Im trying to build my chest more. i do DB day and then i have a barbell but should i put my feet up wen i do a BB bench or just leave them down
well… with your feet down your more stable its safer, you can get leg drive, and you can keep a arch in your back
but if you put your feet on the bench you would probably have alot of friends
…those friends being 113 pound YMCA personal trainers
n3wb
[quote]n3wb wrote:
well… with your feet down your more stable its safer, you can get leg drive, and you can keep a arch in your back
but if you put your feet on the bench you would probably have alot of friends
…those friends being 113 pound YMCA personal trainers
n3wb[/quote]
n3wb, are you sure you know what you’re talking about? If you are using your legs to “drive” your bench press, then you might want to re-think your chest strategy. Are you competing in a contest every time you do a chest workout?
To the OP, I have always put my feet on the bench with my back flat. I’m very stable and bench for sets with over 300 lbs. Not powerlifting numbers but you get the point. I find that when I bench with my feet on the bench I use the muscles that are supposed to be used for benching and therefor get a better isolation.
My way of doing it doesn’t mean it’s the only way though. If you’re more comfortable with your feet on the ground then fine. My advice is still the same, don’t use your legs when you work your chest. You’ll end up looking like your humping the air and possibly hurt your back.
Same thing goes for incline. Just because your feet are touching the ground doesn’t mean you need to use them for your chest workout. Use your chest and your arms and leave your legs for squats and deadlifts.
Good luck!
Opener,
My thoughts are you should leave your feet on the ground, unless you have a problem with arching your back and using your legs in the lift, then lift your feet to remove that element.
on the ground, every time
[quote]MaloVerde wrote:
n3wb wrote:
well… with your feet down your more stable its safer, you can get leg drive, and you can keep a arch in your back
but if you put your feet on the bench you would probably have alot of friends
…those friends being 113 pound YMCA personal trainers
n3wb
n3wb, are you sure you know what you’re talking about? If you are using your legs to “drive” your bench press, then you might want to re-think your chest strategy. Are you competing in a contest every time you do a chest workout?
To the OP, I have always put my feet on the bench with my back flat. I’m very stable and bench for sets with over 300 lbs. Not powerlifting numbers but you get the point. I find that when I bench with my feet on the bench I use the muscles that are supposed to be used for benching and therefor get a better isolation.
My way of doing it doesn’t mean it’s the only way though. If you’re more comfortable with your feet on the ground then fine. My advice is still the same, don’t use your legs when you work your chest. You’ll end up looking like your humping the air and possibly hurt your back.
Same thing goes for incline. Just because your feet are touching the ground doesn’t mean you need to use them for your chest workout. Use your chest and your arms and leave your legs for squats and deadlifts.
Good luck! [/quote]
True if you dont want to arch your back and dont want leg drive putting your feet on the bench would help
but for some reason if you lose the bars balance you would want your feet on the ground
n3wb
If you want to bench bigger number move more load and inturn build more muscle and avoid injury bench woth a strong base including your feet on the ground and yes getting leg drive. This doesnt mean your ass leaving thje bench but pushing keeping the whole body tight the body as a single working machine.
Just My 2cc.
Phill
[quote]n3wb wrote:
MaloVerde wrote:
n3wb wrote:
well… with your feet down your more stable its safer, you can get leg drive, and you can keep a arch in your back
but if you put your feet on the bench you would probably have alot of friends
…those friends being 113 pound YMCA personal trainers
n3wb
n3wb, are you sure you know what you’re talking about? If you are using your legs to “drive” your bench press, then you might want to re-think your chest strategy. Are you competing in a contest every time you do a chest workout?
To the OP, I have always put my feet on the bench with my back flat. I’m very stable and bench for sets with over 300 lbs. Not powerlifting numbers but you get the point. I find that when I bench with my feet on the bench I use the muscles that are supposed to be used for benching and therefor get a better isolation.
My way of doing it doesn’t mean it’s the only way though. If you’re more comfortable with your feet on the ground then fine. My advice is still the same, don’t use your legs when you work your chest. You’ll end up looking like your humping the air and possibly hurt your back.
Same thing goes for incline. Just because your feet are touching the ground doesn’t mean you need to use them for your chest workout. Use your chest and your arms and leave your legs for squats and deadlifts.
Good luck!
True if you dont want to arch your back and dont want leg drive putting your feet on the bench would help
but for some reason if you lose the bars balance you would want your feet on the ground
n3wb
[/quote]
If you’re losing your balance benching with a BB then your issue is not your legs.
[quote]Phill wrote:
If you want to bench bigger number move more load and inturn build more muscle and avoid injury bench woth a strong base including your feet on the ground and yes getting leg drive. This doesnt mean your ass leaving thje bench but pushing keeping the whole body tight the body as a single working machine.
Just My 2cc.
Phill[/quote]
I tend to agree with your points Phill, but I only agree with half of what you’re saying here.
I agree that using your legs can lead to a greater bench number, but I don’t think it is necesarily the best way to build chest muscles faster.
When working for sets, wouldn’t leaving your legs out of the equation allow you to isolate and tax the chest more?
With feet on the ground or on the bench, I would rather see a newbie use a lighter weight and learn balance and form. I think strenght and size will come quicker.
A similar example would be seeing newbs one arm “curling” a 50 db with lots of arch and swing. Following your theory, they are moving more lbs, but I would definitely say not building muscle faster.
MV
[quote]MaloVerde wrote:
If you’re losing your balance benching with a BB then your issue is not your legs.
[/quote]
You are telling me. Some stupid bitch walked by me the other day while I was benching. Well, she was more walking back and forth while talking, not paying attention to what she was doing, and the stupid bitch bumped the bar! Fuckin clown haired bitch.
I was on rep 5 of 5 so I was not toying with the weight. Could have been a serious problem if I was not stable.
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??? Whats all this talk about leg drive. My feet always stay on the ground but they’re as relaxed as they can be. How can you do “leg drive”?