# Feet on the bench?



## DOMS (Jul 17, 2010)

I've seen this a lot.  People putting their feet on the bench when benching.  And it's not just n00bs.  I've seen people benching upwards of 225 doing that.

That goes against everything I've learned about proper benching form. It just seems to be very bad for the shoulders.  So, is this a real training method or is it just crap?


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## danzik17 (Jul 17, 2010)

I always thought it was stupid.  I would imagine it makes it much harder to keep your back neutral if you have your feet up on the bench like that.


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## PushAndPull (Jul 17, 2010)

I imagine it's used to take you legs out of the lift. I assume they believe it isolates the chest better or that using your legs is cheating. I wouldn't do it because it would make the lift less stable and I seriously doubt that it would lead to any additional upper body gains compared to benching normal. So there's no point, besides being a douche and thinking you're cool.


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## Pirate! (Jul 17, 2010)

They are misguided
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## KelJu (Jul 17, 2010)

I would laugh when they fall over. Why would you take your ability to stabilize the weight out of the lift? Or even better, why not just not use your legs to cheat.


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## Merkaba (Jul 17, 2010)

Yep. These people think it puts more stress on the chest and takes the legs out of the equation. I wan't to go up to each of these folks and give them a quick lesson on basic anatomy/physiology.


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## DOMS (Jul 17, 2010)

My understanding is that, by not including the legs, benching puts an inordinate amount of stress on the shoulders, which leads to injury.


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## dave 236 (Jul 17, 2010)

Merkaba said:


> Yep. These people think it puts more stress on the chest and takes the legs out of the equation. I wan't to go up to each of these folks and give them a quick lesson on basic anatomy/physiology.


Yep but you understand A&P It would be like giving math lessons to penguins.I too have seen theese people they're morons.


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## fufu (Jul 17, 2010)

DOMS said:


> My understanding is that, by not including the legs, benching puts an inordinate amount of stress on the shoulders, which leads to injury.



I don't see how putting your feet on the bench places undue stress on the shoulders. The major difference in shoulder stress occurs through the bar groove. The closer to your head, the more stress. The closer to your feet, the less. 

I mean, I don't agree with putting feet on the bench. In fact, it makes no fucking sense to me at all!


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## theCaptn' (Jul 17, 2010)

It would be less stable, maybe bring more core strength into it . .  but a stupid exercise for retarded notBigs


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## BC Lifter (Jul 17, 2010)

One thing Ive seen is people not just arching their lower back but their whole back with only their shoulders/butt touching the bench. Ive also seen people only go about half way up on bench press. Dont know what thats all about.


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## suprfast (Jul 17, 2010)

BC Lifter said:


> One thing Ive seen is people not just arching their lower back but their whole back with only their shoulders/butt touching the bench. Ive also seen people only go about half way up on bench press. Dont know what thats all about.



This is what power lifters do.  Less ROM makes one rep still one rep, regardless that they traveled 12" less in total in each direction.


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## roastchicken (Jul 18, 2010)

I believe that people put their feet on the bench so that they can have the small of their back flat against the bench so there is zero arch. This is just really fuckin stupid, has anyone seen anybody fall off a bench whilst mid-press?


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## Hutchym8 (Jul 18, 2010)

It puts a lot more stress on your core as you hav to cocerntrate 2 stabalize yourself more without legs as balance, you cant use your legs in the lift so it does make u concerntrate more on using your chest only specialy if u hav your legs/ knees at a right angle/ u cant cheat n arch your bak like a mother fuka. You obviously cant lift as much which is probly why you showponys dont rate it


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## theCaptn' (Jul 18, 2010)

kevin rudd used to bench with his feet up . . check out his pecs


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## oliolioli (Jul 18, 2010)

ive seen it happen ... loss of balance. 60kg to the chest looks horrific...


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## fufu (Jul 18, 2010)

If I am going to train my stability, I'll do landmines, planks or whatever. 

If I am going to bench press, I am going to bench press.


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## Built (Jul 18, 2010)

When I first started out, I used to do this, because the bench was too high and my feet didn't comfortably reach the floor.

While doing dumbbell press with fifteen pounds a side, this was probably not a concern.

I wouldn't do it now, however. I now know to stack up a few plates on either side of the bench if it's too high for me.


