Barbell Bench press form confusion

[Habib]

In deadlift dynamite(i read first edition) it outlines in the book to get your lats, abs and fists and tight as you possibly can on every lift you do in the weight room.


In the bench press, there is an idea of pulsing(where you get tighter at a certain time in the lift) and it instructs me to pulse by squeezing my fists and glutes harder and also driving my feet into the ground harder.

The bench press technique doesnt talk about tensing your abs and lats so would the technique be:

. Having abs, lats, fists and glutes squeezed maximally before deep breath into belly with thinly pursed lips and unracking.

. Then lowering bar and as soon as it touches your chest you pulse by squeezing lats, abs, grip and glutes harder(andy bolton said in a tightness article on this website that you should squeeze your grip harder when it touches your chest and said it is somehow possible to do this even when you have been maximally squeezing your grip before) and driving your feet into the ground your hardest to make the push upwards better.

. Also push with CAT(compensatory speed something) and breathe out through thinly pursed lips at the sticking point but leave air in your belly. Also flare elbows at the sticking point.

. Rack bar- also always stay tight under he wieght even when locked out


Questions:
. Was this good technique(my interpretation of the first edition book- cant get second edition but heard on the forum its the same but with a more streamlined explanation and look. Dont exactly know where from on the forum)

. Are you only allowed to breathe while pushing or can you breathe when locked out(i huff and puff for quite a bit after a few reps of practicing technique with a stick- i feel light headed mid set from only breathing while driving up)

. It always says the sticking point but what if there is no sticking point(no sticking point-means no struggling) do you flare elbows and breathe out in that instance. Or am i getting the definition of sticking point wrong and is sticking point the hardest part of the lift despite the difficulty of the lift- the middle

 

[Habib]

breathe out through thinly pursed lips

I meant breathe out through pursed lips.(NOT THINLY)


The book said breathe in through thinly pursed lips and breathe out through pursed lips.




By the way:

. I missed a lot of stuff in the bench press technqiue( like arches and stuff) because i had no confusion with them so this is not a bench press guide


. Also with grip width placement: the book said do about 45° elbows and keep forearms perpendicular to floor(basically the same as vertical). What i do is that i go 45° and i go to the width that would make my forearms vertical when the bar's touching my chest.
The book said do your strongest grip width in competition and in training vary your grip. Im not a powerlifter so should i just vary my training grip? Also, my forearms can only be vertical with an approximate 45° elbow flare at a specific grip width or am i just trippin and can all grip widths have an approximate 45° elbow flare with vertical forearms at a specific grip width ?


Unrelated: Also, when is the best time to post on the forum?

Please answer ALL my questions please.


I am in the MOST mind boggled state right now

 

[Anna C]

Yes, your technique description looks accurate. I have the recently re-released Deadlift Dynamite.

Pg 37 says you can breathe either way. "On the way up, hold our breath all the way to lockout. Alternatively, you may breathe out with the effort at your sticking point -- but not before!" If you do, as you said, pursed lips and you must stay tight.

"Stay tight under the iron. Always stay tight." -- from Deadlift Dynamite

As for the elbows and sticking point -- in my opinion, if you don't feel a sticking point, don't flare the elbows. In the book it's described as a technique you can use -- keep elbows tucked and flare at the sticking point. Personally I don't flare the elbows at all. Seems safer for the shoulders to keep the arms at about 45 degrees to the body. But I'm far from a champion bench-presser.

 

[Kenny Croxdale]

In the bench press, there is an idea of pulsing(where you get tighter at a certain time in the lift) and it instructs me to pulse by squeezing my fists and glutes harder and also driving my feet into the ground harder.

Staying Tight

As per...

"Stay tight under the iron. Always stay tight." -- from Deadlift Dynamite

"Leakage of Strength"

As per Dr Stu McGill, lifters optimally produce the greatest Strength and Power when the body is ridig; tight and locked into place.

When the body is rigid from as Gary Gray (Physical Therapist) stated "From toes to nose", Force Production it maximally transfered the all Movements.

Brace For Impact Examples

In a situation, where you know someone was going to punch you in the stomach or that you were in a car about to hit another, you automatically "Brace for Impact", without thinking about it.

Another analogy is from Dr Fred Hatfield regading...

Firing A Canon From a Canoe

Firing a canon from a solid platform ensure produces that greatest effect.

Firing a canon from an unstable platform, like a canoe, is ineffective.

Sherrington’s Law of Irradiation

How to Use "Muscle Irradiation" to Create Tension for Stronger Lifts

What if I told you there’s a method that makes you stronger while also improving your technique and preventing injury. Would you believe me? Let me introduce you to the concept of muscle irradiation. Irradiation

barbend.com

A muscle working hard recruits the neighboring muscles, and if they are already part of the action, it amplifies their strength.The neural impulses emitted by the contracting muscle reach other muscles and ‘turn them on’ as an electric current starts a motor.

what if there is no sticking point(no sticking point-means no struggling) ...is sticking point the hardest part of the lift despite the difficulty of the lift- the middle

Sticking Point

There is always a sticking point in a movement with Heavy Load or in Pushing To Failure.

