Dave Tate's 6-Week Bench Press Cure

[PVC]

The "SS-way" to unrack the barbell is to push it upwards against the rack until your elbows are straight, and then pull the bar over to the correct spot over your chest.

In the Bench Press Cure video, Dave specifically says to avoid doing this because it causes you to lose tightness in your upper back. He wants you to bring the bar straight from the rack into its starting position by pulling it forwards and pushing it upwards at the same time.

As a novice on SS who has been having trouble with the bench press, I was just wondering if I should be attempting what Dave recommends or if I should stick to the way it's described in SS. I'm not planning on abandoning the SS-form of the bench press for Dave's, but I found a lot of his advice to be useful and I'm planning on trying some of it. For example: his tightness cues; holding the bar for two full seconds before starting your reps to make sure your body is set; chalking the bar to see if it's touching the same spot on your chest for each rep. However, I'm still not sure about the specific cue I mentioned earlier, if anyone wants to help me out.

[Soh]

When you choose to do something stick to the program. If you start thinking you are bigger than the program, then its really no use following bits and peices. The reason rippetoe wants you to lift the bar with elbows locked is because if you're using heavy weights you dont want the thing to fall smack down on your throat and its happened to people. Proper form = Safe form.

[Sami]

The "SS-way" to unrack the barbell is to push it upwards against the rack until your elbows are straight, and then pull the bar over to the correct spot over your chest.

In the Bench Press Cure video, Dave specifically says to avoid doing this because it causes you to lose tightness in your upper back. He wants you to bring the bar straight from the rack into its starting position by pulling it forwards and pushing it upwards at the same time.

As a novice on SS who has been having trouble with the bench press, I was just wondering if I should be attempting what Dave recommends or if I should stick to the way it's described in SS. I'm not planning on abandoning the SS-form of the bench press for Dave's, but I found a lot of his advice to be useful and I'm planning on trying some of it. For example: his tightness cues; holding the bar for two full seconds before starting your reps to make sure your body is set; chalking the bar to see if it's touching the same spot on your chest for each rep. However, I'm still not sure about the specific cue I mentioned earlier, if anyone wants to help me out.

No need to get all loyalist for the sake of it. Try it and see if it helps you.

[gzt]

Best method: get a liftoff from somebody.

[Sami]

When you choose to do something stick to the program. If you start thinking you are bigger than the program, then its really no use following bits and peices. The reason rippetoe wants you to lift the bar with elbows locked is because if you're using heavy weights you dont want the thing to fall smack down on your throat and its happened to people. Proper form = Safe form.

Dave doesn't say to unrack the weight with unlocked elbows. Have you seen the vid? But definitely get a lift-off.

[SamGriffin]

Dave Tate is hilarious.

Would the arched position that he displays be a less effective style for general training? I've been playing around with setting up like that (with my ass still on the bench though) . It feels really tight and strong.

[Platus]

He wants you to bring the bar straight from the rack into its starting position by pulling it forwards and pushing it upwards at the same time.

Was that advice intended for geared or raw benching?

I toyed around with what he demonstrates in the video a couple of months ago, but as the weight got heavier I found that I kept straining something in my shoulder (However, that might have been because the bench station at our local YMCA has the pins don't allow much fine-tuning of the bar position). I just get a lift off for anything over about 80% now.

[PVC]

When you choose to do something stick to the program. If you start thinking you are bigger than the program, then its really no use following bits and peices. The reason rippetoe wants you to lift the bar with elbows locked is because if you're using heavy weights you dont want the thing to fall smack down on your throat and its happened to people. Proper form = Safe form.

Jesus man, seriously. Talk about people who treat SS as gospel.

Dave doesn't say to unrack the weight with unlocked elbows. Have you seen the vid? But definitely get a lift-off.

I have seen the vid. He doesn't specifically say "unrack the bar with bent elbows", but I can't imagine how one could unrack the bar using his method without having bent elbows.

Was that advice intended for geared or raw benching?

I toyed around with what he demonstrates in the video a couple of months ago, but as the weight got heavier I found that I kept straining something in my shoulder (However, that might have been because the bench station at our local YMCA has the pins don't allow much fine-tuning of the bar position). I just get a lift off for anything over about 80% now.

I don't know for sure, but I would assume that at least some of the advice is specific to geared benching. For example, the foot position he uses, and the demonstration of how he gets into that position, seem to be more useful for a geared bencher IMO.

The common theme among these responses is to use a spotter for the liftoff, so I'll make sure to do that. Thanks guys.

[Soh]

Just didn't want you to get hurt bro, good luck! Always have a spotter around.

[Sami]

I have seen the vid. He doesn't specifically say "unrack the bar with bent elbows", but I can't imagine how one could unrack the bar using his method without having bent elbows.

Of course you can. You just need to set the pins at the correct height. I appreciate this can be difficult with some benches. But if you see Tate's bench, it has adjustable pins.