QUANTUM BENCH

PRESS MANUAL

www.quantumcrossfit.com
 ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alastair MacNicol is an elite powerlifter
competing in the 220 pound class. As of the
publishing of this manual, September 2015, he
holds the Canadian deadlift record at 760 as
well as best lifts of 645 in the squat, 402 in the
bench press and an 1802 total. He’s currently
ranked in the top 20 all time by powerlifting
watch and has competed in and medalled at
some of the most prestigious international
competitions including the WPC World
Championships and Raw Unity.
He did his first meet in 2009 where he totaled
1315, since then he has competed in over 30
competitions and slowly improved his
performance through hard work and
relentlessly striving to optimizing his
technique and training methods. Alastair holds a degree in Health Studies from Queens
University and works as a coach at Quantum Crossfit where he shares his love for fitness
and runs the powerlifting program.

Peter Roberts is an in-demand strength &

conditioning expert and nutrition coach in
Toronto, Canada, based out of his home gym
Quantum CrossFit. Since 2007, he's coached
hundreds of successful clients to achieve their
long-term fitness and health goals, specializing
in helping athletes improve weaknesses,
imbalances and technique limitations so they
can hit personal bests and stay injury free.
He also posts useful content and consults
through PeterRobertsCoaching.com

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 2

BEFORE YOU START
Prerequisite: Being Able to Row
Before we get started with the bench press, you’ll need to be able to perform a
proper row.
As you’ll see in this manual, you must haev a great deal of upper back strength in order to
maintain an ideal shoulder position in the bench press.
Strength Test: 6-8 reps of chest to bar bodyweight row with horizontal body, with two
second pause at the top of each rep.

Start with your body relatively Finish with the chest touching the You’re not able to touch the chest
horizontal. bar and the body straight. to the bar.

Even if you’re able to touch the chest to the bar, you might still have a problem. The
shoulders must stay back and down during the row. If they elevate/hike up toward the ears
at all during the row, this is incorrect and must be fixed. Otherwise, you will never have the
ability to fully control your shoulder position in the bench press.

How to Build Strength in the Upper Back: Phase 1

The key with all of the following drills is that you feel the exercises in the right muscles and
that you maintain perfect form. If you let yourself cheat the movement you will never build
muscle and strength where you need it. You’ll only continue to exacerbate the strength
imbalance that’s keeping your upper back weak.

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 3

Start with isolation exercises. The upper back is a major weak point for most people and it
will take most people 4-12 weeks (sometimes more) to build this up sufficiently.
Our favourite drills to start are (click for a video demonstration):
● Back Flys with band or cables
● A’s
● Single arm band or cable retractions (if you’re really having trouble isolating the muscles)
● Dumbbell, cable or band external rotations
● Single arm band or cable rows
● Lat Pull Downs

If you need extra work in this area, pick 2-4 exercises and perform 2-3 sets of 10-20 reps
2-3 times per week. We like to see a client able to do cable back flies with 10% of their max
bench press for 10 reps with a slow tempo and perfect form.

How to Build Strength in the Upper Back: Phase 2

Once you can feel these muscles working and have some basic strength, you can start to do
more complex exercises. The exercises listed below are all good options if you can perform
them properly (click for a video demonstration):
● Bent-over barbell rows
● Single arm dumbbell rows
● Hand-over-hand rope pulls
● Ring Rows
When you’re ready for phase 2, pick one or two exercises from the list above. Do 2-3 sets of
6-12 reps with quality and control at the top position (where the arm is bent and the
dumbbell or barbell is as close to the chest as it will get, where applicable).
Then pick one or two exercises from the Phase 1 list and do 2-3 sets of 8-15 reps with
proper form. Doing this twice a week is a great starting point, and adding a few easy sets of
the Phase 1 drills into your daily warm-ups can really help lock the motor pattern down.

