Bench press technique part 6

“Getting Your Air”

By Ian Smalley

Before you lower the bar you need to take a HUGE breath of air and inflate your diaphragm completely. Focus on pushing your chest and belly upward toward the ceiling. Once you take your breath you do not let it out until you’ve racked the weight. This internal pressure along with your external -full body static contraction is what’s known as ”being tight”. If your head doesn’t feel like it’s going to pop off then you’re not tight enough. This bench press technique is especially critical for shirted benching, because the shirt is going to try and collapse you down from the start. If you let out your air, then you depressurize your entire system and lose tightness and are done for.

bench-press-set-up-no-air