I had a very successful Bench Press workout yesterday. I did Flat Bench opposed to Decline, which I had been running for months. I had given up on Flat Benching b/c of the Anterior Deltoid usage and my lack of leg drive technique. It just made sense to Decline, but honestly, I had trouble setting up on Decline. I couldn't find a great position as far as my torso on the bench.
On to the Flat Bench, my number one tip that helped is to find the point of reference on the ceiling in which the bar path must return each rep. This gives such a more accurate bar path. Leverage is everything, and so to line up your bones and joints is golden.
I attempted using leg drive. The main tip was to keep your lower leg perpendicular to the ground. I have trouble contracting my leg muscles in that position. You're supposed to push down into the ground, and push yourself horizontally back towards the bar. All this does for me, is cramp up my legs and give me lower back pain (that I don't experience in Decline). I have long legs, so it's not as if I can't reach the ground properly.
I'll do more research on leg drive. Finally, and possibly most importantly, I did 16 sets of Bench Press. The first half were standard grip, and the second half were close-grip. My close-grip style was much stronger and more secure, which means I'm going to narrow my standard grip.
A new Bench Press tip I just came across is to focus on your humerus (upper arm bone) crossing over your chest (which is what the pecs do). This can be hard to remember sometimes. I want to take another stab at dumbbell Bench Press, but it would probably be overkill/overtraining.
Last night, I was in incredible pain around my rib cage. I think it was from the proper Bench technique. We often think we're lifting to grow our muscles, but our bones and joints and everything else takes a beating, and also improves. I really think I've turned a page, and that given time, my Bench will soar passed 300lb.
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