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 4

Mobility Requirements
If you just can’t seem to master being able to do a row all the way to your
chest, you may have a mobility problem.
In order to perform a bench press you need to be able to keep the shoulders back while
bringing the bar to the chest. This requires mid-back strength, but also enough mobility in
the shoulder.
Mobility & Control Test: PVC to Chest Drill (great for practicing basic bench technique).

Hold a PVC or dowel in your bench Pull the PVC in toward your chest. It’s a fault if the shoulder moves
press grip and squeeze the It should touch the chest without even a little in this exercise.
shoulder blade together hard. causing any movement in the
shoulder.

If you lack shoulder mobility , it will be impossible to bring the bar to the chest without
compromising your shoulder position, as seen in the “bad” example above. The shoulder will
either hike up to the ears or else it will translate forward toward the chest slightly.
Here are our favourite mobility drills for getting your shoulder into the right position for
benching. Click on each one to watch a video demonstration.
● Shoulder setting with dumbbell
● Bully stretch 1
● Bully stretch 2
● Self massage on upper traps
● Self massage on pec
● Self massage on front deltoid

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 5

How to Start Improving Your Mobility
● Do 6-15 minutes of mobility work per day, picking the drills from the previous list that
seem to have the biggest impact on your ability to get into a better bench position. More
time is better, and a little bit every day is worth more than doing a whole lot once a week.
● To do some extra prep, spend time doing your 2-3 favourite mobility drills the night
before a bench workout, for at least 6-8 minutes or more.
● In the morning prior to a bench workout, spend a few minutes doing these same drills.
● As part of your warm-up in a workout requiring bench press, do a couple sets of cable
back flys and cable external rotations to activate those muscles. These sets should only
be done to 70% fatigue or less with a moderate weight, and not to all out failure. The idea
is to “wake-up” the muscles, not to overly fatigue them before the workout where you
need them to be fresh.
● Use common sense. Ease into stretches, don’t force anything, and if it feels weird, STOP.

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 6

 THE SET-UP
THE KEY THREE
1. Create shoulder tension (scapula down and together)
2. Keep the bar deep in the palm. “Knuckles Up”
3. Select the foot placement that’s best for driving your upper
back into the bench.

SHOULDER TENSION
The Basics
The first step to a good bench press is a strong set up. We want to create a
strong and stable platform through the shoulders so we can do our bench
pressing from a solid position. This allows for more weight to be lifted and is
safer at the same time. Two birds with one stone!
You want to draw the shoulder blades down and pinch them together. You then want to
drive your traps (upper back) into the bench and think about getting as high onto them as
possible. Try this drill (pictured on the next page) to practice: squeeze the shoulder blades
together and set the feet on the bench. Then raise the hips so you can feel all your weight
sitting on yours traps. This is the feeling you want to recreate with your feet on the ground.

Shoulder blades are Shoulder blades are not Shoulder blades are together but
together & down. together. are hiked up toward the ear.

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 7

Many lifters have trouble setting their shoulders “down and together” without
shrugging the shoulders up toward the ears. If you have this issue, try
practicing band pull-aparts, either with no resistance to lear n the movement,
or with a band. Focusing on keeping the shoulder blades retracted and down.

Put your feet up on a bench and feel how To perform a band pull apart, Squeeze the shoulder blades
your weight shifts on the upper back/traps. start with the arms at chest together as tightly as possible
This is the feeling you want to recreate height gripping a band palms and be sure not to let them
throughout the bench press. down. hike up toward the ears.

Setting the Shoulders

There are essentially three ways to set yourself on a bench:

1. lay flat and set the shoulders, set the feet before or after

[Video] Minna Pajulahti sets ups by laying flat and setting the shoulders for 198x2
[Video] James Henderson presses 600x3 by laying back and setting his shoulders.

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 8

2. feet on the bench, set the shoulders then set the feet
[Video} Konstantin Konstantinovs places his feet on the bench to set his shoulders and
press 584

3. swing through, set the feet and then swing through to set the shoulders

[Video] Kiril Sarychev using the swing through to press 719.

