Bench form check - position of feet included

[confuzzl3don3]

Don't have much space in my bedroom, so i tried to get a vid with my feet included.

Hope i can get some feedback on it.

Bench - 61.5kg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp2pESfzo9Y

[Paul Sousa]

Hey Confuzz, is that the narrower grip? Just wondering since it looks fairly wide still at this angle.

As for the feet, the placement doesn't look bad, but what I can't see is if you're creating tension. You want to have your upper back and butt on the bench, but your lower back should be raised due to your whole body being tense.

[confuzzl3don3]

Yeah i narrowed my grip by about an inch from each side. It's now about 25 inches between the two index fingers. As you can see i think i still have a significant amount of elbow flare, but i have just one question. On page 72 of SS, when Ripp talks about the grip for the bench, he says that you should turn your hands and elbows out, with a slight internal rotation of the arm to have the correct grip. I've been doing this, but doesn't it increase the degree of elbow flare?

And about the whole getting the lower back raised. It is raised as much as i can get it while keeping my upper back and butt stuck to the bench. Do you guys set the grip first before fixing your body position, or the other way around?

[stronger]

has anyone ever used the technique of gripping the edge of the bench hard with contracted hamstrings? I've found this helps keep my body very tight, and I'm able to reach the floor with both feet. Think about pulling yourself off the bench with your hamstrings.

Any rules against this?

I'm not sure if this is mentioned in SS, I'm in a public library and don't have a copy handy.