View Full Version : Dave Tate on Bench Technique
TigerAce01
10-22-09, 8:57 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh3t6T-nqP0&feature=rec-LGOUT-exp_fresh+div-HM
Loved this video.
-Ace
awesome video. question tho should i use these techniques on a regular basis considering im not a powerlifter? i wouldnt go as far to say as i fuck up like he shows i follow those techniques except for the arching of the back any input fellow bodybuilders?
awesome video. question tho should i use these techniques on a regular basis considering im not a powerlifter? i wouldnt go as far to say as i fuck up like he shows i follow those techniques except for the arching of the back any input fellow bodybuilders?
the technique he describes in the video is for powerlifters.
prowrestler
10-22-09, 11:24 am
IMO
i bodybuilder should have a mild arch to keep the shoulders down and emphasise the pecs. tucking should be 45 degrees. works more upper pec when you tuck at that angle.
ask johny jackson lol
BryanSmash!
10-22-09, 11:24 am
Lots of good info there. Good video!
fenix237
10-22-09, 11:30 am
thnx Tiger for the post- that is a great video- i will admit that even after many years of benching, i was making the mistakes he pointed out. i'm hoping that with improved technique, i will break some PR's next year
ask johny jackson lol
johnny who? haaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahaha
Dr.Platypus
10-22-09, 11:59 am
Fantastic.
Sometimes I purposely bench the "wrong" way depending on which muscle I want to focus on. For instance I drop my elbows as low as I can when I bench on shoulder day.
prowrestler
10-22-09, 12:54 pm
Fantastic.
Sometimes I purposely bench the "wrong" way depending on which muscle I want to focus on. For instance I drop my elbows as low as I can when I bench on shoulder day.
why dont u just overhead press?
benchin the wrong way doesnt stree your shoudlers in a good way, it hurts them.
TigerAce01
10-22-09, 1:25 pm
IMO
i bodybuilder should have a mild arch to keep the shoulders down and emphasise the pecs. tucking should be 45 degrees. works more upper pec when you tuck at that angle.
ask johny jackson lol
Well, I don't think Dave is a bodybuilder hahaha this is the technique for powerlifting, and powerlifting only.
-Ace
prowrestler
10-22-09, 1:29 pm
Well, I don't think Dave is a bodybuilder hahaha this is the technique for powerlifting, and powerlifting only.
-Ace
no he is not, but when he cut down he was more jacked then most body builders.
alot of bodybuilders use an arch to get the shoulders out of it. ALOT
branch warren tucks for his presses and he has one of the best chest's in bodybuilding.
Well, I don't think Dave is a bodybuilder hahaha this is the technique for powerlifting, and powerlifting only.
-Ace
Dave actually competed in Bodybuilding for a while, as did most guys back in the day.
This technique can be applied to bodybuilding as well. I've never seen anyone with a raw 500 bench that had a small chest...or small shoulders, or small back, or small...you get the picture.
Bottom line, try to perfect your form as much as you can, but realize that it can be very individual as no 2 body-types are the same. My raw bench is around 430 right now and I dont neccessarily have textbook form, but it works for me.
TigerAce01
10-22-09, 1:34 pm
no he is not, but when he cut down he was more jacked then most body builders.
alot of bodybuilders use an arch to get the shoulders out of it. ALOT
branch warren tucks for his presses and he has one of the best chest's in bodybuilding.
I think I read your original post wrong haha I thought you were disagreeing with his advice...but upon reading it again you were agreeing and applying it to bodybuilding...
...my bad hahaha "Who the fuck came up with that?"
-Ace
TigerAce01
10-22-09, 1:35 pm
Dave actually competed in Bodybuilding for a while, as did most guys back in the day.
Did he? I had no clue. Time to search for some old pictures.
And I would find this technique bringing the bar too low on the chest to really concentrate on the pecs...am I wrong? I haven't actually benched in over 6 months, which is why I ask...
-Ace
Did he? I had no clue. Time to search for some old pictures.
And I would find this technique bringing the bar too low on the chest to really concentrate on the pecs...am I wrong? I haven't actually benched in over 6 months, which is why I ask...
-Ace
If you can bench 400-500 raw, it doesnt matter...but if you are using this technique to bench 225 for a triple, you probably will need some other work to add some mass...LOL
A bench press is a bench press. You either press the weight up or you dont. If youre in it to "feel the burn" or are doing 3 sets of 10, I doubt you will be able to stay tight enough throughout the whole set to maintain this type form. Also, unless you were gifted with a nice big set of abs to arch up, the arch doesnt work as well and will put your leverages so far out that it will be difficult to recover and press the weight, once it gets heavy. Leverages play a huge role in this as well.
Like I said, there is no one best way. Look at Jeremy Hornstra's bench....
prowrestler
10-22-09, 1:47 pm
I think I read your original post wrong haha I thought you were disagreeing with his advice...but upon reading it again you were agreeing and applying it to bodybuilding...
...my bad hahaha "Who the fuck came up with that?"
