Proper bench press form.

[CCS]

Would someone post a u-tube pic of proper bench press form? I've always seen it done with the elbows out to the sides of the shoulders, but Hairy and HTGT say my elbows should be tucked in closer to my waist, at 45 degrees.

Hairy,
Where does the bar touch the torso? Lower ribs? Nipples? belley?
Do the elbows just bend to 90 degrees, with the upper arm below the torso? Or do they bend below 90 degrees, with the upper arm only going parallel to the ground?


Also, I don't understand how this form puts less stress on the rotator cuff, when the rotator cuff is in the shoulder, and this form uses the front deltoids a lot more that my old form. Yeah, I know the RC is not the front deltoid.

 

[CCS]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bench_press

will that guy mess up his RC? That is how I lift, though with less weight.

 

[CCS]

http://images.google.com/images?um=1&ta ... 20press%22

Every person in all these picture, amature to pro, are doing it my way. Hairy, would you comment on this?

 

[CCS]

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0125680/2benchpress.htm

Hairy, is this the safe way you are discribing? I'm refering to the arm placement.




http://www.dolfzine.com/page706.htm
Here is the push up equivalent of what I think you discribed.

 

[CCS]

now that I think of it, at least with push ups, I do have my elbows in a little, like this guy:

http://www.ehow.com/images/ehows/steps/pushup_4L.jpg




but you are saying this guy has bad form:
http://www.mensjournal.com/healthFitnes ... k_push.jpg

 

[hair today gone tomorrow]

the bar should touch your lower chest/ upper ab aread and the elbows should be tucked...if you watch a power lifter lift...thats how they do it...

Also...doing it this way also you to bench the most weight.

Letting your elbows flare out may cause shoulder impingement (too long to explain...google it)....

BODYbuilders...flare their elbows out because it DOES work the chest more...but most of them dont really care about the long-term effects of their R/Cs

I think you would be fairly safe with your elbows at a 45deg angle...like ive told you before.

Another notorious exercise, which is bad for your R/C is upright rows...yet everyone loves doing these!!! their are better ways to work your traps and medial delts.

 

[hair today gone tomorrow]

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0125680/2benchpress.htm

Hairy, is this the safe way you are discribing? I'm refering to the arm placement.




http://www.dolfzine.com/page706.htm
Here is the push up equivalent of what I think you discribed.

the about link his elbows are fine but his hands are a little to close for a bench press...read this article....dont pay attention to the X over the pic...There was a mistake on the pictures and the wrong one IS CIRCLED as the right way...(so the pic on the right is the correct method)

 

[hair today gone tomorrow]

http://images.google.com/images?um=1&tab=wi&hair loss=en&q=%22bench%20press%22

Every person in all these picture, amature to pro, are doing it my way. Hairy, would you comment on this?

CCS...almost everyone does it wrong...but really you wont get injured right away...in other words...the effects are cumulative and in the long term you will damage your RC (thats not to say EVERYONE will damage their RC doing iit the wrong way)

I know a lot of older guys who used to lift...they now constantly have shoulder aches and it hurts them to life their arms above their heads...

So, if you plan on making working out part of your life style do it right.

 

[CCS]

OK, I found my favorite way to do bench press:

I take two dumb bells, which are octagon shaped, and lean them together to get a parallel close nutral grip. Because my forearms are angled, I can use my tricepts, unlike with dumbbell flies. I also can tilt them so that my wrists are straight. Finally, I tuck my arms at 45 degrees.

This exercise has all the benifits of bench press, but does not hurt my wrists.

 

[CCS]

and I don't have to strain to get into position. I put them on my thighs, sit down, then put them on my belley as I lay back. My abs can take a lot of weight. And then is my starting position, or close enough. I finish the reverse way. No curling needed, so I can press full weights.

 

[Harie]

now that I think of it, at least with push ups, I do have my elbows in a little, like this guy:

http://www.ehow.com/images/ehows/steps/pushup_4L.jpg




but you are saying this guy has bad form:
http://www.mensjournal.com/healthFitnes ... k_push.jpg

DB press is a completely different story. With DB press, it's very hard to injure your shoulders since you're not locked into a specific path.