[Video] Jennifer Thompson uses a less aggressive version of the swing through to press 315
There are obviously slight variations for personal preference but ultimately the set up will
be based around one of these methods. None are necessarily better than any other, but one
may feel more comfortable or allow you to get a tighter setup. If you’re not sure, try all three
and see which one feels the best.

FOOT POSITION
The Basics
When we set the feet for a bench press, we want to use our leg position to
create tension and stabilize the movement. We also want to be able to use a
strong leg drive to assist with the press. However, especially for a competitive lifter, we

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 9

don’t want the butt to rise off the bench. We’re going to achieve this by keeping the knees
below the hips
For shorter lifters, their knees will tend to already be below their hips. In this case a good
place to start is with the feet flat on the floor out in front of them.
For taller lifters, if the feet are too far out in front they will tend to slide or the hips will rise
off the bench. In order to get the knee below hip position you can either:

Getting Set: Option 1

If your hip mobility is good, keeping the feet flat on the floor, work the feet back towards
your shoulders trying to get them directly under or slightly behind your knees and as wide
as possible.

Option 1A: Feet flat on the floor, Option 1A: For a taller lifter Option 1B: A taller lifter should
feet under the knees. This is a whose knees come to rest above change his/her foot position so the
good option for a shorter lifter the hips, this position isn’t as knees are placed lower than the
whose knees come to rest below effective since it can cause the hips while driving into the floor.
the hips. feet to slide and the hips to come
off the bench.

Getting Set: Option 2

If you are not as mobile, you can kick
the feet back and balance on the
balls of the feet with your heels
elevated. This will allow you to get
your feet back further without the
same mobility requirements.
If you are lifting in the gym, this is a
matter of preference. However, if
you are a competitive lifter, be aware Option 2: Heels off the floor, feet back well behind the knees. This is
that certain federations require the suitable for a taller or shorter lifter.

foot to be flat while pressing. If you

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 10

plan to compete in one of these meets you cannot use the method of benching on the toes.
Instead you’ll have to experiment with a variation that keeps your feet flat on the ground.

LEG DRIVE
“Leg drive” describes using a push from the legs to improve body position and
stability, and to assist in pressing the bar. For those with a particularly large back
arch, leg drive will play less of a roll. If we think of the leg drive on a scale of 0-10, with a big
arch you’re basically at a 10 then whole time in order to stabilize and maintain the high arch.
Leg drive should be achieved by pressing the heels towards the floor. This engages the
hamstrings and glutes, instead of the quads, and keeps the hips from coming off the bench.
It also drives you back into the bench to put more pressure on your traps and help bring the
chest up to meet the bar.
If you are less arched, the leg drive can be more helpful. At the start you want to
be around a 5-6 out of 10. As the bar lowers you increase the amount of leg
drive to a 7, 8, 9, until it touches your chest, at which point you increase all the
way up to 10 to help initiate the press off the chest.

HAND PLACEMENT
You have some options regarding where to grip the bar. In competition, the max legal width
is 81cm between the fingers. We’ll take that as a maximum possible grip width. You can also
bring your grip in closer, but the bar has to touch the chest which is very awkward if your
hands are inside your shoulders. Therefore we can take a shoulder width grip as the
minimum grip width. Of course, there are a whole range of positions in between.
As a rule of thumb, the wider your grip, the more difficult it is to get t,he bar off the chest,
but the easier it is to lock it out. Conversely the closer the grip, the easier it is to press off
the chest but the harder it is to lock out. You can experiment with bringing your hands in or
out slightly to take advantage of that. For example, if your lockout is weak bringing the
hands out slightly might allow you to circumvent this weakness and press a little heavier.
If you’re not sure where to start, we recommend finding the position in which your forearms
are perpendicular to the floor when the bar is on your chest. In this position the bar will be
stacked directly over your wrists which will be stacked over your elbows. This typically
gives you the strongest position to press from.

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 11

 Widest legal grip for the sport of powerlifting. Narrowest comfortable grip.

