Arching back when benching?

injured365

Just wondering what people think arching your back during the bench press. Is it really necessary unless your already benching over BW? I know that it allows you lift more because it uses the back more during the lift but is it beneficial when your bench is still low?
Would it lead to any muscle imbalance issues between your back/chest/shoulders??

Hanley

injured365 wrote: »

Just wondering what people think arching your back during the bench press. Is it really necessary

No

unless your already benching over BW?

The weight your lifting shouldn't effect your form

I know that it allows you lift more because it uses the back more during the lift

That's not really why you can lift more with it.

Would it lead to any muscle imbalance issues between your back/chest/shoulders??

Assuming you train the other muscles, no.

injured365

Cheers, its got something to do with turning a normal bench into more of a decline bench and reducing the amount the bar has to be lowered is it? Is it something that weightlifters involved in competitions would do more so??

The reason im asking is because i get the whole bridging effect in my lower back because its a bit more curved than normal, which i know i can get rid of by raising my feet, but i find this more awkard to lift with. Just out of interest i tried arching my back yesterday and i found it a far more comfortable way to lift

squod

injured365 wrote: »

Cheers, its got something to do with turning a normal bench into more of a decline bench and reducing the amount the bar has to be lowered is it? Is it something that weightlifters involved in competitions would do more so??

The reason im asking is because i get the whole bridging effect in my lower back because its a bit more curved than normal, which i know i can get rid of by raising my feet, but i find this more awkard to lift with. Just out of interest i tried arching my back yesterday and i found it a far more comfortable way to lift

I wouldn't recommend it. Not without someone showing you what to do. You might get the same 'comfort' by using a narrower grip and using more tricep.

O.P.H

I can't lift very heavy weight for my bench press, (maybe someday) but I use the arched back simply because all the experts, (i.e. Mark Ripptoe etc) who have studied this stuff for decades, say that this is the correct form when doing this particular exervcise.

The way I look at it is, you have to use correct form for every exercise you do to get the best results, for the bench press, correct form requires an arched back, simple as. (Hope I don't get torn a new arse on this )

flywheel

arching it might be a bit of a vague recommendation (how much of an arch etc...), as far a I understood Rippertoe talks about "maintaining the lordotic curve in your back" i.e. maintaining the "natural" curvature of the [lumbar] spine... rather than "creating" an arch...



also, if there are any spinal issues (e.g. excessive lordotic curvature) then your curvature can be different... a general guideline to "arch the back" may cause problems for some people...

O.P.H

Well to avoid any misunderstandings, here is what I'm taking about -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBNeeeTId1M

flywheel

yeah i avoid the use of the word arch as it tends to cue people to (over)arch their back rather than maintaing their natural curve in the lumbar spine...