THE INSIDER’S TELL-ALL HANDBOOK ON WEIGHT-TRAINING TECHNIQUE
tioned the right distance from the saddles’ uprights
so that you cannot strike them on the ascent, you
will have trouble getting the bar out of the saddles
for your first rep.
If you do not have a spotter to give you a handoff,
then train the bench press from the bottom position
and do away with the need to use saddles. If you
bench press in the rack from the bottom position,
then no handoff or guided return is necessary.
Pins set at chest height for rack bench pressing from the bot-
tom. For touch-and-go benching, the pins would be set an inch
or so below chest height.
Plant yourself on the bench with your feet, hips,
back and head all solidly in position. To remove
dangerous stress from your lower spine, minimize
the space between your lower back and the bench.
Bench press with a platform under your feet. Do
not, however, place your feet on the bench because
that would seriously reduce your stability. The
height of the platform depends on leg length and
bench height. Try one about 4" high if you are of
36
average height. Use a single wide platform, or two
small platforms (or blocks), so that your feet can be
well spaced for stability. (Powerlifters should, dur-
ing the few weeks prior to a meet, carefully ease into
using a competition arch, but minimize the arch.)
While the bar is at the line of your lower pecs,
take a hand spacing that puts your forearms in a
vertical position when viewed (by an assistant) from
the side and from your feet. Your elbows should be
directly under your wrists. Adult men can use a grip
with 2" between their index fingers as a starting
point. Women can use a grip 4" narrower. Fine-tune
from there to find the grip that gives you the proper
forearm and elbow positioning. Once you find your
optimum grip, have someone measure the distance
between your index fingers, and make a written re-
cord of it.
Do not use a thumbless grip because it reduces
your control over the bar. Grip with your hands
equally distanced from the bar’s center. Take your
grip carefully and be sure you are not even a fraction
of an inch off center. Before a set, know precisely
where your hands should be. Use a tape measure if
need be. If you train at home, you could even mark
the spacing on your bench press bar (perhaps with
tape).
The “thumbless” grip on the left, and the correct grip on the
right.