Trouble Shooting The Bench Press- Being Weak Off The Chest Is Holding You Back!
Have you ever loaded up a heavy weight for a PR on bench and it feels great in your hands, you bring it down to your chest, pause on your chest, go to press it up and then…..
Nothing.
The bar gets stuck at the bottom and you have to have your buddy come get the bar off your chest. Or if youre in a meet the spotters yell “rack it” and grab the bar.
The worst.
It is at this point that it can be determined you missed the lift “off the chest” as the bar didnt even make it half way up before stalling.
Its safe to consider a lifter weak off the chest in the bench press when👇
1. The bar either does not move when the lifter goes to press the bar after making contact with their chest
2) The bar is very slow to move off the chest
or
3) The bar stalls very shortly after leaving the chest.
This “fault” is typically caused by inability to stay tight at the bottom of the press (weakness in lats/upper back) or weakness in the prime mover muscles that are responsible for exploding the bar off the chest (chest, shoulders mainly)
Here are a few exercises you may use to remedy this weakness:
Paused bench press (1-3 sec hold on chest)
Wide grip bench press
Spoto Press (bands or chains can be added for explosiveness)
Dead Bench
Speed Bench
Buffalo Bar bench press
DB Bench Press
Shoulder Press (any variation)
Rows
Lat pulldown
Pull ups
Bottom line:
Being weak off the chest is a super common situation for raw bench pressers as this is the most vulnerable part of the lift! So dont stress it.
But if you apply some of the tips above, you can fix it, and your bench press can become the talk of the town…or at least your gym, or circle of friends. 😄
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