Bench press set up

[danb6177]

I have read the SS book (2nd edition). I admit I dont understand alot of why Im doing certain things but Im more or less doing them from trust in your expertise. Alot of medical names I dont get and I looked alot of them up, but like I said I trust so Im using the form thats laid out in the book.

So on to my question. You said in the bench set up it is safe to lift the load while laying on the bench at eye level to the side of the bar facing my feet. My normal position would be to have the bar closer to my chest during set up. I lift 215 in sets of 5 across. The issue Im having is extending the bar from the racked position to my chest. 215 is a bit heavy to unrack in this set up. so Im using 200 because this is all that I can unrack, however its too easy to bench in sets across.

Is the set up position described in the book only a safety thing or is there more to it? I want to do them correctly.

Thanx

[Mark Rippetoe]

This is why a spotter is necessary for heavy benching. The lever arm between the rack and the shoulder joint is too big for you to manage in the recommended position, and if you move closer you may hit the rack on the way up out of the bottom.