10 Bench Press Mistakes

goes out the window. These are 10 of the most common mistakes we see in athletes, lifters, and general population. By fixing these simple mistakes, you will not only increase the weight being moved, but also reduce the risk of injury, which helps lead to bigger weights pushed long term. 

1- Not having elbows turned in prior to the unrack. by twisting the elbows in, this simply engages the lats to help pull the bar out in a straight line. Forgetting to do this will place more stress on the pecs and delts and will create an unstable surface.

2- Not taking air in correctly. Prior to unracking the bar, fill your belly as big you can with air. Once your stomach is as big as possible, take your last air through your mouth, this will help lock everything in. Do not take your first air through your mouth then your belly, it doesn't work.

3- Not pulling bar far enough out. Most lifters we see, short change themselves unpacking the bar. You want to get to where the bar moves down in a straight line and not curved on the way down. This not only makes it impossible to use the correctt muscles, it also is wasted energy. Straight lines always win. 

4- Not Squeezing the bar- The lifter should be squeezing the bar so hard that it looks like they’re trying to break it. This will help tighten everything up in the lifters body. When lifters doesn't squeeze hard enough, you will see them shake like crazy.

5- Raising the Head- Do not raise your head off the bench to see where the bar is going. This will increase range of motion and also take away strong leverage. Try to drive your neck down through the bench pad and eliminate any gap between your head and the pad. This will help a ton with stability in heavier weights.

6- Collapsing to Touch- You will see new lifters get in a rush with bigger weights and just completely drop the weight the last 1-1.5 inches. This is ineffective because you're 1-increasing range of motion 2- losing leverage 3- losing straight line with bar. Practice holding positions and you will become much stronger in a more favorable position.

7- Touching too High or Low- Same as collapsing, this will change your leverage and use the wrong muscles to press the weight. Too high on chest and it’s more pec and delt, too low and you’re taking triceps out of it and have to reverse it back into a straight line.

8- Wrist not Straight- Your wrist have to be straight under the bar to maximize the strength of your arms. Once your wrist are bent back you're losing a lot of power because there isn't a straight line for power anymore. 

9- Elbows Kick Out- This is a matter of weak lats and weak arms. Your body is trying to find the strong muscles to take over the press. This is where pec tears and shoulder issues occur. Use your back and triceps to press and you'll drastically reduce the wear and tear on smaller muscle areas. 

10- Overpressing- This is usually caused by needing more back strength and size. If your back cant stay dug into the bench you're more likely to overdress at the top of the lift and will take away your base of support. Again this will place more load on onto your pecs which we need to avoid. 

Nick Showman

Showtime Strength & Performance

www.showtimestrength.com