Leg Drive Bench Press
Strong leg drive catalyzes tightness in the bench press and helps you start driving the barbell up off your chest from the bottom position.
Leg drive bench press. The muscle tension needed to move the weight decreases throughout the range of motion such that the lift will typically. The role of your leg drive in helping press the weight and the ideal position for you to maximize this drive is going to be dependent on mobility body size proportions and even the footwear you choose. The leg drive in the bench press becomes more and more important as the weight gets heavier in order to keep the set up stable during the reps but let s see why. For example when attempting a 1 rep max lift.
When learning how to bench press we teach the lifter how to arch their back which reduces the range of motion and gives a better angle of attack for the pectoralis muscles. Leg drive in the bench press leg drive is a specialized bench press technique that elite powerlifters use when applying maximum force to the barbell. In the drawing i ve oriented the arrows that symbolize the forces at play during the bench press. In order to maintain this position on the bench a lifter has to learn how to push the floor.
Proper leg drive must initiate force backward toward the bar not up toward the ceiling. This keeps your butt on the bench while applying force toward the bar nicely complementing the desired j curve bar path that naturally places the bar over the appropriate joints for each phase of the lift. Good leg drive in the bench press isn t just pushing your heels straight down to the ground as hard as you can. You can find it without doing so.
Leg extension once your feet are in the proper position is the final movement however subtle a movement it is which would really engage leg drive on your bench press setup. In this video bloc niki sims and andrew jackson explain how to use leg drive in the bench press. It seems like this down and forward cue is what you needed to make everything come together. 4 drive yourself back toward your head.
Build a bigger bench press. Step by step instructions for leg drive throughout your lift. Yes the down and forward motion you describe i e. Keep in mind leg drive for powerlifters looks different so don t feel that you need to have a big arch in your back just to get some leg drive into your bench press.
1 set your feet engage your legs early. Using the leg drive technique allows lifters to position their torso more effectively on the bench.