You know that feeling when you go on vacation and you come back and go to the gym for the first time and it’s readily apparent that you were on vacation?
Yeah, that was me yesterday after being away for over a week.
In my defense, while we were down in Florida Lisa and I did get plenty of activity in – we walked a TON around Miami and South Beach, made a few cameo appearances at a local commercial gym in her hometown (I was even recognized by a random woman training because I was wearing a Cressey Performance shirt!), and while Lisa went roller blading once or twice, I elected to head to the local park and do some bodyweight training and sprints for good measure.
But to say I did any hardcore training would be a big, fat, lie. Kind of like when someone on the internet claims he squats 500+ lbs for reps. Ass to grass. On one leg.
Although I did crush some pec deck chest flies at our friend’s condo gym right before heading out to South Beach, so that counts for something, right?
Nevertheless, it’s great to be back in Boston – despite the massive temperature drop, snow, traffic, complete lack of anything green, and general “Jonny Raincloud” attitude most people have around here this time of year.
Someone please explain to me why do I live in the Northeast again?
On a serious note, I am stoked to be back and I feel rested, relaxed, and ready to tackle a grizzly bear.
That said, since I wrote a fairly epic post(in both content and length) on the plane back home yesterday, today I’m just going to offer some good stuff to read.
I felt this was an absolutely fantastic post by Dave on not only the significance of placing a premium on developing core strength, but what the actual FUNCTION of the core is in the first place!
Many people are under the assumption that the core only consists of those washboard abs you see on the cover of Men’s Health or Men’s Fitness every month. While not entirely wrong, it’s not remotely close to the entire picture and is just the tip of the iceberg.
If nothing else, read this post for Dave’s genius water bottle analogy. Awesome stuff.
This is a message that I, along with my fellow CP colleagues, are routinely hammering to the masses. We live a unique bubble where we’re surrounded with a vast network of PTs, manual therapists, chiropractors, athletic trainers, the works.
While I like to think we’re smart dudes, we also understand (and RESPECT) the notion of scope of practice.
We do assessments at Cressey Performance, which is something I feel most (not all) trainers should be doing to some capacity. Whether it’s a the FMS, Assess and Correct, or playing musical chairs, some sort of movement screen or assessment should enter the equation when starting to work with a new client.
Doing so serves as the foundation so that you know what you need to do as a coach to address the needs/imbalances/weaknesses of your client.
The coup de gras, however, is understanding that our roles as personal trainers and strength coaches is not to DIAGNOSE anything. I don’t care how many books you read, how many DVDs you watch, or how many Holiday Inn commercials you watch (I’m not a doctor, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night), if you’re playing the role of physical therapist and you’re not a physical therapist, you’re setting a very dangerous precedent for yourself.
This is where going out of your way to establish a network of other fitness professionals that you can refer out to is crucial.
As someone who likes benching about as much as a Nicholas Sparks novel, I thought this article was bang on. I’m not built to be a good bencher, and I’ve (reluctantly) accepted that fact. BUT, that doesn’t mean I’m forever going to cower in the corner in the fetal position and avoid benching altogether.
In this article, Todd offers some innovative and straightforward advice on how anyone can bust through their bench pressing rut.
I know I’m a bit of an anomaly in saying this, especially considering I make my living as a strength coach and fitness writer, and you know, I’m a dude, but here it goes: I really, really dislike bench pressing.
Not that I think it’s a bad or dangerous exercises or anything. On the contrary I’d rank the bench press right up there as one of the top exercises one can perform to build overall strength and muscle mass – especially in the upper body. It’s not considered one of the “big three” (squat, deadlift, bench press) in powerlifting circles for nothing.
And least we forget: chicks dig a big bench press. Right, ladies?
Outside of overhead athletes or someone with a significant history of shoulder injuries, where it would contraindicated, the bench press is pretty much a staple exercise in any well-rounded fitness routine.
But back to me for a second. Because, you know, it’s all about me….;o)
I dislike the bench press because, well, I suck at it!