-Ace
im training for a meet, id never disagree with dave tate lol
i just disagree with ppl benchin like idiots. there should always be some form of tuck in the elbows, maybe not as much as us PLers but not this 90* bullshit. great way to rip a rotator cuff or front delt
TigerAce01
10-22-09, 1:49 pm
im training for a meet, id never disagree with dave tate lol
i just disagree with ppl benchin like idiots. there should always be some form of tuck in the elbows, maybe not as much as us PLers but not this 90* bullshit. great way to rip a rotator cuff or front delt
Exactly the reason you see them complaining that their shoulders hurt at the end of a workout...wonder why...
-Ace
Little Z
10-22-09, 1:54 pm
never disagree with dave tate lol
i just disagree with ppl benchin like idiots. there should always be some form of tuck in the elbows, maybe not as much as us PLers but not this 90* bullshit. great way to rip a rotator cuff or front delt
thats been my biggest issue as of late with anyone I am now working with at the gym.. they've seen us on heavy bench night and
apparently think they can cut it..
well they get mad when i tell them to bench for me and they start off just like Dave talks about, bouncin their feet around, bouncin on the bench..
and when I critique them they get pissed.. I think some videos should be required to watch before anyone gets a gym membership or if they
think they can jump in and bench 315..
Little Z
10-22-09, 1:55 pm
Fantastic.
Sometimes I purposely bench the "wrong" way depending on which muscle I want to focus on. For instance I drop my elbows as low as I can when I bench on shoulder day.
not a good thing brother.. especially if you'd like to lift something above your midsection when you get older..
like pro said, overhead presses.. plain and simple.. benching with your elbows going that low, at that angle is a recipe for disaster..
fenix237
10-22-09, 2:35 pm
Tate is correct- too many lifters are looking for new routines/techniques when they don't have fundamentals down
this is somewhat embarassing, but for years of heavy benching, i never had anyone to correct my technique, and i wasn't smart enough to reasearch on my own. i always had good numbers and was mostly injury free- that is until i got into the lower 400's...then all of a sudden i was suffering from a nagging shoulder injury. once i learned to bench correctly (PL style), and started taking Flex- it's all gone!!! i'm cutting down right now, but i can't wait to break some PR's!!!
great post ace, im going to practice and practice and practice that technique now, you may have just saved my bench press hopes!
That was the video that introduced me to elitefts. i think the darkhalf posted it at one point. Awesome video. Dave tate is the man.
Dr.Platypus
10-22-09, 6:10 pm
why dont u just overhead press?
benchin the wrong way doesnt stree your shoudlers in a good way, it hurts them.
i overhead press too dude, I don't bench in such a way that it hurts my shoulders, I just love the way it hits my front delts.
Dr.Platypus
10-22-09, 6:15 pm
not a good thing brother.. especially if you'd like to lift something above your midsection when you get older..
like pro said, overhead presses.. plain and simple.. benching with your elbows going that low, at that angle is a recipe for disaster..
I just want to make it clear that I am not doing anything crazy! just adjusting my form slightly so that I am pushing with my shoulders, not in such a way or with such a weight that I would cause injury! My main shoulder exercise is always the overhead press! It's almost a way of getting my front delts warmed and a bit pumped.
sockpirate
10-22-09, 7:46 pm
wow.... I can tell this is gonna help me out a lot. Makes so much sense!
prowrestler
10-23-09, 1:31 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh3t6T-nqP0&feature=rec-LGOUT-exp_fresh+div-HM
Loved this video.
-Ace
bump
The Misfit
08-06-10, 11:59 pm
Bumping this thread.
Great instructional video from Dave Tate.
Here's a recent installment from Dave. This is a step by step 6 part video series. Dave addresses a lot of the technical issues from setting up to pressing and much more.
Dave Tate's "So You Think You Can Bench?":
Part 1 (http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/articles/training-articles/articles/training-articles/so-you-think-you-can-bench/) | Part 2 (http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/articles/training-articles/articles/training-articles/part-ii-so-you-think-you-can-bench/) | Part 3 (http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/articles/training-articles/part-iii-so-you-think-you-can-bench/) | Part 4 (http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/articles/training-articles/part-iv-so-you-think-you-can-bench/) | Part 5 (http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/part-v-so-you-think-you-can-bench/) | Part 6 (http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/part-vi-so-you-think-you-can-bench/)
Well, I don't think Dave is a bodybuilder hahaha this is the technique for powerlifting, and powerlifting only.
-Ace
Look up some pictures of Dave Tate right now on elitefts's website... dude is JACKED.... simple.. and he is still fucking strong... ya know why? He has great... hell excellent form. Most of which he learned form my mentor Louie Simmons and he has put a lot of work into his training as well while giving full credit to his days at west-side barbell.
But I watched this video along with, oh, about 100,000 others on his website and youtube and my bench has gone up already
I have said it from day one, "FORM IS FUNCTION"... don't lift the weight and have shitty form. I see a lot of videos of guys on the FORVM who are big, sure, but have crap ass form. Yeah, it might work out now, or 10 yrs down the road, but one day... SNAP! "Down goes Frazier.."... And this form should apply to powerlifting and bodybuilding. Plus, lifting like this will get you stronger, keep you healthy (er), and allow you to advance farther in your training. Dave is a genius with ears and years of experience and has trained a lot of elite lifters. SO, I'd listen..
I do agree with IRBS, that a bench is a bench. A lot of guys bench feet out, closer grips, wider grips, whatever. If the weight goes up, so be it...
IN IRON,
BB-
theharjmann
08-08-10, 12:43 pm
good video