One quick way to find this placement is to measure the distance between the outside edge
of both acromion processes (right where the collar bone connects to the shoulder) and
multiply the distance by 2. This gives you a good place to start in terms of hand placement.
You can play with gripping from the index finger to the pinky finger on these marks to find
where your forearms are closest to straight up and down.

GRIP DEPTH AND WRIST POSITION

When gripping the bar, one mistake lifters tend to make is to hold the bar high in the hand,
near the fingers. In this position, as soon as weight is added, the wrists will roll back. This
places the bar behind the forearm and turns the press into a quasi triceps extension. This is
inefficient and can put a lot of stress on the wrists.
Instead, work the bar deep into the palm of the hand and hold it across the meaty part by
your thumb. This position keeps the wrists straight with the bar stacked over them, instead
of behind them, and allows for the most direct transfer of force from the elbows to the
wrists to the bar. This position might feel a little awkward at first because the hands will be
slightly rotated but a little practice should alleviate that.

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 12

Another way to think about this is to keep the knuckles punched up towards the ceiling
after unracking the bar. The cue “knuckles up” can be helpful to ensure you keep the wrist
straight and the bar in the correct position during a set.

Knuckles back. Bad leverage at the wrist as it tilts Knuckles up. Wrists neutral.
back. Bar is gripped up toward the fingers. Bar is gripped deep in the palm.

Thumbless Grip
The thumbless grip (sometimes nicknamed the “suicide grip”) involves the lifter gripping the
bar without wrapping the thumbs around. This will often feel better because it
automatically sets the bar lower in the hand and closer to the wrist joint, especially if the
lifter makes the common mistake of holding the bar too high in the hand.
However, if you are holding the bar in the correct place already, the thumbless grip doesn’t
provide any advantage. Additionally, a thumbs around grip is safer (it’s nicknamed the
“suicide grip” for a reason). For this reason we recommend learning to perfect the thumbs
around grip.

Reverse Grip
The reverse grip is another grip variation. With this grip the bar is held with the hands
supinated (rotated with the thumbs away from each other). This is very rare to see.

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 13

A reverse grip will be easier on the shoulders because they can be more externally rotated,
but will require more triceps strength to lock out. Another down side is that the bar will
have to touch the lifter’s chest at a lower point with this grip variation. This results in a
longer moment arm (physics term the describes worse leverage) between the shoulders
and the bar, so it is ultimately less efficient for lifting maximal loads.
A reverse grip may allow a lifter with a shoulder injury to press pain free and can be useful in
that situation. However, a lifter with healthy shoulders who is able to use a conventional
grip should do so as it will be more effective.

Thumbless aka suicide grip. Reverse grip.

YOUR EYES
There are a couple of options regarding what to do with your head during a bench press.
The first method is to keep the head in contact with the bench and focus the eyes on a point
on the ceiling. This gives you a consistent reference point and makes it easier to keep the
shoulders retracted. It’s also worth noting that certain powerlifting federations require that
the head remain in contact with the bench during the lift.
The second method is to raise the head during the press. This method is used by some
lifters with a lower touch point to raise the upper abdomen up towards the bar
and decrease the range of motion. Once the press is initiated, the lifter will
drive their head back into the bench.
We recommend the first option for most lifters. It has fewer moving parts and
is easier to stay consistent with. Plus, for those with competitive aspirations it’s
legal in every federation. The biggest drawback to the raised head style is that it is requires
a certain amount of upper back rounding to achieve. For most lifters, this will cause the
shoulders to lose tightness and the shoulder blades to come out of position. While some
lifters can maintain a tight shoulder position while raising the head, many lifters cannot and
end up compromising their upper back tightness.

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 14

 Bar is behind the shoulders. Bar is directly vertical Bar is over the chest and slightly
to the shoulders. in from of the shoulders.

