(Article) 5 Things That Will Help Your Bench Press
Published: Wed, 03/26/14
What's up, I hope your training is
going well.
I just wrote this quick article and I wanted to
send it out to you before it gets posted anywhere else.
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5 Ways to Make the Bench Press More Elbow Friendly
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The Bench Press is one of the best muscle building
movements, triggering muscle growth all through
the upper body. No wonder it is such a staple in
so many lifters' training programs.
But, if you're not careful, the Bench Press can
also trigger something else in your upper body
- PAIN - especially in the elbows.
Here are the top 5 ways you can prevent pain in
the Bench Press, while at the same time
maximizing your muscle building gains
1. Warm-up the Elbow PRIOR to Benching
For most lifters, a "Warm-up" for the bench
consists of a few lighter sets before getting into
the work sets or going for a new personal best.
That is not even close to what you should be
doing in order to properly warm up, especially
if you are already dealing with annoying elbow
pain from time to time or on a regular basis.
Here are 3 easy movements you can do in just a
couple of minutes to get blood flowing into the
elbow and lower arm area to prime them for
activity and lubricate them for improved injury
prevention:
Zottman Curls: Just a few light sets of this
Dumbbell Curl variation will start bringing
blood into the lower arms. Have the hands
supinated on the way up, as normal, but then
on the way down, turn the hands over into
pronation to stimulate the muscles on the
back of the forearm a bit more intensely.
1 set of 20 with light weight.
Dumbbell Rotations: Take a light dumbbell in
each hand and off set the grip on the handle so
the pinky finger and edge of the palm is against
one head of the dumbbell. Hold the forearms
parallel with the ground and rotation the
forearms back and forth. 1 set of 10 each way
45-degree Reverse Curls: Begin with the
dumbbells or barbell in the normal lowered position.
Curl them up like a regular Reverse Curl, then
elevate the upper arm about 45-degrees away
from the body. Now, keep the upper arm at that
angle for the rest of the set 1 set 15 reps
If you do these quick exercises before you do
your specific Bench warm-up, your lower arms
will be engaged for bigger Bench lifts.
2. Use Sleeves to Keep Heat In
After diligently making sure the elbow area is
properly warmed up for serious Bench Pressing,
the next thing to do is to ensure they stay warmed up.
If you are accustomed to wearing a tank top or
going shirtless while you train, you might want
to re-think that. Wearing sleeves of some sort
can keep the area warmer and prevent pain.
If a long sleeve shirt is just plain out of the
question, you might want to think about a sports
elbow sleeve of some sort, especially if you are
dealing with elbow pain right now. Keeping the
area covered helps keep the circulation in your
arm and can really make a big difference in
how the elbows feel.
3. Form Check:
Now it is time to make sure you are performing
the lift properly. If you train alone, it is easy to
pick up bad habits without noticing them. So
next time you are at a gym, ask somebody who
is texting on their phone to check these two
things about your Bench Press mechanics.
Arms In: For most lifters, having the upper arm
slightly tucked in towards the body (versus flaring
them outward) is the way to go to prevent pain in
both the shoulder and the elbows. This angle
allows for better structural support of the bar and
better clearance for the soft tissues inside and near the joints.
Forearms Vertical: Another bad habit lifters can
get into is to allow the forearms to drop backwards
toward the shoulder when the bar is descending
toward the lift. This puts more pressure on the
connective tissues of the elbow and causes an
energy leak in the kinetic chain. Again, have
someone watch you or set up a video camera/
smart phone to film a couple of your work sets
to see exactly what is going on with your technique.
4. Squeeze the Bar
You may not realize how important it is to squeeze
the bar with the hands when performing the Bench
Press. By squeezing the bar, it causes a chain
reaction of contractions from the hands, through
the arms, and into the shoulders and torso. This is
called radiant tension, and it causes the muscles
to fire more powerfully, plus it makes the
everything in the Bench Press more stable.
This means not only will each repetition feel
This means not only will each repetition feel
stronger, but you'll lift heavier weights, perform
more and better quality reps, plus you'll see
better increases.
5. Stretch the Triceps
You should know the importance of stretching for
5. Stretch the Triceps
You should know the importance of stretching for
maintaining flexibility and mobility. And most
people who add stretching in after they Bench
stretch the pecs and shoulders out well.
However, one muscle group they often forget is
However, one muscle group they often forget is
the Triceps. Since the triceps attach at the elbow,
they influence the lower arm. So, if they get too
tight, they can cause pain in the elbow joint and
forearm as well.
A simple Overhead Triceps Stretch, is usually
A simple Overhead Triceps Stretch, is usually
enough to tame these tight muscles and allow
for better freedom of movement and prevent
performance reducing pain. 2 Sets of 30 Seconds.
If you do these 5 things on a regular basis,
If you do these 5 things on a regular basis,
you should be able to prevent most elbow
pain from setting it, and you should be able
to keep improving on the Bench and packing
on more muscle.
BUT, if you've already got some kind of
BUT, if you've already got some kind of
To fix your elbow pain and learn dozens of
other secrets that will prevent it from coming
back, check out Fixing Elbow Pain. This
program has already helped hundreds of
lifters get back to pain free workouts. Keep training hard,
Mike Westerdal
CriticalBench.com