Bench Press - Form Check

[Llamaaa]

G'day,

I have been having trouble with my bench press progression getting past 57.5kg, I have de-loaded twice on the bench so far and this is the second time stalling today with 3 sessions at 57.5kg.

From what I can see my elbow may be flaring and going to 90 degrees, but I'm not too sure, the bench is a lift I've always struggled with.

Bench 57 5kg - YouTube

I would appreciate any advice that can be given.

Side note: I couldn't find y old post for my squat form check to reply back, but if you were the person that replied, I 'm really thankful for the help, it got my squat progressing back to normal.

[SS2016]

I'm not an SSC but I'll give you my thoughts:

- the bar looks like it is held over your neck/face when your arms are locked out instead of over your shoulders
- your elbows are flaring out on the concentric portion of the lift
- you probably need a spotter to help you unrack the weight and for safety purposes

Also, provide the following information:
- Age
- Height
- Body weight
- Other lifts
- Total time spent on SS
- Calories per day

[Lawrie Abbott]

Moment arm!!!!

at the top of your setup you have the bar angled back over your throat, rather than balanced vertically over your nipples (approx). A spotter can assist you......you are at home so get your mum or sister, great uncle Dave...anyone to assist.

you are coming down above your nipples.....should be aiming for a spot around the bottom of the sternum....Have you looked at Rip's platform videos/?? he goes through this for free on this site.

You are fighting the bar in two dimensions.....vertically and horizontally. There is so much in the Blue book about this on all lifts.

After your second rep I though it was going to be a snuff video....glad you had the safeties in.

Read the book, watch the videos...and eat. Keep going and posting some form checks here.

[Llamaaa]

Thanks for the reply guys,

I never noticed that the bar was angled so out, it definitely is over my throat which is pretty stupid on my part for not picking up on much earlier.

The bar path is definitely not coming down to the right spot after I checked out some of Rippetoes videos.

Tomorrow I will be able to sneak a few hours of reading in while waiting in class, so I will take the book with me and get a better understanding of the bench.

And yeah I'm trying to keep up with the eating, it's the hardest bit, I can only manage around 2800kcal and I'm worn out for the day.

Thanks again guys!

[SS2016]

Thanks for the reply guys,

I never noticed that the bar was angled so out, it definitely is over my throat which is pretty stupid on my part for not picking up on much earlier.

The bar path is definitely not coming down to the right spot after I checked out some of Rippetoes videos.

Tomorrow I will be able to sneak a few hours of reading in while waiting in class, so I will take the book with me and get a better understanding of the bench.

And yeah I'm trying to keep up with the eating, it's the hardest bit, I can only manage around 2800kcal and I'm worn out for the day.

Thanks again guys!

Again, how much do you weigh, what's your height, how old are you etc?
I'm assuming you're under 150lbs, under 6ft and are under 18. Therefore, you should be doing GOMAD while getting in at least 5000 cals per day (including the cals from the milk). The milk is a really easy way to get in cals. 2800 cals is nothing. If you start upping your calories, you'll first stall at around 90kg on the bench (if not higher), not 57.5kg.
So basically, eat everything in sight and you'll be fine.

[Llamaaa]

Again, how much do you weigh, what's your height, how old are you etc?
I'm assuming you're under 150lbs, under 6ft and are under 18. Therefore, you should be doing GOMAD while getting in at least 5000 cals per day (including the cals from the milk). The milk is a really easy way to get in cals. 2800 cals is nothing. If you start upping your calories, you'll first stall at around 90kg on the bench (if not higher), not 57.5kg.
So basically, eat everything in sight and you'll be fine.

Thanks,

I turned 16 not too long ago.

Weight: 85-87kg - Hard to tell it fluctuates a lot

Height: 6'1

I'm a little worried about driving my weight up too much as I use to be 120kg but I got down to 75kg with cardio and dieting - without lifting, I never knew about strength training.
I'm definitely not fat at the moment, but I do struggle with eating a lot, do you think it would be worth upping my calories still?