UNRACKING CORRECTLY
Finally, we need to unrack the bar before we can press. One of the most common errors we
see is lifters who unrack too high. They naturally want to stop the bar over their eyes but
this puts them in a wildly inefficient position with the bar behind the shoulders. This
position is weaker and will force a longer and less efficient bar path (photo on next page).
Instead the lifter should bring the bar out directly over the shoulders. This is the strongest
and most stable position to be in. Here the bar sits in a strong position right over the
shoulder joint and will enable to lifter to more easily maintain proper shoulder and elbow
position in the lowering phase of the lift.
Some lifters like to take the bar out slightly further, setting up almost directly over their
sternum so they can descend straight down instead of tucking.
To find the best place for you, take the empty bar and move it back and forth between these
different positions. What you should find is at one spot the bar feels “weightless”. This is
typically the place you are most stable and strongest in, and is an ideal unracking position to
start with.
When handing off to yourself, there are a couple mistakes we often see new lifters making.
They tend to have the bar rolled to the back of the hooks and they set themselves far down
the bench with their eyes or even forehead directly under the bar. The result is that when
they go to unrack, they have to swing the bar way out to get it in position. This is a lot of
wasted effort and usually results in them losing at least some (if not all) upper back
tightness.
The other fault is they set up too far underneath the bar. When they unrack, they are so
close to the hooks that they bang into them during the press. This forces the lifter to either
alter their ideal bar-path and press with the bar over the stomach, or risk throwing off their
press by catching the bench uprights on the way up.

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 15

1

Bar starts over the forehead forcing the lifter Bar starts nose/mouth to minimize the distance
have to unrack the bar with a larger movement. covered while unracking, making it easier to
maintain a good shoulder position.

Instead the lifter should roll the bar to the front of the hooks and set up with the bar directly
over their nose/mouth area. This will keep the bar close enough to the shoulders that it can
be unracked with minimal effort while maintaining good shoulder position, as well as still
providing enough space from the hooks to avoid the risk of contact during the press.

Bar is behind the shoulders. Bar is directly vertical Bar is over the chest and slightly
to the shoulders. in from of the shoulders.

Hand-offs
A partner hand off can be used to more easily unrack the bar. When getting a hand off, the
goal should be to get the bar from the hooks to your starting position with as little effort as
possible, and without losing shoulder position.
Therefore, a good hand off should lift the bar only enough to allow it to clear the hooks and
gently ease the weight into the lifter’s hands in their start position. This way, the lifter can

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 16

maintain their tightly retracted shoulder blades and have the weight settle in their hands so
they’re stable and ready to press.
A hand off should NOT yank the bar up so high it pulls the lifter’s shoulders out of position
and/or dump it unceremoniously in the lifter’s hands such that all the weight comes
crashing down on them at once. A hand off should also NOT grab/touch/finger the bar
midway through the lift and “help” the lifter complete the rep. Your rep doesn’t count if
someone else touched the bar, no matter how much they say “it was all your bro”.
For the competitive lifter, almost all competitions will have a hand off person on the
platform. Some federations will allow you to bring your own while others will require you to
use the one provided. Be careful as there’s no telling what kind of hand off you’ll get from
someone you’ve never met.

How High to Set the Hooks

When setting the hooks for a bench press, if they’re too high you won’t be able to keep your
shoulders retracted while unracking the bar. If they’re too low you have to do a quasi bench
press from slightly behind your shoulders to get the bar out and in position to start your set.
As a rule of thumb aim to set the hooks at a point where you get about 2 inches of clearance
when you unrack. Lie down on the bench and set yourself as tightly as you would for a max
bench. Then straighten the arms while keeping the shoulders tightly pulled back and get a
feel for where the hooks will need to be positioned to get your 2 inches of clearance..

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 17

 THE DESCENT
THE KEY THREE
1. Forearms vertical. Keep elbows under the bar.
2. Maintain tension between shoulder blades.
3. Touch in the right spot for your body type, between the
bottom of the pecs and top of abdomen.

