Generally Health

Should you arch your back while bench pressing?

Bench press is a weakness of mine, being the only sub-200 lbs of the 3 major lifts for me.  The main reasons are:

• I have relatively long arms so the bar has further to travel (but this makes deadlift easier)
• I have always used the flat back bodybuilder style technique

By having a flat back, less force can be transferred through the legs and into the bench, in the opposite direction to which the bar is moving. This is fine if you’re new to weights, or if you’re trying to build up the chest muscles, because the pecs are doing more of the work and going through a greater range of motion; but it’s not useful if you’re trying to lift as much weight as possible.

So one answer is the powerlifter’s arch, which I’ve shied away from because I have thought it is more likely to cause injury. But, after further research it seems it’s the upper part of the back which is arched, not the lower. And the ass is always on the bench.

See this video:

And this one:

One consideration might be the transfer of this to other movements – which is probably minimal since there is far less movement. But having said that, perhaps it is more useful in some cases, such as a punch straight from a guard where the hands and elbows are already forward.