Proper setup on the bench press can be the difference between either making a lift or missing it. Not only can your setup technique be the difference in successfully completing a lift, it can also play a huge role in reducing the risk of injury during the lift.

There are a handful of setup techniques for the bench press. Our setup technique was taught to me by a world class power lifter and record holder, and over the years has proven to be the most beneficial technique for our athletes, as well as the safest.

For athletes who have progressed enough to begin bench pressing, we teach a “mild arched back setup.” This setup is a hybrid of the arched back style and the second bench (flat) style. It does not include the Japanese setup. It should also be noted that this setup is designed for a raw bencher and may not be appropriate for shirted benchers or bench only competitors.

We use this hybrid style of benching for three reasons:

The arched back style can be very taxing on an athlete’s lower back.
The second style incorporates too much of the cervical spine; particularly for throwers.
Torso and arm length are always considered during setup as well. We feel this setup gives us the opportunity to adjust arm angles, which is important as we train a variety of different sized athletes.

How to Setup the Hybrid Bench for the Athlete:

START: With the bar in the racked position, slide backwards on the bench and align the bar with the bottom of your chest, or roughly at nipple level.
FEET: Set your feet to the ground, with knees bent. We recommend the heels remain elevated from this point on. More on this in "establishing the arch phase."
GRIP: Set your grip while this position. Keep your pinky finger inside the power ring on both sides. Depending on what you’re training, your grip width will vary. Arm length should also be considered.
ESTABLISH THE ARCH: Now that you have your grip, maintain position of your feet, then slide yourself back down the bench so that the bar is aligned with your eyes. Maintaining your foot placement form step two is important here. Maintaining the foot placement here is what creates the arch in your lower back when you slide into position. We want a normal arched back style, not an exaggerate arched back! Find the foot placement and back arch that allows a shorter distance for the bar to travel while also allowing you to keep your lower back safe and the bar in a stable position during the lift. You should be in a position where your feet are at or slightly in front of your glutes, but not directly under them or behind them. The Japanese method typically has the feet directly under the glutes with the heels down, but we don’t recommend that for our purposes.
UNRACKING PHASE: Once set, un-rack the bar and pause at the top to ensure proper muscle engagement and control of the weight. There are plenty of YouTube videos of people skipping this aspect of the lift and the results aren’t pretty….. After un-racking and ensuring control, engage the lats by attempting to “break the bar.” The lats should be engaged the entire time as they’re one of the most important muscles in the bench. This is hands down the most common mistake young lifters/athletes make. Your lats must be engaged!! You’re likely to cramp up the first time you do this properly.
ECCENTRIC PHASE (LOWERING PHASE): Finally, take a deep breathe in, pull the bar down towards your lower chest. The eccentric (lowering phase) is where most of the action takes place. Take it slow and reap the benefits of the eccentric phase! TOUCH THE WEIGHT TO YOUR CHEST, DO NOT BOUNCE!!
CONCENTRIC PHASE (DRIVE PHASE): Do not let your glutes come off the bench during the drive! If you do this, you will find yourself in an excessively arched position without the proper setup. As you’re driving (up or forward depending on who you talk too), continue to keep the feet engaged and drive through the floor as much as possible. This tension throughout the body is very important both as an advantage in the lift and a safety measure. In simplistic terms, Sherrington’s Law of Irradiation states that by squeezing X muscle, other muscles nearby will assist and engage that much more. This has also been called muscle cheering. Understanding how this additional muscle engagement impacts your lift can make a big difference. Lock out at the top (hypermobility of the elbows should be considered) and rack it up.

The bench press can be a great tool when incorporated properly. At the end of the day, athletes are athletes… they’re not powerlifters or bench pressers. Bench pressing (whether with a barbell or dumbbell) is also not detrimental to pitchers or overhead athletes. All our thrower’s bench and do variations of the bench during the year (pending they have the needed prerequisites). Shoulder issues will arise if the needed prerequisites aren’t met and/or if technique is off. Lastly, special attention should always be paid to the style of bar used, the setup, loading schemes and the time of year an athlete benches.

John Nelson, Founder/Director ELP

A common question parents and coaches ask is whether we do “sport specific training.” The short answer to that question is no. The long answer to that question is that the level of specificity is dependent upon the individual as well as the demands the sport puts on the athlete.