In fact if I had to make a list of things I dislike in this world, I’d place the bench press in the same breath as Jar Jar Binks, Rocky V, poodles, belly button lint, and Tracy Anderson.
Yeah, I hate it that much.
I still do it, of course. But I’ve come to the foregone conclusion that, because of my abnormally long arms, I’ll most likely never be a great bencher.
I just picked the wrong parents in that regard.
Nevertheless, my best bench (so far) is 315 lbs, and I’m cool with that. If it goes up, it goes up. If it doesn’t, it’s not the end of the world.
So yeah, there you go: I have a personal disdain for the bench press, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love to coach it and help others improve their performance.
I’ve written in the past some common tips that I feel will help improve one’s bench press prowess, so I’m not going to get into the ins and outs of proper foot position, elbow positon, leg drive, bar path, grip, the efficacy of a back arch, or any number of other things that have been discussed ad naseam on the interwebz.
Instead I want to touch on something that hardly ever gets talked about, and something I feel can help improve one’s bench performance almost instantly.
And that is:
Getting a Proper Hand-Off
At Cressey Performance our athletes and clients don’t ask for a “spot.” Rather they as for a hand-off. Ask any top-notch or world class bencher what one of the main keys are, and he (or she) will say……TIGHTNESS.
You have to get tight. Especially in the upper back. Without getting into the extreme details, I like to coach guys to place their feet on the bench (relax, it’s only for a few seconds), grab the bar, lift their hips up, and drive their upper back into the bench. Simultaneously, I’ll tell them to consciously think to themselves, “together and DOWN” with the shoulder blades.
For the anatomy geeks out there – basically what I’m looking for is that the shoulder blades are adducted and posteriorly tilted.
Really it’s all fancy schmancy talk to try to get them more compact and tight so that they’re more stable and able to transfer force more efficiently through the body.
Which begs the question: Why go through all that trouble to get tight, compact, and ready to hoist a barbell off your chest, only to NOT get a proper hand-off, and lose all of it when you un-rack the bar?
Think about what happens when you un-rack a bar on your own. You essentially have to press/protract the shoulders just to get the bar off the j-hooks. As a result, the scapulae abduct and (most likely) anteriorly tilt as well, and stability is compromised.
Seems a bit counterproductive in my eyes, and serves as the impetus behind today’s video.
Bench Press Technique: The Hand-Off
A few points to consider that I didn’t cover in the video:
1. The “spotter” or hander-offer guy isn’t lifting the bar off the j-hooks, but rather “guiding” the bar to the starting position.
2. Moreover, the lifter shouldn’t think of it as pressing the bar up and into the starting postion, but instead “pulling” into position. Kind of like a bastardized straight-arm pressdown (albeit on your back).
3. Getting down the cadence of 1….2….breath….lift off is the key here. It’s going to take some practice, which is why I highly advocate finding a training partner you trust.
3. If at any point the guy providing the hand off starts chirping, “all you, all you, all you” when he’s clearly got his hands on the bar, immediately rack the bar and scissor kick him in the face.
1. First things first: I just want to take a few words to say THANK YOU to any servicemen or servicewomen (past or current) who may be sitting there reading this. I think we take A LOT for granted in this country, and it’s my hope that EVERYONE reading will take a moment to recognize the incredible, invaluable, and downright courageous job that our troops contribute to this country, not to mention those who served in years past.
My grandfather was at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed back in 1941, and while I never got a chance to really know him (he passed away when I was very young), I was always amazed and dumbfounded whenever I read or heard stories of his service time. The man was a straight-up, certifiable, badass.
And that applies to anyone who goes out of their way to risk so much and not really receive much back in terms of reward or notoriety.
They all truly deserve our respect and gratitude. Without question they have mine.
2. I also want to thank everyone who participated in last week’s Deadlift Battle over on WeightTraining.com. To say that it got a little heated and that people got just a teeny-tiny bit competitive would be a drastic understatement.
