The Infamous

The most commonly referred to exercise in the gym is, of course, the bench press.

Its main function for us is to increase your ability to press overhead (these movements are both called presses for a reason). Yet, how many people have been taught anything about how to do this movement properly?

Just in case, here’s a list of criteria for ya!

-Pick a spot on the ceiling to look at while you press, don’t look at the bar!
-Think about retracting your shoulders or pinching them together against the bench to give stability
-Arch your lower back by lifting your chest to the ceiling, you should be able to slide your hand between your lower back and the bench.
-Don’t lift your butt off the bench! This is called bridging and is a bad habit to get into!
-Make sure your forearms (at the bottom of the press) and shins are perpendicular to the ground for maximum support and power.

-Make sure to use a spotter when necessary. They should only assist with ONE rep…your last.

For time:

Row 500 meters

30 Bench Press

Row 1000 meters

20 Bench Press

Row 2000 meters

10 Bench Press

The prescribed weight for the bench press is your bodyweight, but, you guessed it…scale the weight as needed! If you don’t have a bench, perform weighted push ups. Both of these variations require a spotter, so if you don’t have a spotter, just do regular push ups or perhaps overhead presses.

Also, sub running if you don’t have a rower with 400m/800m/1 mile respectively.

Pull up progression work

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