ELBOW & WRIST POSITION

Once you have the bar in the correct start position, we need to lower it to the
chest. The most important thing during the descent is to keep the elbows under
the bar. In this position, the forearms are perpendicular to the floor and the bar is stacked
on top of the wrists and elbows. This gives you the most stable and strongest position to
drive from once you start the press. If the bar gets out in front or behind the elbows, the
lifter will have an unnecessary moment arm that must be overcome in order to complete
the press. Adding extra work is unproductive, and we don’t want to do that!
We find that the easiest way to keep proper alignment is to think about “leading” with the
elbows. The elbows initiate the movement and everything else (forearms, wrist and bar) just
comes along for the ride. Their position shouldn’t change during the movement.

Bar in perfect position. Bar too high on the chest, elbows Bar to low on the chest. Your
too flared out. This is very hard on leverage here is poor.
the shoulders.

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 18

We like to use the cue” lead with the elbows” or “pull the elbows straight down to the floor.”

WHERE TO TOUCH THE BAR

One of the biggest issues we see with lifters is not knowing where to touch the bar to the
chest or touching in an inefficient spot.
With newer lifters, the bar path on the way down tends to resemble a baby
deer learning to walk. The bar is shaking all over the place and in a set of five
reps, the bar will touch the chest in five different spots. A lot of this will be
fixed with practice and consistency. However, you want to touch in the same
spot every time for efficiency and safety. The earlier you can figure out how to do that, the
better.
Aside from simply trying to bring the bar down to the same point each time you can rub a
little chalk on the middle of the bar. Each time you touch you’ll leave a faint chalk line on
your shirt (make sure to wear a dark colour). When you finish a set, you should see only one
line. If you see multiple lines you know you’re not as consistent as you need to be. This can
be a useful feedback tool.
The actual spot that you want to touch will vary
slightly lifter to lifter. Typically, you are looking to
hit somewhere between the bottom of the pecs
(about the nipple line) to the upper abdomen. This
will depend on comfort and the length of your
arms. Shorter armed lifters can touch higher while
longer armed lifters will need to touch a little
lower.

Touch the bar somewhere between this range. And

Touching too low/high be 100% consistent with the touch point.

In the bench press, the shoulder represents the

fulcrum of the movement. The closer we can keep the bar to over the shoulders ,the
stronger we’ll be. However, we can’t bring the bar down in a straight line without causing
shoulder impingement so we have to tuck the elbows and touch below the shoulder joint.
Too high and you risk a shoulder injury, too low and you’ll be in a weak position to press.
One of the biggest mistakes lifters make is touching too low - they dump the bar onto their
belly. In this position, the bar is very far away from the shoulders so a tremendous amount
of leverage is required to bring it back into position. In addition, this touch position is often

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 19

the result of over tucking the elbows. A huge elbow tuck makes it harder to keep the elbows
under the bar and the lifter can lose the important vertical forearm position.
On the flip side, the other mistake lifters often make is to bring the bar straight down like a
guillotine onto their clavicles with the elbows flared way out to the sides. This position is
very unsafe for the shoulder joint and doesn’t allow for the same amount of pec recruitment
at the bottom.
Once again, the lifter should endeavour to touch somewhere between the bottom of the
chest and top of the sternum.

KEEPING TENSION & COILING THE SPRING

We want to control the bar on the way down and build tension in the muscles so the lifter is
ready to explode with the bar off the chest. If the lifter is loose and lets the bar come
crashing down into them they won’t have the necessary muscle tension to press and they’ll
get stapled.
You want to think about pulling the bar into your chest like a reverse row. Similar to leg
drive, you want to feel like you’re building tension the whole way down, as if your body was
a huge spring that’s being coiled tighter and tighter until the bar touches the chest at which
point you explode and uncoil.
Most of this tension should be created by squeezing the shoulder blades together even
harder and using the horizontal drive from your legs to push your upper back harder into
the pad and lift your chest up towards the bar.

