HOW TO: BARBELL BENCH PRESS
The bench press is an upper body, horizontal pushing movement.
So, the first thing I want to talk about is creating stability through the back, and through the
shoulders. It's important to set the shoulder blades in the correct position.
Your shoulder blades are what allows your glenohumeral joint to move correctly without adding too much strain to the connective tissue.
So, my shoulder blades are capable of protraction, where they pull apart. They're
capable of retraction, where they come back together, elevation depression, and also rotation.
They're capable of moving in multiple directions, depending on where my humerus is. So what I want to do is I want to set my shoulders in a good position. I'm going to retract shoulder blades, come together and down. I don't want to be shrugging up here.
Common issue I see when people are bench pressing is they get into this protracted position...super unstable, and puts a lot of strain through the glenohumeral joint.
So what I want to do: chest through, shoulders back, set the spine, shoulder blades down and back. I don't want to be fully protracted or retracted. I want my shoulder blades flat on the bench. If I'm out, I'm on the inside of my shoulder blades. If I'm in, I'm on the outside of my shoulder blades, I want my shoulder blade. It's flat. That's where that gives me a stable platform to be able to press from.
So we roll back. Slight retraction, shoulder blades are flat on the bench. From here, a little bit of hip drive. I want to plant my feet. Boom. Fire my glutes, slight arch in the back. From here, my hands go wherever they feel comfortable.
I want my forearms to stay vertical. If hands are close, elbows are going to be tight. If my hands go wide, forearms vertical, elbows go a little bit wider. It doesn't matter where your hands go. A little bit closer, more triceps, shoulders. A little bit wider, more chest.
Set your position. A little bit of leg drive, hand position, stabilize, shoulder blades down and back.
Create a little bit of a grip and screw, so now I get my lats on.
Control it down. We're braking on the way down. Slight pause. Drive it up.
We're not jerking in that top position. We're controlling that movement all the way through. Make sure you're pressing evenly on both sides, pulling down, working through the back on the way down, braking force, then pressing force on the way back up.
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