5000 reps to correct a faulty one.

That is exactly what needed to be done today.

Once we got to bench'n, I noticed a slew of "bad habits" that needed addressing. So we broke it down as if we were all neophytes.

The RAW bench is not exactly a straight bar path. We have TWO joints (The shoulder and the elbow) working in an arch that needs to create a linear bar path. But, that bar path is slightly backward towards the J-hooks that the bar emerges from.

We needed to find that "ZERO" spot at the top.

Taking the bar out with straight arms and simply holding it in the "Neutral" position. Let the bar drift towards your feet and you'll feel tension in the shoulders. Let it drift BACK and you'll feel the lats engaging as in a pullover. But find that neutral position and THAT is where the bar needs to end up when pressing it off the chest.

Where do we take it down to? Easy. Stick your arms right into your sides standing at attention. Bend one elbow as if you are curling to the 90-degree mark holding your hand out in front. With the other hand draw a line straight across your body from that bent elbow to the other side. Somewhere below the pecs and about the top of the belly for most will be the spot that the bar needs to touch.

See here??? The bar should remain over the elbow. The bar should NOT be behind the elbow as this would be relying on your tricep to push the weight instead of the massive muscles in your back and chest.

Next, we needed to address "Body Tightness". We were looking like freaking marionettes with a lot of extra movement.

Putting the feet on the bench and raising the hips as high as we could put us on the traps where I wanted every one. Next was a retraction of the shoulder blades to "Grab the bench as if you were trying to pick it up with your scaps". Putting the feet down on the floor one at a time to make sure each was GROUNDED and pushing your body BACKWARDS towards the head of the bench thus jamming the scaps into your "BACK POCKET".

We then had to learn to PULL the bar out of the J-hooks, instead of LIFTING it out.

Lifting it out always causes the loss of tightness in the upper back. The tell tale sign of that is when the lifter lets the bar hit the rack behind him. Yep, just got loose and need to start all over with the set-up again.

Holding the bar in the "zero position" we let it decelerate to the body keeping the wrist straight (not bending backward) and the bar over the elbows the entire time.

Once we dialed all that in, the icing on the cake was to "pull the bar apart" to straighten the arms during the acceleration portion of the lift, much the same way we "spread the floor" for the squat.

The most important thing is to work on ONE thing at a time. By doing so, there is an 87% chance of remembering it for the next time.

If you try to remember TWO things, then the percentage drops to 33%.

Teaching THREE things at the same time? Good luck!

So pick one thing and concentrate on THAT during your next bench session.

Today's Training:

Cycle: Commute

Stretch/Mobility

Scaption: 3x10

Blast Strap Row: 3x10

Incline DB Fly: 4x12

Flat DB Fly: 4x12

Bench: 4 RM

DB Supine Tricep Extension: 4x12

Cable Pushdown: 4x12

Cycle: Commute