We get some great questions on our free Q&A, and the diverse answers from our panel of coaches, columnists, and sponsored lifters provide some great insight (for myself included) on training, programming, injuries, nutrition, and more..
Question: "How do you prevent your elbows from flaring during Bench Pressing?"
Answers from Team EliteFTS:
Brandon Smitley: "A video is going to probably have us help YOU more specifically, as each person could have a few things going on.
More than likely this is going to come down to keeping your lats tight, and having the proper strength in the triceps and lats.
If it's technical, it could be something as simple as focusing on "breaking the bar" and squeezing your pinky and ring fingers.
If it's a strengh issue, you will need to bring your lats and triceps up, as your body is reverting to what is strongest, and in this case that is showing that your shoulders and pecs are doing most of the work.
To work on this from a technically standpoint, try putting a mini band doubled around your wrists for the first few warm up sets so that you can get the proper feeling and external feedback to what this feels like, and see if that can help.
Also feel free to put a video in here so we can see specifically what might be going on."
Joe Schillero: "Also, consider your setup before you even begin lowering the bar. The best thing you can do is to make sure when you bring the bar out (unrack) that your lats are tight and arms are locked, and make sure the bar comes out all the way until the weight can "settle" into your lets (you feel the weight in your lats instead of shoulders), and then after you take a second to make sure everything is tight, think "elbows straight down". That should help with bar path as well."
C.J. Murphy: "I'll add, do you bench raw or in gear?
Either way:
I am working on an article on this now, it should be up this week or next.
One way to avoid this is to STRETCH the bar.
When you take it out of the rack, try to stretch it out as if you had a mini band in your hands at chest level and you were stretching the band out across your chest. Do this as you lower the bar down.
Hope this helps.
Vince vel Mori"
Casey Williams: "Likely it's both a strength issue and a technical issue.
Strength- you need stronger triceps, especially the lower part of the tricep. Hammer tricep extensions.
Technique- Make sure you are bending the bar in your hands to engage your lats while also pulling the bar apart to engage your rear delts. If you're doing those things you can't flare."
More from Joe Schillero:
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