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## Hutchym8 (Jul 20, 2010)

TheCapt'n said:


> kevin rudd used to bench with his feet up . . check out his pecs



Iv seen youtube footage of Kevin Rudd bench presses 160 kgs after pre fatiging his chest n doin 4 dropsets of cable cross overs staring at 70 kg. The guys a machine!!!


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## Merkaba (Jul 20, 2010)

It destabilizes the back.  Of course most people don't think the back is terribly important when benching...


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## gtbmed (Jul 20, 2010)

BC Lifter said:


> One thing Ive seen is people not just arching their lower back but their whole back with only their shoulders/butt touching the bench. Ive also seen people only go about half way up on bench press. Dont know what thats all about.



The first part is just a way to decrease the ROM so that you can press more weight.  It also helps a lot when pressing because it forces you to involve the back muscles.

The second thing is a low-end partial press that powerlifters will sometimes do to improve the speed of the lift off of their chest.  It's not that common though, since a lot of PLs are assisted and the low-end of the press is helped incredibly by a suit.


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## MMAWannabe (Jul 21, 2010)

That prevents arching of the back, but makes you unstable. It's not enough of a difference to make a huge change in angle.


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## WeightGainNet (Jul 21, 2010)

It's a dumb thing to do plain and simple. It throws off your balance and now you have to think about balancing along with lifting the weight. Makes no sense. I've seen guys do this too and I think they do it because they think it looks more impressive. But to anyone who knows how to do a bench press you just look like a fool.


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## Flathead (Jul 21, 2010)

I'm not quite sure how one would do that & be able to get any arch in your back without lifting your ass off the bench. I think people take bench form to lightly. 90% of the people I see performing BB flat bench have poor form.


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## brk_nemesis (Jul 21, 2010)

Putting your feet on the bench while doing a bench press is pretty unsafe. You have no anchorage when benching heavy weight. I did have rather small non-big tell me once he did it so he wouldn't arch his back, and by placing his feet on the ground, he had a tendency to arch his back and left his ass off the bench.


On a side note, I used to put my feet on the bench when doing DB flyes. I saw Arnold doing them that way many years ago and tried em. Honestly it is harder, especially if you go all the way down to the floor like you are supposed to, but doing DB chest flys, and BB bench are entirely different.


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## caangelxox (Jul 21, 2010)

I am short (5 foot) and I have my feet hanging and tippy toes on the ground due to my short legs, but I fixed that by adding some plates at a certain height so that I can have good control. Without the weight, my back feels hyperextended.

Thats something you can do (those who have short legs like me) whenever you want to bench press.


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## Merkaba (Jul 21, 2010)

Am I missing something here?  Everyone talking about not arching the back.  The back should be arched slightly.  I mean extreme is one thing.  But you can't brace without a slight arch.


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## Built (Jul 21, 2010)

Taking the arch out of the lift reduces the involvement of triceps from the press. 

A better approach to this end would be low incline pressing. Performed with an arch, an incline press reduces tricep involvement to the same degree, but without the "instability" problem.


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## suprfast (Jul 21, 2010)

Merkaba said:


> Am I missing something here?  Everyone talking about not arching the back.  The back should be arched slightly.  I mean extreme is one thing.  But you can't brace without a slight arch.



I for the longest time had issues with people describing the above method.  Before Built brought me over to IronMag, I was a regular on Wannabebig and ALL they talked about was putting footballs, towels, anything to make the arch larger than McDonalds.  It is ridiculous.  Lay flat with minor "REGULAR" arch of the back and push that weight like it was a fat chick trying to hop on for a ride.


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## Built (Jul 22, 2010)

suprfast, to be fair, the emphasis on "the arch" is for powerlifting. In that application, developing that arch is crucial for competitive success. 

That being said, there are far more wannabe bodybuilders than wannabe powerlifters. 

 - Built, wanting to be a bodybuilder since 2001


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## suprfast (Jul 22, 2010)

You are right.  I meant to put that into the context of power lifting. I have seen hundreds of kids in the gyms doing this with 25's on the barbell.  I would think getting some sort of weight on the bar before practicing the arch would be more beneficial, but I know nothing about power lifting(or body building for that matter).


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## Built (Jul 22, 2010)

Agreed, 100%.