Lets just put it this way, the top two participants combined – CoachA and BrandonKW – deadlifted over 1,000,000 lbs by themselves!!!
That’s a one with six zeroes after it. Or roughly the total number of times I asked Nicole Kot out in high school and she said no.
To his credit, the good Coach edged out Brandon 563,555 lbs to 532,535 lbs and gets the title for most masochistic son-of-a-bitch in existence.
If anyone deserves a slow clap, it’s you. This one is dedicate to you, sir. Enjoy it.
This isn’t to belittle everyone else who participated, of course. We had over 60 people make a conscientious decision that this would actually be a good idea, and in order to even crack the top 10 you had to deadlift a minimum of 120,000 lbs.
I sucked and ended up in 12th place with only 105.115 lbs.
Needless to say, it was a blast, I’m probably going to take a week off from lifting anything heavy off the floor, and we’ll be letting everyone know who the GRAND PRIZE winner is shortly.
3. Speaking of deadlifts, two legends in the strength and conditioning community – Pavel (of RKC fame) and Andy Bolton (of he can deadlift a metric shit-ton fame) – have collaborated on what I feel is going to be a game changing, holy-shit-I-think-I-just-peed-myself-a-little-I’m-so-excited manual:
A short while ago, John DuCane, CEO of Dragon Door Publications (which is releasing the manual), reached out to me and asked if I’d be interested in receiving an advance copy to check out. I responded back with, “you had me at deadlift.”
I don’t think I have to tell you that it’s awwwwwwwwwwesome, and today, just to serve as a slight appetizer, both Pavel and Andy have released three FREE videos that will undoubtedly make people’s faces melt from all the deadlifting knowledge bombs being dropped.
4. Serving as an adjunct to the article I posted last week on Tips for a Badass Bench Press, I also wanted to note that as much as lifting big weights will make you stronger, we also can’t turn our heads on bar speed.
I certainly can’t take credit for it, as many, many coaches much smarter (and stronger) than myself have stated it before:
Getting faster will make you stronger
Bar speed is an often overlooked component of bench pressing. More specifically, developing power – or the ability to generate force quickly and increase your rate of force development – is an often overlooked component of bench pressing.
In a nutshell: you can’t just rely on “muscling” the weight all the time, grinding out reps on a weekly basis. That’s only going to take you so far. However, developing more bar speed will undoubtedly go a long ways in helping improve your bench press.
* Photo courtesy of elitefts.com
In looking at what’s called the Force-Velocity Curve, which is dictated by load and speed, one would find the following variants to be true:
Loads between 30-50% of a trainee’s one-rep max typically focuses more on power.
Loads between 75-95% of a trainee’s one-rep max typically places an emphasis more on maximum strength.
Loads between 50-60% of a trainee’s one-rep max, done ballistically, is the sweet spot for developing power output – where force AND velocity are maximized.
This last point is where focusing on bar speed comes into play. Getting faster will help you get stronger. Popularized by Louie Simmons and the guys over at Westside Barbell, incorporating more of a “dynamic effort” day is a fantastic way to help increase your numbers in the bench press.
Not coincidentally, it’s also a fantastic way to hone in on technique which can be argued is where the real benefit lies.
Basically, all you would do is take 50-60% of your current one-rep max – and perform the reps as quickly as you can for something like 6 sets of 3 repetitions, with 30-45s rest between sets.
There’s obviously a bit more to it than that, but in many ways there isn’t.
Now, if you’ve only been training for like a year or your current 1RM is something like 185 lbs, I don’t feel dedicated speed work is going to be an efficient use of your time. But, for those who have a little more experience “under the bar,” and have been in a benching rut, this might be exactly what you need to get over that hump.
Speaking a little more ubiquitously, and even taking speed work out of the equation, what’s important – on EVERY rep, no matter the exercise – is that the INTENT to be fast is there.
This is a mistake that I find a lot of people make – that they have to grind out, or “muscle” all their reps.