Keeping the Chest Tall

You want to keep your chest as high as possible during the bench. This is largely the result
of good leg drive and maintaining tension on the way down. A big chest will reduce the
range of motion in the lift, allowing you to lift heavier. It also let’s helps you maintain tension
in your upper back more effectively so it’s easier to squeeze the shoulder blades together
and down vs. letting the shoulders roll forward. This puts the shoulder in a safer position
and also a more effective position for handling big weights.
As a mental cue, some lifters find it helpful to think about reaching the chest up to meet the
bar rather than simply letting the bar come to the chest.

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 20

TOUCHING THE BAR
There are a couple ways to touch the bar to your chest.
The first, and most common method, is to keep tension through the arms and
lightly touch the bar to your chest and press (if you are in competition, you hold the bar
motionless on the chest and wait for the “press” command). It should feel no different than if
you stopped the bar a half inch above your chest. All the weight is still through your arms,
shoulders and upper back.
The second method is to allow the bar to “rest” on the chest. The weight will be transferred
in part to the sternum. You then use your legs to drive the body back into the weight and
initiate the press. This technique can be effective to allow you to essentially “push press” the
bar off your chest but you must be careful to make sure you don’t relax the arms, shoulders
and upper back. You still need to remain tight! If you lose tension in your upper body you
won’t be able to properly press once you get the weight moving. You want to think about
allowing some, but not all of the weight to rest on the body, while the remainder is carried
by the arms and shoulders as it would be in the more conventional touch. The “push press”
method can be effective if you are touching the bar lower on your sternum where you have
less muscle to press with. Using the legs to drive the bar back over the shoulders can
circumvent the inherent disadvantage of this position.
We don’t recommend the second method for recreational or beginner lifters. There are
some competitive lifters who prefer it, but most use the first method.

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 21

 THE ASCENT
THE KEY THREE
1. Lead with the elbows/flare the elbows out to create a “J”
path with the bar.
2. Maintain tension between the shoulder blades.
3. Maintain leg drive.

“J” PATH
Once we begin the press, the goal is to get the bar over the shoulders as
quickly as possible. This puts the lifter in the position of best leverage. In order
to do this, the initial movement off the chest is going to be up and slightly back.
Once the bar is over the shoulders, the lifter will press straight up. The bar path will
resemble a “J” with the first part being curved off the chest until the bar is over the shoulder
joint and then straight up.

The bar comes up and slightly back The bar is pushed too far toward The bar is pushed too far toward
toward the lifter’s head, causing a the lifter’s face and is no longer on the lifters hips, also causing poor
“J-shape” bar path. top of the elbows. This causes poor leverage.
leverage.

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 22

ELBOWS
In previous sections, we discussed the value of “leading with the elbows” to keep the bar
directly over top of them. The same principles apply here. During the press, the lifter still
needs the movement to come from the elbows.
If the hands and wrists move back towards the shoulders while the elbows remain behind
the lifter ends up in a triceps extension position with a max bench load. It should be fairly
obvious that attempting to do a skull-crusher with your heaviest bench isn’t a good idea!
If the elbows are only a little in front, the bar will stall and the lifter will miss. If they are
dramatically in front, the bar will come crashing down towards the lifter’s face. Both results
are bad. Avoid them by maintaining proper alignment between the bar, forearms and
elbows. This means that the “J” path should start with the elbows flaring out towards the
shoulders in order to get the bar in the proper line.

Bar in perfect position. Forearms are tilting toward the Forearms are slightly tilting away
Forearms are vertical. Elbows head causing poor leverage. from the head & the bar drifts
are under the bar. toward the hips.

FAULT #1: THE TRANSITION

One of the more common places to miss a bench press is at the transition point
between the initial drive off the chest and when the bar is directly over the shoulders. This
point usually occurs a couple inches off the chest and usually happens because the lifter has
pressed the bar straight up instead of up and back. In this situation, the way to fight through
is to focus on flaring the elbows out hard towards the shoulders. This brings the bar back
toward the shoulders into the proper path so the lift can be completed.