[SS2016]

Thanks,

I turned 16 not too long ago.

Weight: 85-87kg - Hard to tell it fluctuates a lot

Height: 6'1

I'm a little worried about driving my weight up too much as I use to be 120kg but I got down to 75kg with cardio and dieting - without lifting, I never knew about strength training.
I'm definitely not fat at the moment, but I do struggle with eating a lot, do you think it would be worth upping my calories still?

Initially, congrats on the weight loss. Losing 45kg is nothing to be scoffed at. I don't know the time frame of the weight loss, so I assume your growth in height had something to do with it. But still, that's a great amount of weight to lose. If you have the dedication to lose all of that weight, you should be able to put up some big numbers, considering your level of commitment.

You're the perfect candidate for GOMAD -> within the age range of 16-23, underweight, 6ft 1 (and still growing), slightly underweight.

At 86kg, you should not be failing a sub 60kg bench press. Read this article -> The First Three Questions | Mark Rippetoe

Under 3000 cals per day for a tall, slightly underweight 16 year old is far from optimal. You should be taking in at least 5000 cals per day for roughly 2-3 months until your bodyfat percentage becomes an issue, where you can scale your calories back. I also suggest reading this -> http://startingstrength.com/articles...n_rippetoe.pdf

With regards to the lack of appetite, I'll give you my experience. I recently had very stressful college exams where I wasn't eating any food (only getting 1.5-2kcals per day). For the week following my exams, I stayed up pretty late (sometimes until 2-3am) finishing my last meal so I would hit a certain amount of calories for that day. It was tough, but now my appetite is back to normal. I cant stop eating. I went from 104.4kg to 112.5kg in the last 20 days. I probably overshot my calorie mark on a few days, but, as I said, I have no problems with my appetite, I'm setting PRs in the gym and I have a lot of energy.

Good luck

[Llamaaa]

Initially, congrats on the weight loss. Losing 45kg is nothing to be scoffed at. I don't know the time frame of the weight loss, so I assume your growth in height had something to do with it. But still, that's a great amount of weight to lose. If you have the dedication to lose all of that weight, you should be able to put up some big numbers, considering your level of commitment.

You're the perfect candidate for GOMAD -> within the age range of 16-23, underweight, 6ft 1 (and still growing), slightly underweight.

At 86kg, you should not be failing a sub 60kg bench press. Read this article -> The First Three Questions | Mark Rippetoe

Under 3000 cals per day for a tall, slightly underweight 16 year old is far from optimal. You should be taking in at least 5000 cals per day for roughly 2-3 months until your bodyfat percentage becomes an issue, where you can scale your calories back. I also suggest reading this -> http://startingstrength.com/articles...n_rippetoe.pdf

With regards to the lack of appetite, I'll give you my experience. I recently had very stressful college exams where I wasn't eating any food (only getting 1.5-2kcals per day). For the week following my exams, I stayed up pretty late (sometimes until 2-3am) finishing my last meal so I would hit a certain amount of calories for that day. It was tough, but now my appetite is back to normal. I cant stop eating. I went from 104.4kg to 112.5kg in the last 20 days. I probably overshot my calorie mark on a few days, but, as I said, I have no problems with my appetite, I'm setting PRs in the gym and I have a lot of energy.

Good luck

Thanks, the time frame was around 8 months, it was probably a bit fast but I still believe it was the best choice I've made, even if it was that quick.

I also get stuck into a rut when I get stressed too, I have to force feed then other wise I could go a day with only a bit of coffee.

I've started upping my calories since yesterday, drinking a few extra glasses of milk and having bigger cuts of meat and I'll keep on going up till I can handle it comfortably.

With regards to the bench press check that I posted, I ended up fixing the issue in a few minutes, I was definitely way off with bar positioning. I found that one of the joiners on the power rack is in the exact spot to be used as a target with bar positioning. It definitely made a difference, my elbows didn't flare and my shoulders didn't give me a nagging pain at the end of the set, as well as it being much easier to complete the set.

Thank you so much for all the help!