guss
MuscleHead
- Aug 11, 2010
- 380
- 189
There are a lot of articles out there focusing on bench setup with how to tuck your shoulders, arching, bar path etc… so I am going to assume those points are already in order and will focus on leg drive. Utilizing leg drive will help you maximize your bench press poundages. Not using leg drive you are cutting yourself short of your true bench potential. It will give you more speed off your chest, and if that is a sticking point for you it will help you blast through it.
After setting your shoulders/traps in the bench, push with your legs to drive your butt up underneath you, towards your head, to set the arch. Once your butt is pushed up as far as it can, get it set in the bench. At this point you need to find the strongest position for your feet. I prefer to keep mine wide, wider than shoulder width, with my toes turned out at roughly a 45 degree angle. One of the things to remember here if you have problem with your butt coming off the bench is that your hips will go as high as your knees are, so if you are able to get your knees level or below where your hips are when set on the bench you should not have any problems. In order to get your knees lower you will need to extend/widen your stance. One extreme form of this is how Kara Bohigan benches. Her legs are completely straight and in a sumo stance, very wide. Setup in this way I don’t think you can get as much leg drive as possible and I would prefer to still have your legs bent, but just learn to better control your hips when you drive with your legs. This set up is opposite to how a lot of guys set up, who set their feet first and then pull themselves into position setting their shoulders/traps last, with many using tucked feet as well. I am just going over what I do and has worked for me, I never had much luck tucking my feet, felt very unstable.
Once your feet are set everything should be solid as a rock – shoulders/traps retracted, arch set, core solid, glutes flexed, and your legs should be applying force driving your hips towards your head keeping you tight and solid. If you have watched Dave Tate’s “So You Think You Can Bench” video series you will remember at the beginning when he is getting the client set up on the bench he tests how solid the guy’s legs are by nudging them with Dave’s knee, trying to move the bencher’s legs. They are relaxed and move easily in/out when Dave pushes on them. If someone were to push on your legs when you are set up they should not move and be rock solid. There should be tension in your legs from the time you setup to the time you finish your last rep.
The angle and direction you apply the force when you “kick” for the leg drive is very important as well. Pushing straight down through the floor doesn’t transfer as much force to the bar as well as creates a much higher chance of your butt coming off the bench. Pushing straight down all your force goes to driving your hips up off the bench and the force is not transferred back to the bar. You want to push down at an angle as well as out. Not trying to break this down to a science, but I would not push “down” anymore than a 45 degree angle into the ground. The outward push will be the direction your toes are pointing. When you “kick” it should be as though you are trying to drive your toes through the front of your shoe, at a downward angle into the ground. Another way to think of it is that if the bench was very slick, when you kicked it would cause you to slide towards the head end of the bench.
On timing the leg drive, I kick just a fraction of a second before I press, it helps build some momentum and speed as soon as you are beginning to press. Kick as hard as you can and do not let up until the rep is complete.
Again not trying to break this down into a science but it may be helpful to see what “intensity” of leg drive I use throughout a set of bench press, from liftoff to completion.
Initial Setup – 50-60%
Liftoff – 80%
Eccentric/Lowering the bar – 60-70%
Concentric/Press (kick just slightly before pressing) 100% - maintain 100% force all the way to lockout
Eccentric/Lower the bar – 60-70% ….repeat…
After setting your shoulders/traps in the bench, push with your legs to drive your butt up underneath you, towards your head, to set the arch. Once your butt is pushed up as far as it can, get it set in the bench. At this point you need to find the strongest position for your feet. I prefer to keep mine wide, wider than shoulder width, with my toes turned out at roughly a 45 degree angle. One of the things to remember here if you have problem with your butt coming off the bench is that your hips will go as high as your knees are, so if you are able to get your knees level or below where your hips are when set on the bench you should not have any problems. In order to get your knees lower you will need to extend/widen your stance. One extreme form of this is how Kara Bohigan benches. Her legs are completely straight and in a sumo stance, very wide. Setup in this way I don’t think you can get as much leg drive as possible and I would prefer to still have your legs bent, but just learn to better control your hips when you drive with your legs. This set up is opposite to how a lot of guys set up, who set their feet first and then pull themselves into position setting their shoulders/traps last, with many using tucked feet as well. I am just going over what I do and has worked for me, I never had much luck tucking my feet, felt very unstable.
Once your feet are set everything should be solid as a rock – shoulders/traps retracted, arch set, core solid, glutes flexed, and your legs should be applying force driving your hips towards your head keeping you tight and solid. If you have watched Dave Tate’s “So You Think You Can Bench” video series you will remember at the beginning when he is getting the client set up on the bench he tests how solid the guy’s legs are by nudging them with Dave’s knee, trying to move the bencher’s legs. They are relaxed and move easily in/out when Dave pushes on them. If someone were to push on your legs when you are set up they should not move and be rock solid. There should be tension in your legs from the time you setup to the time you finish your last rep.
The angle and direction you apply the force when you “kick” for the leg drive is very important as well. Pushing straight down through the floor doesn’t transfer as much force to the bar as well as creates a much higher chance of your butt coming off the bench. Pushing straight down all your force goes to driving your hips up off the bench and the force is not transferred back to the bar. You want to push down at an angle as well as out. Not trying to break this down to a science, but I would not push “down” anymore than a 45 degree angle into the ground. The outward push will be the direction your toes are pointing. When you “kick” it should be as though you are trying to drive your toes through the front of your shoe, at a downward angle into the ground. Another way to think of it is that if the bench was very slick, when you kicked it would cause you to slide towards the head end of the bench.
On timing the leg drive, I kick just a fraction of a second before I press, it helps build some momentum and speed as soon as you are beginning to press. Kick as hard as you can and do not let up until the rep is complete.
Again not trying to break this down into a science but it may be helpful to see what “intensity” of leg drive I use throughout a set of bench press, from liftoff to completion.
Initial Setup – 50-60%
Liftoff – 80%
Eccentric/Lowering the bar – 60-70%
Concentric/Press (kick just slightly before pressing) 100% - maintain 100% force all the way to lockout
Eccentric/Lower the bar – 60-70% ….repeat…
