Hi everyone
Recently started powerlifting and found out my flexibility is not good enough. I am struggling to perform a good bench arch. So the question is do professional powerlifters train their mobility and if yes can you give some advice / exercises you use
Simplest thing to do is search t-nation articles for mobility.
Dean Somerset has a ton of great info on here.
Im not sure if he’s got anything specific to bench arch but that’s just tspine mobility. So started reading.
There’s a ton of other good authors with this info too. I find with mobility you need to find what works for you and something you’re going to actually do. Dean can have the best movement for you to do but if you don’t want to do it you’ll never do it.
Exactly this. I’ve reduced my mobility / tissue manipulation to only stuff I need. I probably do need to do some shoulder mobility work as I can’t use a straight bar to squat (or at least not consistently). Been using a duffalo bar, but I shouldn’t use that as a crutch forever.
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This video shows some Power Lifter mobility stuff, specific to getting set up on the bench.
Around 1:00 they show how to mash up the pecs with a lacrosse ball to get them loose.
Around 1:45 they use a foam roller to lengthen and loosen the lats. Tight pecs and lats can keep you pulled forward and hunched over, with a whack arch.n
At like 2:15 they show a little upper back move to “warm up” or “engage” the mid back or “thoracic” muscles that you use to create an arch in the upper back.
At 3:00 or so they do a few light, easy sets of 20 in the dumbbell incline bench. It’s easier to get a nice arch on the incline bench where you don’t need to lay back so far. So you can “practice” the position a little before you bench for real.
Also, what’s up with your foot position? Sometimes dudes go crazy trying to pull their feet way back underneath on the bench. This can make you arch your Lower back excessively, making it way harder to arch your upper back. Maybe, if this applies to you maybe you can get a better position on the bench with your feet out front, leg driving yourself “up” the bench.
Sometimes it’s also legit to put some bands on the bench so your shoulders don’t slip and you can really “dig in.”
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I’m actually planning to utilize this for my bench arch:
