Get Big, Get Strong, Bench Press
“Here is a truism in strength training: if you constantly utilize bad form, sooner or later you’re going
to pay the price.” -Bill Starr, Strength and Conditioning Coach
Bill Starr
Today we will continue our journey to elite fitness with the bench press. The quote above is true in all aspects of strength training and Crossfit. We need to pay special attention to form in the bench press considering the weight is above our face and chest, and has potential to do some serious harm. I don’t know about you but I really like my face…….in one piece. Some things to consider when benching are:
- Do not use the false grip(not the same as muscle up). This means a full grip on the bar(thumbs around). The wrists will suffer from being bent under heavy load with no other support. The Full grip keeps the joints stacked on one another. Many injuries have come from athletes letting the bar slip out of hand using the false grip.
- Do not bridge your body. Keep you butt and feet flat on the bench.
- USE A SPOTTER!!! If the occasion ever arises where spotter is unavailable dump the weight properly. This means no clips on the bar so you simply tilt it to the side and the let the weight slide off.
- Hold your breath for large load attempts. This will provide a solid foundation and is essential for pressing big weight.
We will go over these and some others before hitting hard today. The bench press is a great tool to gain strength and see improvements in all your lifts, many athletes have seen a fast improvement in the overhead lifts! Happy benching!!
WOD 5 Sept 2012
BENCH PRESS 5 @ 70% 1RM, 3-3-3, 1-1-1
Then….
75ft Prowler Push x6 (not for time, add weight and rest as needed between)
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