Bench Press form

smittybuilt19

I have been reading Lyle Mcdonald's bench press guide as well as Dave Tate's. I had a bench session this morning in which I had a small arch in my back and "felt" like I had my traps pinned down with arms pulled back. I didn't know what to do with my feet. Wide or narrow with feet? Feet flat on floor or on the toes and how far back under the bench do I bring my feet?

My biggest issue, which I would like to work on during my lunch break with light weight, was shoulder and elbow pain, which from Lyle's guide could be attributed to an improper grip width? I think my grip may be too narrow, putting an awkward angle on my elbows.

Suggestions?

*typo edit

JoRocka

Well getting arched with your lats stacked under you is good.

That's a big first step.

As for feet- kind of depends. The people I lift with- they are on their toes- I find I go off the bench to much and I can't access my glutes the way I want- so I strive for flat foot. Driving through the heels. Some federations don't allow toes- flat feet only- so if you are competing - find that out first.
I'm wider- definitely wider- but not crazy spread eagle wide- I do find benching a bit uncomfortable on my knees- no questions asked- so I balance width really with the angle outward that gives me the least knee grief.

How far back will you bring your feet? Depends on your flexibility and your arch. Mine are about half way- but I know people who their feet are pretty much under their *kitten*- i can't do it- it's to much. Just keep working on the arch and butt and shoulders under you- the rest kind of falls in as you develop flexibility and mobility.

I get weird elbow pain because I have damaged elbows- but it mostly winds up when I stay tight- and have no elbow flare- everyone screams about elbow flare being bad- but ask me to do military/tricep focused push ups and I'm incapable of doing any sort of elbow assisted work for days- I just cannot do it.
So I found a flare is helpful to me- but an angle that hasn't destroyed my body in other ways.

Ultimately you want the bar to move in a straight path up and down- that's the goal. Filming yourself to watch will give you more feed back than we can- because well- we can't see you.

But if you think it's to narrow of a grip- try griping wider and see how it feels after a week or two- you should know within one or two sessions if it's uncomfortable because you are weak and unaccustomed- or because it's wrong for your body.

wheird

Your feet should be more narrow than wide. I prefer to keep my heels planted.

Your width should be a bit wider than your shoulder width with your elbows only semi flared at the bottom of the rep. Although some prefer tucked or flared out more.

Play with your grip width until you feel comfortable.

smittybuilt19

I will take these suggestions and work from there. Thanks y'all.

kelly_e_montana

It kind of depends on your body in terms of which set up will work best for you. I like feet tucked, narrow but that is because of how my body is built. This is an interesting video that goes over different styles of setups: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7en9iqaPdW8

Lofteren

Foot position depends on two things; personal preference and powerlifting federation. Some federations will allow you to keep your heels off of the ground while in others you must remain flat footed. Most people can press more weight when they just put their toes on the ground because they can get their feet further behind them thus creating a larger arch. If you aren't competing then I would press from the toes for that reason. Just be careful about your butt coming off of the bench. This is a lot easier to do when you are up on your toes.

Lofteren

Here's a vid I made for a buddy of mine correcting some of his bench pressing errors. It shows a pretty good demonstration of how to set up on your toes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJr2zsEKwqk

Sam_I_Am77

If you're not competing then the foot position largely depends on what your comfortable with that will provide adequate stability during the lift. It's something you'll have to play with. Same thing with hand width... Some folks like it wide and some like it semi-narrow; it really depends on you.

stumblinthrulife

Dave Tate's 'so you think you can bench' video helped my bench massively.

For that matter, so did his squat and deadlift videos from the same series (helped my squat and deadlift that is - not my bench ).

smittybuilt19

I have been checking the "so you think you can..." videos lately, has been very helpful.

juliewatkin

My feet are pulled back and narrow. I find it helps keep my arch pretty high and solid. However, our fed requires feet flat on the floor so I've had to work a lot on ankle mobility to get my feet back and flat on the floor. I've seen a lot of successful benchers go wide and further out. Like others said, a lot of it is personal preference. Go to a meet and you'll see a ton of different set ups. Some people set up by putting their feet on the bench and arching their back and putting them on the floor. I set up by sitting up on the outside of the bar and then kind of swinging under it to force an arch and drive my traps into the bench.

Grip width: play with it. I go pinkies on rings benching raw and index on rings in a shirt.

Leadfoot_Lewis

I suppose it's personal preference. That said, I like to have my feet on the floor not too wide. I keep my feet flat and drive them against the floor - helps with power and keeping everything tight.

smittybuilt19

While on lunch I tried flat semi-wide feet which was more comfortable and I was able to get them about halfway back. Felt more tight and stable. Also, tried grip width just outside shoulder width also felt better, no pesky elbow or shoulder pain. I am having trouble keeping traps pinned when locking out.

Sam_I_Am77

While on lunch I tried flat semi-wide feet which was more comfortable and I was able to get them about halfway back. Felt more tight and stable. Also, tried grip width just outside shoulder width also felt better, no pesky elbow or shoulder pain. I am having trouble keeping traps pinned when locking out.

That's good. Try also focusing on driving your heel into the ground, even if you're on your toes. That should help you to keep your Traps on the bench.

JoRocka

My feet are pulled back and narrow. I find it helps keep my arch pretty high and solid. However, our fed requires feet flat on the floor so I've had to work a lot on ankle mobility to get my feet back and flat on the floor. I've seen a lot of successful benchers go wide and further out. Like others said, a lot of it is personal preference. Go to a meet and you'll see a ton of different set ups. Some people set up by putting their feet on the bench and arching their back and putting them on the floor. I set up by sitting up on the outside of the bar and then kind of swinging under it to force an arch and drive my traps into the bench.

Grip width: play with it. I go pinkies on rings benching raw and index on rings in a shirt.

Trooth

II suspect we set up the same/similar ways- go the behind the bar- slide out in big forced arch-with my hands on the bar- then really wedge into the bench- I get a consistent arch that way- planting my feet first really REALLY helps with that.

_benjammin

Another good "How to" video Connor Lutz (Bench World Record Holder):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrVZqPkgdXo&list=TLy2ufMeZPh0bwEOk6IV-l4SEeC3FrOeTD

shmerek

^what he said