The Set Up:
1) Lay on bench sliding head and shoulders past the bar.
2) Place feet into position by planting toes into the ground.
3) Keeping feet in desired position, grab the bar to adjust by sliding head where eyes are in line with the bar.
4) Hips are tight, back is arched, shoulder blades are pinched together and down.
5) With a tight grip, squeeze the bar and fill your belly with air, unrack bar and position bar in line with the lower portion of your chest (nipple line). Without losing position, lower bar to chest and lock out.
It may feel uncomfortable, but get used to it! Setting up in this manner will save your body in the long run. So much strength is lost when you do not stay "tight" under the bar. What you want to do is decrease as much "unwanted" movement, enabling the body to use as much strength as possible from every muscle group in order to maximize the lift. Plus, by eliminating as much unwanted movement as possible, you decrease your chances of an injury especially in the shoulder girdle. If your shoulders are not squirming around under a loaded bar, there is less chance for compensation and shoulder impingement. Read Pressing For Another Day. It's simple science.
Every time you get under the bar ask yourself:
.Where should my feet be?
.How should my hips be?
.How should my back be?
.What position are my shoulders in?
.Where are my eyes at?
.How's my grip?
.How's my air?
Remember, the bench is a good thing in your training when you do it right. Stay tight and practice your set up!
A Side Note:
Barbell Bench Pressing has gotten such a bad rap for fighters/athletes. Many "So Called" experts claim their is minimal carryover from the bench press to strength needed in the boxing ring or on the athletic playing field. My question to them is A) How much have you benched in your life? B) Name another pressing movement that will overload the prime movers the way the bench press does. In most cases, the same "So Called" experts have a crappy bench because they are weak and would rather refer athletes to training movements which they can perform. The answer to B) is that there is no other pressing movement (not counting the overhead press with bar/dumbbells) that can overload the prime movers the way the Barbell Bench Press does. With the training programs I design, I incorperate all forms of pressing. The Barbell and Dumbbell bench press (with all it's variations: Maximal Effort (ME), Dynamic Effort (DE), Reapeated Effort (RE) Methods with Fat Bars, Chains, Bands, Boards ect.) are the cornerstone pressing lifts. This does not mean that I leave out, in an fighter's training program, other variations of pressing such as push-ups, unsupported cable presses, stability ball dumbbell press, ect. It's all reletive to the needs and goals of the fighter I am working with at that particular time in their athletic training. What is universal is that every fighter/athlete needs to acquire a solid base of strength and condition for all other athletic qualities to be developed. When all is said and done, train the bench!
Another Side Note:
It doesn't take a Rocket Scientist to figure out that the Bench Press makes you strong as hell. Have you ever seen big time benchers up close? They will tear a hole through you! Just ask these guys:
