I don't think you're able to understand me here. Is it your time of the month?
I said mechanics DO exist, but that is not where the roots of my problem are in this instance. And you interpret that as me saying mechanics don't exist?
True, I don't clean. But I do my deadlifts religiously, though I don't see how either are relevant here. [And besides, lifters who don't clean don't automatically fall into the category of having weakened lift-off in the BP as a result]
How old are you, son? I get the impression from your posting that you are no older than 18, at that age where you think you're bright and clever, and are actually neither. I remember being like this myself. So apologize to Stef, read the book again, and you may be allowed to grow up.
For the rest of us, for whom the mechanics of the liftoff *are* an issue, Phil Meggers made a video addressing this that I found to be quite useful (and I train chins and power snatches weekly along with heavy deadlifts)
Bench Pressing Alone (safely!) and How to Unrack a Heavy Bench Press - YouTube
No. I think you're wrong and you need to adjust your position because tiny differences make it so something perfectly easy to handle becomes an obstacle it shouldn't be.
If you aren't cleaning, you're missing important lat work. If your deadlift is shit or you use shit form, you're missing important lat work. You need to train more and read more and try a more rational, systemic approach to adjusting your lifts so you're not wandering around wondering about how to get your bench press to the start position and dismissing the very first things that you should address.
I know what you're talking about. I used to unrack up to 325 (I was never a good bencher) by myself all the time and then I don't know when or how it happened but for a long time now unracking 185 feels like way heavier than it should. I've always blamed it on shoulder instability from being a hundred years old because that's what it *feels* like but I don't know.
Stef is right in what she said and normally that would be the obvious answer but I know what you're saying as well because I've experienced it.