Bench press form check

[Fortinbras]

This is my third set of 5 reps @ 255. I'd appreciate any feedback.

To provide some background, I weigh 185 and am 46 years old. I've been lifting for 17 years. Almost all of that lifting has been alone. I thought, based on that experience, I knew what I was doing.

Then, recently, I read Starting Strenghth. Now I'm trying to unlearn 17 years of bad habits. You patience and guidance would be appreciated. Thank you.

[Pete Troupos]

Hey Fortinbras
A few things to address.
1. Get your arch set, and your feet planted before unracking the bar. Your arching as you descend the bar to your chest. Get that set first.
2. Take a breath BEFORE you unlock your elbows for the descent. This is also when you'd reset your arch if you needed to.
3. Retract the shoulder blades, and squeeze them together before the descent. Reset between reps if needed.
Happy benching.

[Fortinbras]

Hey Fortinbras
A few things to address.
1. Get your arch set, and your feet planted before unracking the bar. Your arching as you descend the bar to your chest. Get that set first.
2. Take a breath BEFORE you unlock your elbows for the descent. This is also when you'd reset your arch if you needed to.
3. Retract the shoulder blades, and squeeze them together before the descent. Reset between reps if needed.
Happy benching.

Thanks. Will do.

[Fortinbras]

I tried to put your advice into practice. Here's the result on my third set of 5 reps @ 265:



Thanks for your help and any further guidance. Please note I'm aware of the drawbacks of a carpet floor and the squat cage being poorly moored. I'm going to work on those issues but haven't had the time. Thanks!

[Jeff Illingworth]

The two big issues are tightness/bracing and that your elbows appear to be flared out too far. For tightness, it will help if you can get your feet a little higher up by putting a weight or block under each so you can get some leg drive. It also looks like your head is sort of hanging off the bench which isn't helping (this may only be an illusion caused by the film angle). Pull your shoulder blades back, together and down.

For your rack, go ahead and put some weights on the legs to help keep it from tipping. That will help until you get a more permanent fix.

[Fortinbras]

The two big issues are tightness/bracing and that your elbows appear to be flared out too far. For tightness, it will help if you can get your feet a little higher up by putting a weight or block under each so you can get some leg drive. It also looks like your head is sort of hanging off the bench which isn't helping (this may only be an illusion caused by the film angle). Pull your shoulder blades back, together and down.

For your rack, go ahead and put some weights on the legs to help keep it from tipping. That will help until you get a more permanent fix.

Thanks. When you say the elbows are flared, does that mean my grip us too narrow?

[Michael Grantham]

No. Your elbows are too far away from your body. Bring them in a bit. You'll have to touch a little lower on your chest, and may need to drop the weight until you get used to it.

[Jeff Illingworth]

No, not narrow. You're just letting your elbows get out a little too far.

[Fortinbras]

Thanks.

[Pete Troupos]

Looks better than the initial post. You're still trying to take a breath while the bar is descending on a few of the reps (2 and 3). The arch looks better but, to your point, the carpet probably isn't helping with being able to use the feet effectively. You still need to work on squeezing the shoulder blades back together at the top of the rep and keep them pulled back. The elbow flare others mentioned is going to be tough to fix at this weight. Depending on where you are in your training, consider taking the weight down 10-15 percent and cleaning these things up.