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 23

LEG DRIVE
Once the bar starts to move upward, a lot of lifters focus solely on their upper
bodies and the bar, but forget about their legs. Your legs create stability and
support for your whole body during a bench press, and as explained earlier, good
use of leg drive will assist you in pressing the bar.
As mentioned in the previous section, the leg drive will either be constant (with a big arch)
or function as an increasing scale, reaching 10 once the press is initiated. What is key to
avoid is driving hard with the legs on the way down and off the chest and then letting the
tension slack as the bar begins to ascend. You want to keep the heels pressed firmly
towards the ground for the whole press, creating as much leg drive as possible on the way
up.

FAULT #2: LOSS OF SHOULDER POSITION

When focusing too hard on “push the bar away from you,” there is a tendency in many lifters
to roll their shoulders forward (because they’re thinking push). As a result, they lose their
shoulder blade position - as we saw with the PVC drill video on page 5. This leads to a
collapsed chest, an increased range of motion and a weak position mid press. The result is
the bar gets stuck and the lifter failing the repetition.
You want to maintain the shoulders back and chest up position throughout the movement.
Instead of thinking about “pushing the bar away from you” , think about “driving your body
away from the bar”. This shift in focus often makes it easier to maintain optimal position
throughout the press.
While you want to keep the shoulders in an optimal position throughout the press,
sometimes things don’t go as planned and they roll out anyway. In this situation the way to
fix it is to focus on driving the shoulders back into the bench as opposed to worrying about
pressing the bar away from you. If you’re close to finishing the press and you reset the
shoulders, the elbows will lock out of their own accord.
For technique purposes, when working on shoulder position, it’s better to work with
multiple sets of fewer reps. During high rep sets where there is more fatigue, it can be very
difficult to maintain (or reset) a good shoulder position - especially if this is a current
weakness for the lifter. For this reason sets of low reps are better, there’s less fatigue so
you can do more quality reps to help groove the right movement pattern. Once the lifter
becomes proficient at maintaining this position, they can move into sets of higher reps.

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 24

 EQUIPMENT
WRIST WRAPS
The most ubiquitous piece of equipment for the bench press is a wrist wrap. The wrap is
wound tightly around the wrist to provide support to the wrist and help keep it straight
during a heavy press. When wrapping your wrists, you want to “cast” them. Instead of
wrapping around the wrist you want to work the wrap up over the heel of your hand to
create a “cast” that locks your wrist in place. This will provide the maximum amount of
support and make it easier to keep the wrists from rolling back.
Wrist wraps come from lengths as short as 6” to as long as 36” and from very stretchy to
very stiff. It’s a matter of preference, but typically the heavier the weight being pressed the
more a lifter will benefit from a “heavy duty” wrap which tends to be a bit longer and stiffer.

BELT
A belt can also be used during a bench press. Unlike during a squat or deadlift, there’s no
clear performance improvement from belting up. Some lifters prefer it as cueing tool
because it reminds them to keep their abs braced tightly during the press. Some find it helps
support an arch while others actually feel a thicker belt gets in the way and prevents them
from arching as well. For this reason, there’s no clear cut answer to which is better. Some
lifters like it while others don’t. If you’re interested try both ways and see which you prefer.

SHOES
Footwear is less of an issue with the bench press than for squatting or deadlifting. There
isn’t a performance advantage to one type of footwear over another so a lot of it comes
down to preference. Typically running shoes work just fine, while some lifters prefer boots,
wrestling shoes or even Olympic shoes.
With a wider foot placement, you want to ensure your shoe has a good tread so you get lots
of traction. Having your feet slide out while trying to use leg drive will mess up your set.
For those competing in competitions that require the foot to be flat on the floor an Olympic
shoe with a raised heel can be worn to mimic the heels elevated position that some lifters
prefer while still adhering to the rules.

QUANTUM BENCH PRESS GUIDE 25