Here are Three Reasons Why We Don’t Train Sport Specifically:

First, there is really no such thing as sport specific training. This is a term that is widely thrown around without any true foundation to stand upon and has generally been used as a marketing gimmick. A rotational athlete doing a lunge with a medicine ball throw isn’t a sport specific move. It’s training the athlete to do a lunge and throw a medicine ball. Too many coaches view the exercise through the microcosm of sport specificity rather than evaluating the move and demands from a global perspective. Meaning, what are the actual rotational mechanisms in play and how are we impacting them? Or are we just having a Quarterback work on their 3 steps drop with a band around their knees and calling it sport specific because they’re mimicing a similar action that they’d do on the field?
Secondly: Our focus at ELP is to help the athlete become a better athlete. When an individual becomes a better athlete, they will become a better “insert sport” player. Who doesn’t want to run faster or jump higher? What I’m about to say may sound like a shameless plug, and that’s not the intent, it’s simply facts over the course of my career... We’ve had over 5 high school pitchers throw over 95mph and one post an official 99mph and unofficial 100mph. That number goes up once we get to our college athletes. In 15 years, there has only been one Tommy John injury that occurred while the athlete was directly under our supervision; and honestly that one is questionable, but I’ll accept there are a few things we could’ve done differently. I am proud of this stat, as we and our healthcare partners have worked very hard to ensure the health of our athletes; but touting our credentials isn’t the point of that statement. The point is that we were able to help these throwers reach their true potential because we trained their athletic ability, not their baseball ability. Athleticism should come before skill. The more athletic the athlete is, the higher levels of skill they’re able to adopt. There is a reason that most of the top athletes in their profession played multiple sports growing up and then go on to have success at the highest of levels. They were great athletes first, and a “insert sport” player second.
Lastly, the human body is the human body. Although it may seem contrary to popular belief, we’re all generally built the same. Granted there are some minor physiological differences; but at the end of the day your hamstring works just like my hamstring. As a mentor of mine once told me: “Find me an athlete whose hamstring ties up near their ear and I’ll gladly relearn everything I know.” Because the laws of nature are global, the process of athletic development becomes global. Train the human body to do what it’s designed to do, and you’ll find success. Ultimately, I’d rather work with Mother Nature and Father Time than try to work against them; they’re undefeated.

Why Maybe We Do Train a Little Sport Specific:

With the material in mind, there are appropriate times to address an individual player’s needs. For example, a quarterback is going to need a slightly greater emphasis on their rotator cuff and scapular upward rotation rather than that of, say, a soccer player. However, that soccer player will need more attention paid to their ankle stability and dorsi/plantar flexion ability than that of a quarterback. So, before we start throwing in J-Bands and scapular mobility work into a throwers program, or ankle mobility drills into a soccer player’s program, we must address the capacity of the individual first. This is very specific in nature and is not global. Blindly throwing mobility drills at an athlete without truly understanding the mechanisms behind their movement is a disservice to the athlete. You need to ask yourself questions such as: what their active vs passive ranges of motion, what is required of their movement, what does muscle alteration around the joint look like, and what is their overall capacity to handle said stimulus?

Once these areas have been addressed, we can implement them properly. However, it should only make up about 20% of their workout. The other 80% is dedicated to developing the athlete while keeping these individual factors in mind. The athlete’s development should emphasize quality movement, the ability to absorb force and then ability to produce force. And in that order.

I’d hardly call that sport specific. I’d call it athlete specific.

Hopefully that helps in breaking down what sport specific training is and what is best for either yourself or your athlete.

If you’re a parent or coach reading this and have questions, we are more than happy to assist however we can! Even if our facility is not the right fit for you or your family due to location, time commitments etc., please don’t ever hesitate to reach out to us. Our goal is to help provide our community with the best possible resources for continued development in athletics, health, and performance. Even if you’re 100+ miles away, we have a great network of colleagues across the country and are always happy to help you in any way we can.

John Nelson, Founder/Director ELP

PROPER BENCH PRESS SETUP FOR ATHLETES

THOUGHTS ON SPORT SPECIFIC TRAINING