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## unclem (Jul 22, 2010)

i dont know why people put there feet on the bench when benching. ive found, tring it threw me off balance, just keep your shoulders and ass with feet on the floor and in tight and arch the back slightly and up and down, but, dont bounce the weight off your chest to try and impress the woman in the gym because youll look like more of a fucking asshole than you were to begin with. use your chest to press the weight back up. you can feel it when your using your chest versus bouncing it. i put 405 on there and every rep is strict. if i cant get 6 reps ill lower the weight that day to 315 and get 12 good ones out. but i dont care about impressing no one iam there for me.


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## Flathead (Jul 22, 2010)

Built said:


> suprfast, to be fair, the emphasis on "the arch" is for powerlifting. In that application, developing that arch is crucial for competitive success.
> 
> That being said, there are far more wannabe bodybuilders than wannabe powerlifters.
> 
> - Built, wanting to be a bodybuilder since 2001


 

100% agree, as a power lifter myself the arch is absolutely crucial!!


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## brk_nemesis (Jul 22, 2010)

Merkaba said:


> Am I missing something here?  Everyone talking about not arching the back.  The back should be arched slightly.  I mean extreme is one thing.  But you can't brace without a slight arch.


Arch of the back is one thing. Even I do that. But arching of the back for a newbie weightlifter is usually accompanied by lifting the ass off the bench, a no no for BBer's or Powerlifters.


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## Merkaba (Jul 22, 2010)

brk_nemesis said:


> Arch of the back is one thing. Even I do that. But arching of the back for a newbie weightlifter is usually accompanied by lifting the ass off the bench, a no no for BBer's or Powerlifters.





suprfast said:


> I for the longest time had issues with people describing the above method.  Before Built brought me over to IronMag, I was a regular on Wannabebig and ALL they talked about was putting footballs, towels, anything to make the arch larger than McDonalds.  It is ridiculous.  Lay flat with minor "REGULAR" arch of the back and push that weight like it was a fat chick trying to hop on for a ride.



Yes I mean a natural arch with hips on the bench. Yes noobs and so many think the bench press is simple.  It's a great marketing tool for a trainer to be able to tell someone they are benching wrong and/or their bench could be better.   So many have bad form and miss out on so much of the lift by not killing momentum, not working on "sticking point" and/or letting the bar trampoline.  So much growth potential is is in the lower half of the movement, and so many people let momentum do this part of the lift.  It's not rocket science, but being able to tell someone this and show them and explain it, they say Oh yea!  Combine this approach with proper periodization and eating and watch them refer you more clients.

 I know nothing of powerlifting except that yes the arch is crucial and some of the stuff I see them being able to do with their backs is short of amazing.   I wouldn't want to do it... but still.


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## KelJu (Jul 22, 2010)

Richard Gears said:


> i hope whoever decides to do it tips over and looks retarded in front of everyone.




Every time I see someone doing it, I prey to the Prankster God to make this douchbag tip over and break a mirror while he is at it.


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## brk_nemesis (Jul 22, 2010)

Merkaba said:


> Yes I mean a natural arch with hips on the bench. Yes noobs and so many think the bench press is simple.  It's a great marketing tool for a trainer to be able to tell someone they are benching wrong and/or their bench could be better.   So many have bad form and miss out on so much of the lift by not killing momentum, not working on "sticking point" and/or letting the bar trampoline.  So much growth potential is is in the lower half of the movement, and so many people let momentum do this part of the lift.  It's not rocket science, but being able to tell someone this and show them and explain it, they say Oh yea!  Combine this approach with proper periodization and eating and watch them refer you more clients.
> 
> I know nothing of powerlifting except that yes the arch is crucial and some of the stuff I see them being able to do with their backs is short of amazing.   I wouldn't want to do it... but still.



Also the arms are held differently, (elbows) as well as hand placement for powerlifters. I had a guy at  my old gym who was a  competive powerlifter  back in the stoneage(lol) and worked out with me for a while about a  year or so ago. It was right after I got into DC, and he had me change up my grip and elbows posittion, etc. It def works for crazy strength gains, but I had to revert back to my old form as it just didnt hit my chest worth a shit. Im a BB'er at heart, so... for me strength isnt as important as the mass.


