles Course will expose you to the foundational areas of barbell training. Even with dedicated work to improve range of motion in the hips and ankles, bigger powerlifters will have difficulty with the cue to drive their feet straight down into the floor in an arched position. Hey! The slow eccentric triggers more high threshold motor units to be activated. As I got bigger and it inevitably got more difficult to get into good position, the heel lift proved invaluable. Being able to use more weight helps us get stronger. The bridge abutment resists the outward movement of the bridges ends with vertical force from the ground and horizontal force from supports.