Any tips for doing paused bench?

[MonsterMike]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

Three things that might help stay tight, and possibly improve drive.

1) "Row/pull" the bar towards your chest.
2) Expand and tighten your abs. Push your gut out and keep it tight instead of sucking it in and tightening it.
3) Drive/push your hips towards your shoulder blades. This helps me stay tight, allows for better eccentrics.

All 3 of these help me. I'm no bench expert, but I would give them a shot. Perhaps someone who knows more can comment on them.

The bottom line is that they help me keep a tight overall torso and I feel more recoil/power.

Do this....also think about when you drive the bar up, that you use your legs and push yourself away from the bar...rather than pushing the bar away from you....also...as J_byrd said speed is developed over time...lots of time....try lowering the weights some and focus on moving the bar FAST...then moving up 5 pounds the next week and try to get the same feeling...I'm not sure what kind of training program you are running, but as a generic training outline, thats what I would do.

[MikeM]

OK, great advice everyone. I will give it a try. Obviously, I need to stay tighter, so I'm working on that. I sed a belt today and that showed me clearly where I when I wasn't tight. So, I think I can get much better with that.
Also, more practice will help with that leg drive and initial burst, so I'll keep working on that.
However, I've noticed when I concentrate on rowing the bar down, I think it lowers too slowly and then I start grinding right from the get go.

Anyway, great stuff! I will keep working and testing your ideas to see what works for me.

I also figured a video might help. Now, this is not one of my better paused bench attempts, as I lost my breath at the beginning and had to try to regroup right from the start. But, it should give you all some idea of things I need to work on.

MVI 5671 - YouTube

MVI 5671 - YouTube

Thanks in advance for all your help!

[Ryano]

You need to work on your arch. Try to get your butt as close to your chest as possible. Squeeze your shoulders together and low(like you're trying to squeeze a pencil between them)...get up on your traps. It also doesn't look like you are getting "tight" at all. Before you take the weight get "tight" everywhere. Squeeze the bar, flex EVERYTHING, from your lats to your ass. It really makes a difference for me. Also, you have a spotter, use him. Let him handoff the weight to you. Hold the weight at the top for a couple of seconds. Don't rack it as soon as it's up.

[MikeM]

Thanks, Ryano! I read up all week about setting up better. Today I used diesel crew set up. Well, tried to anyway.

MVI 5689 - YouTube

MVI 5689 - YouTube

Obviously still needs work, and more tips are welcome. (I forgot to pause at top, will do that next time and get a liftoff too). But I feel like I'm heading in the right direction. Still don't understand why the bar doesn't go straight up, though.

[Ryano]

Your barpath looks good to me for raw lifting. It shouldn't go straight up. You're still not squeezing your shoulder blades together and getting up on your traps. This will help you stay tight and decrease your range of motion. Getting a bench belt might help your arch too(even though your arch looks good). I only wear a belt for shirted benching. I don't know if it helps raw bench or not. Really try to remember to hold the bar at the top. Use your spotter and have him give you commands, just like in a meet. He's got nothing to do anyway. Have him handoff, give a "start" command, press and rack commands. It will help you at a meet.

[MikeM]

Thanks, man! I only used the belt to see my arch better, keep the t shirt out of the way. It does help in that it reminds me to keep a belly breath. So, I think all the setup parts are fine, just need more practice, and I'll work on getting more up on my traps, and I won't worry about the bar path (I thought I had to be straighter because whenever I fail it's when the bar is over my face, i thought there was a connection). Also, I didn't think I got much if any leg drive other then better tightness.

ANyway, more practice. I can get the hang of this. It does feel much better on my shoulders, so that's good.

Thanks for all the help, everyone!

[Ryano]

Just look at the start position of the two videos. You are wearing a belt in both. You are obviously in a much better position in the second video. Your feet are back farther(making you tighter) and your arch is much better. Now just get your shoulders together and lower(toward your feet). Lookin' much better.

[J_Byrd]

Originally Posted by Ryano

Just look at the start position of the two videos. You are wearing a belt in both. You are obviously in a much better position in the second video. Your feet are back farther(making you tighter) and your arch is much better. Now just get your shoulders together and lower(toward your feet). Lookin' much better.

Pretty much the same summary I would have given you. Making improvements for sure!