When you do
a typical bench press rep, it's a little
known fact that a good percentage of the
last part of the movement (as you come to
lockout) is used by the body to decelerate
the bar. The lighter the weight you use,
the greater this percentage is. The heavier
you go, the lower this percentage is.
This
is a safety mechanism used by the body to
prevent joint injury. It sense the load
on the muscles and joints and will actively
work against the movement in order to slow
down the resistance and protect the joints!
This
nervous system inhibition, while useful
for not wrecking your joints, will actually
reduce your strength in heavier lifts. Even
though the weight is heavy and basically
slows itself down, your body still tries
to actively work against the movement as
you come to the top.
This
means as you get to the lockout in a powerful
bench press attempt, your body is trying
to slow the bar down and you may not be
able to lock it out!
There
are a number of ways to train the nervous
system to stop doing that...bands, chains,
plymetrics, etc. But this particular method
is something you can use in your warm-ups
to help get your body out of the inhibition
pattern.
It's
basically an explosive push-up type of movement
but you don't do it on the floor...you do
it kneeling on the bench, and you pop up
off the bench press bar.
I
use it every time I do barbell bench press
and find it really helps "train up"
the nervous system to perform the movement
more effectively.
The
setup is simple - the bench with the barbell
means you're already set up and ready to
go!
Just
kneel on the end of the bench facing the
bar.
Then
let yourself fall forward, catching yourself
on the bar.
Let
your chest come all the way down to the
bar then explode up, popping yourself right
back to vertical with your hands fully off
the bar.
By
popping off the bar, the nervous system
is tuned to NOT slow down. The nice thing
is, it's an easy movement - you can do about
8 to 10 reps of it and get some blood into
the muscles without taxing your body at
all.
I
find it to be a very effective warm-up for
benching.