While heavy is heavy, and you can’t expect to make every rep look like a paperweight, so long as you tell yourself to be fast – and the INTENT to move that bar quickly is there – that’s definitely a step in the right direction.
So, from now on, tell yourself BAR SPEED is the key.
5. So a little movie came out this weekend, you might have heard about it: Skyfall.
Giving full disclosure, up until Daniel Craig took over as James Bond and Casino Royale came out in 2006, I had never been a fan of the franchise.
Ever since then, however, I’ve anticipated each and every installment – and Skyfall was no different.
What intrigued me the most was that Sam Mendes who directed classics like American Beauty and Road to Perdition (which, for those looking for some cool movie trivia, was where he first directed Craig) was taking the helm and directing this edition.
I LOVE Sam Mendes, and was really looking forward in seeing what he could do to spice things up after the somewhat disappointing Quantum of Solace.
Without giving away everything, I really, really liked Skyfall (but still feel Casino Royale takes the cake).
Javier Bardem evokes crazy like no-one else, playing the cyber terrorist Silva (I’d even go so far as to say he should at least be considered for a Best Supporting Actor nomination), and like with any Bond movie, the chase scenes, one-liners, and gadgets are epic.
I’ve told this story numerous times via email exchanges and presentations I’ve given, so please forgive me if you’ve heard this one before.
Awhile back I wrote an article on T-Nation titled My Shoulder Hurts: The Finest Whine, and in it I detailed, among other things, some of the more common reasons why someone’s shoulder may hate them in addition to outlining some strategies to help alleviate said shoulder from hating them.
I thought it was a pretty baller article, and it helped a lot of people. At one point I made mention that my best bench press is 315 lbs (raw, no gear) and that one of the reasons why I feel myself – as well as most of my athletes and clients I train – rarely suffer from shoulder pain is because I place a premium on balancing my pressing numbers with my pulling numbers.
Speaking more precisely, in an ideal world, I like to see a healthy “balance” between one’s 1RM bench press and his or her’s 3RM chin-up.
Using myself as an example, my best bench press is 315 lbs, and my best 3RM chin-up is 301 lbs. Not too shabby if I say so.
Almost predictably, some asshat made a comment in the LiveSpill that he stopped reading the article after he saw that I owned up to only bench pressing 315 lbs – insinuating that that was a piss-poor number and that I couldn’t possibly know what I was talking about.
I guess in order for it to count and for him to be impressed, I had to perform that for reps. With my feet in the air. And with Kate Beckinsale feeding me grapes.
Rather than get into some arcane pissing match with someone I didn’t even know (or had the inclination to use his real name), I made a snide comment back that: “yeah, well, my internet max is like 405 lbs, so that has to count for something.”
Suffice it to say, I recognize that a 315 lb bench press isn’t THAT big of a deal, and certainly doesn’t give me any bragging rights – especially considering some of the insane weights that guys like Vinny DiCenzo, Rock Lewis, and countless other raw and powerlifters put up on a regular basis.
That said, I still know how to COACH the bench press, and below is an article that I wrote last year that sorta got lost in the shuffle and never made it to print.
Lucky for you I happened to find it and decided I post up here. Enjoy!
Tips For a Badass Bench Press
In the realm of fitness, deadlifts and Shake Weights* aside, no other exercise exhibits as much machismo and general “badassery” as the bench press. Like a moth to a flame, it’s the first thing that most trainees (especially newbies) gravitate toward when they embark on a fitness routine, or, you know, if it’s Monday.
It’s no secret that attaining an impressive bench press – whatever that number may be – is kind of a big deal in fitness circles, allowing one a certain degree of bragging rights; it’s something that many trainees strive for on a weekly, sometimes yearly, basis.
However, not everyone makes significant progress with the bench press and even worse, many often end up hurt in the process — which is ironic, given its overwhelming popularity. It doesn’t have to be this way. A few simple tips can help your bench press soar.
But First, Lets Address the Stuff You’re Probably Going to Skip Anyways
While addressing posture may seem trivial and mundane, and yes, you may prefer to swallow a live grenade, it’s critical to discuss. So deal with it.
