Why The Bench Press Isn't Growing Your Chest
- 9 months ago
Why The Bench Press Isn't Growing Your Chest
The first thing you need to do about your bench pressing form is determine what elbow angle is going to best activate your chest while minimizing any discomfort as you press. Align your elbow angle with where the majority of your chest fibres run. This will vary for each individual. For most people, an elbow angle of somewhere around 45 degrees to about 70 degrees will best line up with and activate their chest fibers when they press while being safest on the shoulders. Play around within this range to see what feels best. You can also experiment using and play around with the elbow position. A lower elbow angle may bias more of your upper chest fibers, whereas a more flared out elbow angle biases more of your mid and lower chest fibers.
It’s now time to set up your bench press grip width to enable you to actually use that elbow angle as you press. The way you do this is by ensuring that at the bottom of the press, your forearms are vertical with your elbows stacked directly under wrists, both from the front view and the side view. If in step 1 you chose an elbow angle that’s tucked a bit more to around 45 degrees, then you’ll have to use a more narrow grip. Whereas if you chose a more flared out elbow angle step 1, then you’ll need to use a slightly wider grip. Play around with different grip widths, take a look at your forearms at the bottom position, and record yourself from the front and side view to double check that they’re aligned.
The last thing you want to refine in your bench press technique is to ensure you maintain at least some degree of an arch in your upper back. This helps activate more of chest, specifically the mid and lower fibers, by putting them in a better aligned position to do work while also keeping your shoulders in a safer position. But as for how much of an arch you should use, this will depend on your individual chest fibers, the structure of your sternum, and the overall size of your chest as well. Generally, most people will get the best activation somewhere between an arch that isn’t completely flat against the bench, but also isn’t as exaggerated as a powerlifter’s arch for example. So again, play around with it to find the optimal position.
And there you have it. You now know how to do the bench press for more gains – and fewer injuries. Go through this step by step process, experiment with it, and find what works best for you and your body. If you want to build muscle as effectively as possible while minimizing your risk of injury, then you need to not only pick the right exercises but also ensure that you set up and execute them in the right way and in a way that’s based on your individual structure.
The first thing you need to do about your bench pressing form is determine what elbow angle is going to best activate your chest while minimizing any discomfort as you press. Align your elbow angle with where the majority of your chest fibres run. This will vary for each individual. For most people, an elbow angle of somewhere around 45 degrees to about 70 degrees will best line up with and activate their chest fibers when they press while being safest on the shoulders. Play around within this range to see what feels best. You can also experiment using and play around with the elbow position. A lower elbow angle may bias more of your upper chest fibers, whereas a more flared out elbow angle biases more of your mid and lower chest fibers.
It’s now time to set up your bench press grip width to enable you to actually use that elbow angle as you press. The way you do this is by ensuring that at the bottom of the press, your forearms are vertical with your elbows stacked directly under wrists, both from the front view and the side view. If in step 1 you chose an elbow angle that’s tucked a bit more to around 45 degrees, then you’ll have to use a more narrow grip. Whereas if you chose a more flared out elbow angle step 1, then you’ll need to use a slightly wider grip. Play around with different grip widths, take a look at your forearms at the bottom position, and record yourself from the front and side view to double check that they’re aligned.
The last thing you want to refine in your bench press technique is to ensure you maintain at least some degree of an arch in your upper back. This helps activate more of chest, specifically the mid and lower fibers, by putting them in a better aligned position to do work while also keeping your shoulders in a safer position. But as for how much of an arch you should use, this will depend on your individual chest fibers, the structure of your sternum, and the overall size of your chest as well. Generally, most people will get the best activation somewhere between an arch that isn’t completely flat against the bench, but also isn’t as exaggerated as a powerlifter’s arch for example. So again, play around with it to find the optimal position.
And there you have it. You now know how to do the bench press for more gains – and fewer injuries. Go through this step by step process, experiment with it, and find what works best for you and your body. If you want to build muscle as effectively as possible while minimizing your risk of injury, then you need to not only pick the right exercises but also ensure that you set up and execute them in the right way and in a way that’s based on your individual structure.