 

[Harie]

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0125680/2benchpress.htm

Hairy, is this the safe way you are discribing? I'm refering to the arm placement.

Wow, that kid has no clue where his shoulders are. For close grip bench press, he's got the right grip though.

Just use a neutral grip. Walk to the bench, and while standing, close your eyes and grab the bar with both hands. Note where your hand positioning is, this is your neutral grip position.

The farther out your hands are on the bar, the more emphasis is placed on your chest, and the shorter your ROM is. The farther in your hands are, the more emphasis is placed on your triceps.

Wide grip bench places more stress on the shoulders and wrists, but due to the limited ROM, many powerlifters use this hand positioning.

 

[hair today gone tomorrow]

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0125680/2benchpress.htm

Hairy, is this the safe way you are discribing? I'm refering to the arm placement.

Wow, that kid has no clue where his shoulders are. For close grip bench press, he's got the right grip though.

Just use a neutral grip. Walk to the bench, and while standing, close your eyes and grab the bar with both hands. Note where your hand positioning is, this is your neutral grip position.

The farther out your hands are on the bar, the more emphasis is placed on your chest, and the shorter your ROM is. The farther in your hands are, the more emphasis is placed on your triceps.

Wide grip bench places more stress on the shoulders and wrists, but due to the limited ROM, many powerlifters use this hand positioning.

really harie? I thought most powerlifters used more of a shoulder-grip position on the bar in order to further emphasize the tri's and delts.

 

[Harie]

really harie? I thought most powerlifters used more of a shoulder-grip position on the bar in order to further emphasize the tri's and delts.

Nope, it's all about limited ROM. Which is why most Powerlifters have big bellies, use wide grip and breathe in on the decent...All to limit ROM. With shorter ROM, you can lift more.

PLers do as much as possible to limit ROM. There are some PLers that use narrow stance squats, DL & bench though. But the majority use wide stances/grips.

 

[CCS]

well then I have less respect for the fat guys I see at the gym lifting so much weight. They barely have to lower the bar to touch their belly.

 

[hair today gone tomorrow]

really harie? I thought most powerlifters used more of a shoulder-grip position on the bar in order to further emphasize the tri's and delts.

Nope, it's all about limited ROM. Which is why most Powerlifters have big bellies, use wide grip and breathe in on the decent...All to limit ROM. With shorter ROM, you can lift more.

PLers do as much as possible to limit ROM. There are some PLers that use narrow stance squats, DL & bench though. But the majority use wide stances/grips.

Thats interesting...I can close grip (shoulder width) more than i can wide grip press...I guess it has to do with the mind muscle connection.

 

[Harie]

Thats interesting...I can close grip (shoulder width) more than i can wide grip press...I guess it has to do with the mind muscle connection.

Me too. Neutral grip allows me to lift the most. Probably cause our triceps are much stronger than our pectorals. If we used wider grip on a more regular basis, I'm sure we'd find the opposite was true.

Note to Harie - use wider grip on BB bench more often.

 

[Harie]

well then I have less respect for the fat guys I see at the gym lifting so much weight. They barely have to lower the bar to touch their belly.

I have huge respect for PLers that can bench 2 and sometimes 3x their bodyweight. Very few people can do that, shirted or not. Whether or not having a belly and using wide grip is "cheating" I don't care. It still takes years and years and years of training to even be able to hold the weights they're using, let alone lift it.

 

[hair today gone tomorrow]

Thats interesting...I can close grip (shoulder width) more than i can wide grip press...I guess it has to do with the mind muscle connection.

Me too. Neutral grip allows me to lift the most. Probably cause our triceps are much stronger than our pectorals. If we used wider grip on a more regular basis, I'm sure we'd find the opposite was true.

Note to Harie - use wider grip on BB bench more often.

Yah...I feel IM more of a tri and delt pusher rather than a pec pusher...it kinda sucks my chest has always lagged behind my shoulders.

 

[CCS]

I'm sure a lot of guys who hold bench press records probably have disproportionate muscles.