Let’s face it, there are a lot of people walking around with less than stellar posture. With many spending upwards of 8 to 12 hours per day sitting in front of a computer at work, not to mention the endless hours commuting, and/or hunching over their iPhone it’s no surprise.
Exhibiting a kyphotic posture – rounded shoulders and upper back, or what I like to call the Mr. Burns effect – will absolutely affect rotator cuff mobility, as well as general joint function, which in turn will affect overall performance and how much weight one will be able to bench press.
Interestingly, it’s often popular for fitness professionals to prescribe copious amounts of direct rotator cuff work to help fix one’s posture in addition to providing more “stability” to the joint – with the idea being that the more stable the joint is, the more proficient it will be at transferring force.
This is true, to a degree.
However, rarely, if ever, is the rotator cuff the issue when referring to bench press performance. Rather, what you need to be more cognizant of is thoracic spine mobility and scapular stability.
As my good buddy, Dean Somerset, CSCS, notes, “while the rotator cuff’s function is undoubtedly one of providing stability to the glenohumeral joint and allowing it to have a pivot rotation versus a gliding within the capsule, it doesn’t need a lot of direct work when training for the bench press, even if the problem is a rotator cuff tear.”
In other words, if you’re walking around with a Quasimodo posture, all the rotator cuff work in the world isn’t going to improve your bench press.
Instead by addressing the real issues — improving t-spine mobility and targeting the scapular stabilizers like the serratus anterior and lower traps, which tend to be woefully weak in many trainees — you’ll improve overall shoulder function and help place the scapulae in an optimal position to transfer force.
Using a great analogy that pretty much everyone uses and I’m no different, it’s sort of like shooting a cannon from a canoe; it’s not necessarily a good idea, nor optimal. Shoot it from solid ground, however, and it’s a different result altogether.
For many trainees, they’re so unstable – due to poor positioning – that they never see any improvements in their bench press. Make the joint more stable – again, by improving t-spine mobility and scapular stability – and good things will happen.
While there are certain scenarios where dedicated rotator cuff work might be warranted – they’re few and far between. Instead, focus on thoracic mobility (rotation as well as extension) and improving scapular function, to set yourself up for success.
Here are a few drills that might help and provide some insight:
Quadruped Extension-Rotation
Bench T-Spine Mobilization
Forearm Wall Slides – 135 Degrees with OH Shrug & Lift Off
https://youtube.com/watch?v=7QVMrFDQ0FI
Side Lying Windmill
Those are just a few, of course, but should get the ball rolling in the right direction for most people reading.
For Those That Skipped the Nerdy Stuff, You Can Start Reading Here
It All Starts With the Set-Up: Part I
How you set up for the bench press can make or break your performance, and subsequently, long-term progress to boot. While conventional wisdom will dictate that the bench press is a fairly innocuous exercise that anyone can just show up and perform (kind of like pooping), it’s actually a bit more complicated.
Firstly, rule number one of bench pressing — especially if you’re looking to push some respectable weight – is to never, ever, under any circumstance bench press with your feet up in the air. Unless, of course, you’re actually trying to make people laugh at you and/or want to be weak.
If that’s the case – have at it!
Think about it: By placing your feet up in the air, you’re making yourself more unstable, and in turn, less capable of transferring force efficiently. Resultantly, this will affect how much weight you’re able to use, which defeats the purpose if you’re looking to improve your bench pressing “badasstitude.”
It also looks dumb — really dumb. And no one wants to look dumb.
With that out of way, you need to understand some very basic set-up parameters that will undoubtedly help clean up your bench technique and lead to more weight on the bar.
Step 1: Set your Feet. Dig your feet into the ground!
Don’t just haphazardly flop them out in front of you like a pair of dead fish. Literally, corkscrew those mofo’s into the ground – to the side and underneath you — and use them to push your back into the bench. This is called leg drive, and it’s a trick that many powerlifters utilize to help engage more of the entire body into the movement.
