Continuing on the theme of using paused reps to fix weak points, this installment addresses several bench press technique mistakes and how to use paused reps to eliminate them.
(If you missed Part 1 of this series which covered paused squats, click here.)
More so than the squat and deadlift, pauses are essential for building a big bench press for a couple reasons. Most importantly, if you’re going to compete in powerlifting, you must pause the bar on your chest for the lift to count. Therefore, the paused bench press is the ONLY bench press that matters. That’s pretty important.
Secondly, the bench press has so little room for technique error because there’s much less muscle mass moving the weight compared to the squat and deadlift. Tiny deviations in the bar path or joint alignment can mean the difference between making and missing the lift.
Without further ado, here are a handful of bench press issues and how to solve them with paused reps.
BENCH PRESS MISTAKE: Pressing in a straight line
Physics tells us that the shortest path between two points is a straight line. Therefore, the path of least resistance between the chest and lockout, one would think, is straight up and down. However, because muscles and bones work in a lever system, pressing the bar straight up doesn’t make for optimal leverages when trying to move heavy-ass weights.
Instead, the bar needs to move up and back toward the lifter’s face as they press up. This keeps the elbows and wrists under the bar at all times, all while eliminating the dreaded sticking point about 2-3 inches off the chest.
BENCH PRESS FIX: Concentric pause bench press
Perhaps my favorite bench press supplementary exercise, the concentric pause bench press teaches an optimal bar path. It gives lifters immediate feedback about when the bar should go straight up (i.e. when the elbows should stay tucked) and when the bar should start moving backward (i.e. when the elbows should flare out).
BENCH PRESS MISTAKE: Over-tucking the elbows
Perhaps the most common bench press mistake I see with people who are new to powerlifting is over-tucking the elbows as they lower the bar to the chest. When people realize that benching like a bodybuilder (elbows flared out wide, lowering the bar to the neck) is a bad idea, they often swing the pendulum too far in the other direction by tucking the elbows too tight to the sides and touching the bar to their belly. This shifts the elbows in front of the bar, turning the lift into more of a triceps extension than a press.
When lifters over-tuck the elbows, it’s usually because:
- They’re trying to pull their shoulder blades down and back, but they’re actually just rotating at the wrist.
- They’re flexing at the wrist to try to keep their wrists from bending back too much.
BENCH PRESS FIX: Paused bench w/ band around wrists
Adding a band around the wrists forces the lifter to pull the band apart using their upper back, much like a band around the knees during the squat forces the knees out. If you over-tuck the elbows, you won’t be able to fight against the pull the band. Adding a pause on the chest emphasizes “spreading” the band across the chest instead of tucking the elbows to the sides.
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BENCH PRESS MISTAKE: Elbows flaring too early off the chest
Flaring the elbows at the right time (i.e. when you’re about halfway up as you press) can help you cruise through your sticking points for a more efficient lockout. However, many lifters flare too early, which kills your upper back tightness and reduces bar speed off the chest.
Most lifters flare the elbows too early because:
- They lose upper back tightness as the lower the bar.
- They “push themselves away from the bar,” a common benching cue that gets misinterpreted.
BENCH PRESS FIX #1: Spoto Press
To teach lifters to keep the elbows tucked just long enough to stay in the right position, I love the Spoto Press. Lower the bar to your chest like a normal bench press, but pause about 1 inch BEFORE you hit your chest. Instead of touching your chest, press back up to lockout.
This is much more than a reduced range of motion exercise. It’s extremely challenging to stay tight without touching your chest if you pause ever so slightly above your chest. There’s no way you can stay tight if you flare on the way down, so you have no choice but to maintain a good position.
BENCH PRESS FIX #2: Dead bench
Popularized by Josh Bryant and recently brought to my attention by Greg Robins (seen below dead benching 315), the dead bench is a concentric-only lift where the bar starts on pins at chest level. You’ve gotta wedge yourself into position under the bar and, if it’s heavy enough, it will only move if you have your elbows and wrists in the perfect position.
Much like squatting to the pins, you’ll get instant feedback if you’re flaring the elbows too early, because the bar will roll around on the pins before it goes up. The key here is setting the safety pins so the bar touches your chest in the exact same spot you’d bring the bar to on a regular bench press. If the bar is any higher than that, you won’t get the same benefit.
UP NEXT: DEADLIFT
Next time, we’ll wrap up this series about paused reps by talking about paused deadlifts to fix your pulling weak points. And if you’re interested in reading about more bench press mistakes, sign up for my mailing list below to receive two free bench press e-books.