Bench Press Arch

[BendtheBar]

[Abaddon]

I thought the best way to improve your bench form was to work on your bench form. Not roll your back over varying sizes of PVC pipe and do stretching exercises.

Granted, the stretching exercises for the legs might help your hips get better accustomed to the wide and tensed leg position required for power benching, but the instructor doesn't get what proper bench form is and does.

PROPER bench form turns your body into a coiled spring; your back arch isn't created by pipe rolling but the result of you winching yourself into position.

Here's how I have described it previously:

...the setup is the most important part of the lift, and takes the most time to get right.

You need to get under the bar and slide up the bench until your belly button is within a couple of inches from being aligned with the bar. Keep your feet flat on the floor, your knees bent at a comfortable 90 degree angle.

Now grab the bar with both hands and - with feet planted firmly - swing/slide yourself down the bench until your eyes are in line with the bar (or at whatever alignment you find most comfortable). Now, if your feet have stayed where they were, you will now have a tight arch in your back, and your legs will likewise feel coiled and tense.

Lower the bar with your elbows as close to your sides as possible, and bring the bar down closer to your midsection/solar plexus.

While this guy says he has worked with Olympic athletes... somehow I feel he's missed the point of back arch in benching.

[Abaddon]

*Bump*
I'd like to know what other MABers think of this video.

[LtL]

Can't see it at work. What's it about?

LtL

[Fazc]

It's a good video, for what it is. The foam roller technique, stretching the quads, hips etc is all stuff I've read about before and it's all a consideration in modern competitive powerlifting.

Abs; you have to bear in mind the video is specifically about how to improve the arch. If you're looking for ways to improve overall bench form, or get stronger you'll be disappointed as that's not what he's covering.

[Aurik]

I see no problem with it. In competitive benching, a bigger arch = a shorter range of motion = more weight lifted. To improve your bench you do need to bench a lot, but these stretches certainly won't hurt either.

[J_Byrd]

I use a pvc pipe to warm up, and during my bench warm ups as well.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by Abaddon

I thought the best way to improve your bench form was to work on your bench form. Not roll your back over varying sizes of PVC pipe and do stretching exercises.

This isn't really about form. It's about shortening the bar travel path so you can move more weight. The guys he is speaking to are generally competitive lifters who already have fairly good form.

For example, JByrd's bar path is much shorter than mine because of his arch.

[J_Byrd]

The guy in the video is also the expert that elite uses. He creates those guys individual prehab/rehab.

[LtL]

Finally watched the video. This guy is a prehab/rehab expert and specialises in making super strong guys even stronger. He know what he's talking about.

LtL