That’s because the bench press is more of a full-body movement than one might think, and by incorporating more leg drive, it’s not uncommon to see an instant increase in the amount of weight used.
Step 2: Grab the bar as if you want to choke it to death.
Too often, trainees gingerly grab the bar as if they’re scared they’re going to hurt it. Grab it and strangle it! By doing so, you’ll force the rotator cuff to fire and provide more stability throughout the shoulders.
Step 3: Place your shoulder blades in your back pocket.
As Mike Robertson, CSCS and co-owner of IFAST training facility located in Indianapolis, IN, notes, “The more stable you are through your upper back, the more strength you’ll be able to display and the less likely you are to strain a pec while benching.”
Grab the bar with your hands – remember, crush it! – lift yourself off the bench slightly and try to pinch your shoulder blades together and depress them by visualizing placing them in your back pocket.
For the visual learners in the crowd, you can always just watch this superb video by Dave Tate.
It All Starts with the Set-Up: Part II
In case you haven’t picked up on it yet, placing a little more of an emphasis on technique very well may be the missing ingredient to a badass bench.
Still reading? Well, you made it this far, you might as well keep going!
Step 4: It’s okay to arch your lower back.
There’s a major misconception in the fitness community that it’s somehow detrimental to arch one’s lumbar spine while benching. While this practice may be problematic for some individuals, it’s a bit remiss to make such broad generalizations.
For starters, the lumbar spine already has a natural lordotic arch to it anyway, so why would maintaining that arch be dangerous? In fact, increasing one’s arch is another useful trick many powerlifters advocate because it helps shorten the distance the bar has to travel.
Secondly, and more to the point, Craig Rasmussen, CSCS and one of the program designers at Results Fitness located in Santa Clarita, CA, says, “I believe that many people simply confuse the (correct) advice of keeping your butt on the bench with the bogus advice of keeping the lumbar spine on the bench. This will entail having a curve in your lumbar spine. You don’t need to press your lumbar spine into the bench as you perform a bench press, but you do need to keep your butt on the bench or you’re changing the movement into an unsupported decline bench press, which is not a good idea.”
Step 5: Get a hand-off.
It sounds borderline trivial, but it’s anything but. Getting a hand-off – as opposed to a “spot” – is an often overlooked component to the bench press.
Remember all that talk above about proper upper back positioning when you bench, and how, if it’s not optimal, it can drastically affect how much weight you’re actually able to lift?
No? What the F, dude? It was like 30 seconds ago! Go back and read it again!
Well, when you don’t ask for a proper hand-off, you’re essentially setting yourself up for failure. Think about what you have to do to unrack the bar on your own: “press” the bar by protracting your shoulders and allowing them to anteriorly tilt – losing any semblance of upper back tightness in the process.
Conversely, by getting a proper hand-off, you’re able to keep the upper back compact and “tight.”
In reality, a hand-off should assist you only in the sense of “gliding” the bar over the j-hooks – the hand-off(er) should not lift the bar out of the hooks for you.
Also, just to throw it out there: every time you yell out “it’s all you, it’s all you, it’s all you” when spotting, a dolphin gets punched in the face. Stop it!
Step 6: Keep your elbows from flaring out.
Watch any elite powerlifter bench and what do you see? Well for starters, you won’t see them with their feet in the air. Seriously, stop it! Secondly, you’ll probably notice how they tend to keep their elbows from flaring out. Why? Namely, it prevents your shoulders from hating you.
Allowing the elbows to flare out – while true, does place more emphasis on the pecs – places infinitely more stress on the shoulders, and you want to protect them as much as possible.
Instead, when lowering the bar, try to keep the elbows at a 45-degree angle from the torso. In other words, if taking a bird-eye view, your arms should make more of a “W” shape than a “T” throughout the duration of the movement
It may be awkward at first, and it will definitely take some practice, but it will keep your shoulders healthier in the long run. And that’s a huge step in the right direction for long-term bench pressing success.