No Sticking Point in a Movement means the weight being used is too light or that you stopped the Exercise before you hit you it.

Let break this down some more...

Dr Ariel Gideon's Strength Curve Research

All Exsercises have a Strength Curve. This is where you are stronger in one part of the Movement and weaker in another part of the it.

With all Exercises, approximately the weak point is around in around one third of the Movement. This is your Sticking Poing.

1) Ascending Strength Curve

This means the bottom part of a Movement is the hardest. The top part is easier.

Ascending Strength Movements: Squats, Pressing, Deadlifts, Leg Press.

Research by Dr Tom McLauglin, PhD Exercise Biomechanics/Former Powerlifter, determined the first one third of a Squat and Bench Press is where the Sticking Point is.

2) Bell Shaped Strength Curve

This means the the middle part of an Exercise is hard. The first and last part of the Movement are easier.

Bell Shaped Strength Exercises: Usually is with Isolation Exercises like Triceps Pushdowns, Curls, etc.

3) Descending Strength Curve

This means the the first part of an Exercise is easy. The last part of the Movement is hard.

Descending Strength Exercises: Traditionally Compound Pulling Movents such as, Bent Over Rows, Lat Pulldowns, Upright Rows, etc.

Too Many Cues

The problem with Multiple Training Cues for Technique is they OverLoad individual with too much information; Information OverLoad.

The key with anything is to focus on one thing at a time. Once you are proficient at that move on to another element. Work on it until are have it down.

 

[DocMike]

One fine point I would add is this:

Do not push your feet into the ground as this will cause the hips to rise up off the bench pad and you lose the leg drive. Rather, push your heels towards your toes so as to simulate the drive of the feet I to the traps. This is proper leg drive and works wonders.

 

[3letterslong]

Sticking Point

There is always a sticking point in a movement with Heavy Load or in Pushing To Failure.

No Sticking Point in a Movement means the weight being used is too light or that you stopped the Exercise before you hit you it.

This just blew my mind. Does this mean every rep that's heavier than your 5RM (as an example, I don't know how the loads would work out) should have a noticeable sticking point for you? And that proper strength training (as Pavel prescribes) is about working the sticking point?

Okay, so keeping in mind I'm not using a barbell, but calisthenics (with external weights or poor leverage), this is my experience going ultra-heavy: I can get one perfect rep, machine-like, with no slowdown at the weakest part of the rom; I terminate the set as a single without doing a second rep because I know the second rep will experience a sticking point and holding my form through it will be a struggle. I'm under the impression that I've hit my technical rep max, but what if everything Pavel has been writing about for twenty years was about how to maintain tension and power through a sticking point with perfect form? What if I've had strength training all wrong this entire time? Is that why heavy and low-volume never really worked for me, but slightly-less-heavy and high volume did?

I need to lie down.

 

[silveraw]

I don't know how the loads would work out) should have a noticeable sticking point for you? And that proper strength training (as Pavel prescribes) is about working the sticking point?

That’s pretty much classic american powerlifting training approach.

If you have ever done 531, that is how you’re supposed to pick accessories (I think it is the "Trumivariate" variation?)

It did get lost in the quest for minimalism unfortunately.

Edited for clarity.

 

[bluejeff]

This just blew my mind. Does this mean every rep that's heavier than your 5RM (as an example, I don't know how the loads would work out) should have a noticeable sticking point for you? And that proper strength training (as Pavel prescribes) is about working the sticking point?

Okay, so keeping in mind I'm not using a barbell, but calisthenics (with external weights or poor leverage), this is my experience going ultra-heavy: I can get one perfect rep, machine-like, with no slowdown at the weakest part of the rom; I terminate the set as a single without doing a second rep because I know the second rep will experience a sticking point and holding my form through it will be a struggle. I'm under the impression that I've hit my technical rep max, but what if everything Pavel has been writing about for twenty years was about how to maintain tension and power through a sticking point with perfect form? What if I've had strength training all wrong this entire time? Is that why heavy and low-volume never really worked for me, but slightly-less-heavy and high volume did?

I need to lie down.

I can't speak to benching, but I have read a decent chunk of recent hypertrophy science. The current thinking is that you need ~3-5 hard reps per set to really make good gains. If you went heavier, you would still get "stimulating reps," but going heavier would limit the volume. Work by Chris Beardsely explains why a heavy 8-ish rep max is the sweet spot; around half the set is where it starts to get hard.
By "hard reps," they seem to mean it should be a decent struggle, within certain technical limits. I am not that familar with more recent strength-focused training studies though. Kenny has posted a lot on how basically a conjugate approach consistently gives strength and size gains, if I'm not mistaken.

Regarding cues: I don't know what the OP's lifting experience is, but they seem at least newish based on their questions. I agree with Kenny, when you're learning a new movement, you aren't going to get better faster by trying to teach yourself that laundry list of stuff to do each time you bench. There's no reason that if you are newer to benching, you absolutely need to do it like a technical power lifter. Just lift weight that you can do safely and in a way that feels good for you. Start to get stronger, then refine your skill over time.