The Sound Of Barbell - A Link Post

The Sound Of Barbell Blog has good information in regards to power lifting. Harley, the creator, writes posts that include tips and advice on how to become as strong as possible. I want to highlight one of his posts that gives advice about the bench press, and also add a few points of my own. The post is titled “The Sound Advice – Part 2: Bench Press”, and it can be found at:    http://www.thesoundofbarbell.com/sound-advice-part-2-bench-press/

The three pieces of advice he gives in this post include:

1.      His first piece of advice is to grip the bar outside of shoulder, and to try different grips to find the best one. This is a good tip but I want to add that people should vary their grip with a spotter. This is because different muscles are activated depending on your grip, and even a weight that is normally in your comfort zone can overwhelm you or lead to injury because your body is not accustomed to lifting this way.

2.      His second piece of advice is to bench with a slight arch in the back. I agree that this a good technique, however, this is for moderate to advanced lifters. I typically only recommend doing this when you reach a plateau in your bench press. I also in a way view this as cheating because it shortens the range of motion.

3.      His third piece of advice is to be careful and watch your form. He makes the argument that your form should be 100% intact throughout your lift. I agree to an extent. For heavy and low rep workouts where serious injury is possible, you should maintain proper form throughout the lift. However, for high rep and low weight workouts there is a benefit to forgoing form for a few extra reps.

In addition to his tips I want to add a couple of my own:

1.      Track your bench and add weight incrementally by five pounds every two weeks. This will help you to not hit a plateau.

2.      Every three weeks, end your chest day by doing an overloaded set with the help of spotters or a machine. Simply put, bench using a weight that is 110% of your max bench. This is done by having spotters hold on to the bar as you lower the weight down to your chest as slowly as possible before exploding up. This type of lift helps develop power and get you past a plateau.   

To read more blog posts by Harley, please visit: The Sound of Barbell