What's going on Nation?
I'm Scott from Muscularstrength.com and today we're gonna go over the three golden rules
when performing a barbell
incline bench press but before we get started if you've been enjoying my golden rule series
be sure to smash that like and subscribe button and let me know which exercise you want to see next
down in that comment section below. Alright guys, so golden rule number one
you always want to make sure you're benching with a grip just outside of shoulder width, now
I know some of you gonna say with a wider grip you can bench more weight
but guys when you have a wider grip on this exercise when using a barbell
you're not gonna get that much of a flex at the top of the movement should go without saying
the more you bring your hands in the more of a flex you get in your chest and
adduction as part of one of the functions of the chest
which means if you're feeling that flex at the top you're gonna get more muscle activation
for more muscle damage and more growth.
Even if you can bench a little more when doing the wider grip, so that's what we're gonna do that number two
you're gonna have more control over the exercise
and you're gonna be able to keep your elbows under your wrists allowing you to really focus
and push through with your triceps as well. So let me show you what I mean
So getting underneath the barbell, you're gonna place your fingers your fingertips on the gnarling
I like to use my thumbs put them right on the end
grab the barbell
lift off and then as I performed my repetitions like I just told you guys I keep my elbows under my wrists and
as I press back up my elbows stay under my wrists as well.
You want to make sure that when you do this movement guys that as you come down.
You don't flare your elbows out to the side and then push this way as well.
You're gonna lose a lot of power. If you do that, you're also gonna place a lot of unwanted
tension in your shoulders.
So golden rule number one get that just outside of shoulder width grip. Golden rule
number two guys is not having your shoulder blades
retracted and depressed throughout the entire set
and what I noticed the most common thing that happens here is
a lot of you will retract depress lean back and then you'll get into position
but sometimes the j-hooks are too high on benches in the gym or just in general
when we try to press the weight off the j-hooks what happens is we lift the weight and then
push it up like this almost using our shoulders to help us and
then what happens is once you use your shoulders to help you
you unpack them and then you start performing your repetitions with your back flat on the bench
versus having your shoulder blades retracted and depress down and what starts to happen is you lose
a lot of that pushing power that you
had and then you can also start to
transfer a bit more of the exercise into your shoulders versus keeping it all in your chest.
So if that happens to you and you pay attention
just hold the weight above you like this and try to reset your shoulders
and then once you reset your shoulders and they're nice and packed then you'll be able to bench and
feel it all in your chest and not in your shoulders at all
and you guys probably saw a clear difference there when I benched this way with my shoulders packed
versus this way with my back flat on the bench. There's a big difference and
the third golden rule guys is you have to remember that your lower body and your core are
vital to this movement. All right. What that means is yes. It's an upper body movement
we're pressing through our chest and our arms.
But if your core is loose and your feet are not firmly planted on the ground
then you don't have a solid foundation to be able to press more weight comfortably.
So what I mean by that is
when you're pressing the weight and you lift it off the bench. So we have our shoulders packed
we lift it off the bar. You don't want to be like this with your feet
This is going to create some instability and not the kind of instability that you want. You want to be nice and tight
either be on your toes or get your feet flat
push your knees out as you push your knees out arch
your back and then take in a breath through your nose and
flex that core as hard as you can flex your glutes and that creates a solid foundation
that's gonna allow you to press heavier and heavier weight as you get better with the movement.
So as soon as you start to feel your core loosen up and your lower body loosen up
reset yourself. Don't just start pressing repetitions with loose legs in a loose core and
one quick bonus tip before I let you guys go
a lot of times benches in the gym can be very slippery.
And if you're a bench of slippery that's going to cause your butt
to slide up which is gonna cause your core to become soft
and you're gonna lose your footing.
You can take some bungees and then wrap them around the seat and your butt will stick to these real good
Okay
So if you're sliding on the bench go find a few bungees
put them on just like I did right here and that's gonna help you stick
much better so that when you're pressing heavier loads
your butt doesn't start sliding all the way forward like this because that can become very dangerous
especially if you're maxing out or trying to squeeze out those last few repetitions.
So if you guys enjoyed the video be sure to smash that like and subscribe button and as always
more good stuff coming soon. See you guys