Seeking Advice with Bench Press

S

Starcraftmazter

0
Sup.

Well, today was the inter schools weights comp. I thought I'd go at least al-right, but I knew I was going to have major problems, when it was stated that 100% of you must be on the bench, and you were not allowed to lift any part of you off the bench - which means no arch.

Indeed it was a problem, as without an arch, I struggled to get even 65kgms up, and couldn't - but I did it perfectly fine with an arch in my back, at which point I was totally disqualified.

Now I'm not making excuses, because there was a guy there that benched I think, 80 something kgms (176lbs) from memory, in my weight division, so there's no way I could have won, it even close. The most I can bench thus far is 150lbs, but I'm yet to try 155.


Anyway, I really couldn't care less about the competition itself, as I don't train for competition, but obvious the judges had a problem with my technique.

So I'm asking, should I keep my back and butt perfectly level, on the bench, or should I continue with arching my back? And it's not a very small arch either, from what I've been told :p

What do most people here do? Flat or arch?
Personally, I've arched my back for as long as I can remember, and it feels much easier to bench higher weights that way. Right now, when I go for a bench, I don't even think about it, the second the weight is up, my back automatically forms into a huge arch, and it really helps IMO. I don't see any reason why it's not allowed =/


Thanks!
 
Arch. If you don't, it's very hard to keep the elbows tucked inn. I know I will flare my elbows instantly if I dont arch any. Keep the weight on your traps, and the but just touching the bench, no weight on it, and keep the arch.

It's allowed to arch in powerlifting comps. Your school don't know correct bench form. Thats the problem here.
 
It's not my school, these were judges from...I'm not sure where from.
But they have ample experience I am sure, I have no idea who writes the rules for this specific competition, but it's not connection to anything else or part of anything broader, so yeh, hopefully I won't have to face this stuff again.

I agree, they don't know the correct form ><
 
You definitely should be arching, don't see any reason why they wouldn't allow someone to use the most common and most recognized benching technique, and if they have ample experience I would expect them to know that :S
 
I don't think there are any rules in benching competition against arching your back. If they said you couldn't because they want to keep you using perfect form then I'm afraid they've read too many issues of Mens Health. Your back has a natural arch in it, to try and flatten your back during a heavy lift is forcing your spine into an un-natural position under a heavy load which can't be good
 
I thought that too, and since I'm not really fat, my arch is very obvious.

I'll see if I can grab a quick video of myself bench pressing next week, and if I will, I'll post it here, so you can have a look and tell me what I'm doing right and wrong.
 
Yeah, I thought feet, head, shoulders and butt should be in contact with bench or floor...which allows for arching.
 
I'm coming out of my posting semi-retirement to contribute here :)

First of all, to change a very common technique with no actual significant motive is pretty rediculous. It's a sad fact though dude that this quite often happens in any sport you do, the organisers make a rule, that puts half the guys at a huge disadvantage while the other half can stick with what they know, and subsequently do better.
Onto benching, I personally don't arch often, I try to stick to keeping my back fairly straight and shoulders tucked in, for me personally, this just gives me satisfaction when I can arch and lift more :) But yeah. Most people I see arch so I don't think it's a problem.

Hope it helps :)
 
I have never heard of a bench press competition where arching is not allowed. Personally I can not imagine how you could lift heavy weight without an arch. You get out of balance. And that is also true that a normal back has a natural arch, it is not flat.
 
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