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## scoops1515 (Jul 22, 2010)

It's supposed to flatten the back so that your not arched and risking back injury but your right it's unstable and dangerous. And if you have back problems that bad then don't do bench press, use machines or something.


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## Built (Jul 22, 2010)

You risk back injury when your back is arched?

Really? 'Cause I always thought arches were structurally very strong. I don't think I'm alone - I seem to remember reading something about the Romans and aquaducts...


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## HeavyBomber (Jul 22, 2010)

I'd be among the dumbasses that place their feet on the bench occasionally. I do it sometimes in an effort to combat a natural tendency I have of developing a strong side to my press over time.


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## Hoglander (Jul 22, 2010)

I just figure people go to the gym to improve themselves or to feel worthy of notice. I guess people rank on others to feel more worthy and special. I don't go to the gym to think bad thoughts about others, that's emotionally draining and a weakness, IMHO. So long as stupidity does not interfere with my routine I just smile when I meet eye contact with people the thrive on an emotional boost. Going to the gym as an emotional vampire does you and others no good at all. So get over your pathetic selves. 

P.S. BTW, ironically, that makes me better than you and you should feel lesser. 

I'm super cool!!!  

Go job on your last workout!!! You are looking FANTASTIC!!!!!!!

:  )


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## brk_nemesis (Jul 22, 2010)

Built said:


> You risk back injury when your back is arched?
> 
> Really? 'Cause I always thought arches were structurally very strong. I don't think I'm alone - I seem to remember reading something about the Romans and aquaducts...


Yup, Agreed. Also the way I was taught from a powerlifting perspective, the top of the shoulder blades, around the upper-middle traps is what makes contact with the bench for a good, stable arch, not the middle of the back.  I may not use the grip/elbow positions any more, but upper back placement is something I continue to keep.


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## Flathead (Jul 23, 2010)

When I first got into power lifting & didn't have the needed form (sufficient arch). I would use a 2 1/2" PVC pipe placed beneath my lower back, until I was able to sustain the proper arch. Back flat on the bench could be the delta of up to 25lbs on one's max.


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## fufu (Jul 23, 2010)

Built said:


> You risk back injury when your back is arched?
> 
> Really? 'Cause I always thought arches were structurally very strong. I don't think I'm alone - I seem to remember reading something about the Romans and aquaducts...



+1

The back is arched during a squat. The back is arched during a deadlift. Arching is safe and effective. 

Arching the back during a bench press is not that different. If anything, it is less dangerous because the spine is not loaded nearly to the degree that it is during those other lifts.


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## johnson 45 (Jul 25, 2010)

You need to plant your legs when doing bench, I put mine back pretty far and use them to push. Of course I never lift my back off the bench. The people doing with their feet on the bench are doing it WRONG!


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## SUPERFLY1234 (Jul 26, 2010)

i see nothing wrong with putting your feet on the bench. i do it on my core training week. but must be homo cause all of you guys here seem to believe that people who do it are. lol


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## Merkaba (Jul 26, 2010)

Built said:


> You risk back injury when your back is arched?
> 
> Really? 'Cause I always thought arches were structurally very strong. I don't think I'm alone - I seem to remember reading something about the Romans and aquaducts...



exactly


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## ryan92 (Jul 29, 2010)

i dont know about you guys, but i have been told repeatedly that putting my feet on the bench during bench (normal and close grip) isolates the muscles more, i dont do it though, as i cant balance very well getting up to the higher weights, just thought i'd put my two cents in though


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## unclem (Jul 31, 2010)

i nothing about powerlifting, but, i heard you can use your feet to help push the weight to lockout, could be wrong, anybody know if its true?


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## Hoglander (Jul 31, 2010)

I don't think you are allowed to put your feet on the bar.


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## Merkaba (Jul 31, 2010)

lol


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## roidnginy (Aug 1, 2010)

*if its dumb then why did arnold do it......arnold is king*


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## Merkaba (Aug 3, 2010)

I saw a guy today benching with his feet straight out like he was working his abs too!  Fuck nut


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## Merkaba (Aug 3, 2010)

roidnginy said:


> *if its dumb then why did arnold do it......arnold is king*



The same reason why he juiced.


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## dmaipa (Aug 15, 2010)

just wondering...how does having less of an arch in your back reduce the involvement of the triceps?


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