Do you want to survive 100, 150, 200 kg and cannot overcome the dead center? Then find out which muscle groups are responsible for the breakthrough of strength in the bench press. Muscle congestion takes up a lot of psychological energy. Often, athletes make unforgivable mistakes in their quest to get out of the plateau state. You should remember that when your efforts do not give a positive result, then you can only harm yourself in the future. Today we are going to talk about how to overcome the dead center in the bench press. If you have been unable to overcome muscle congestion while doing this exercise for a long time, then read on.
The causes of muscle stasis in the bench
In each exercise, the blind spot is a consequence of one of three reasons:
- Moment;
- Physical moment;
- Psychological moment;
To get out of this situation, it is necessary to determine which of them is the main one in each particular case. It is on this that all your subsequent actions depend. Most athletes, namely about 90 percent, are sure that all the troubles lie in physical moments. This leads to the fact that they want to find out what exercises will allow them to overcome the plateau state and whether there is a need to make changes to the training program.
However, in practice, the situation is such that in almost 70 percent of such cases, it is all about technical errors, 20 percent are due to physical moments and only 10 percent - to psychological ones. The result is that most athletes are trying to find a problem where it does not exist at all. However, to achieve the best possible result, we will now consider each of the above three reasons in more detail.
Psychological reasons
Problems of this kind are most often characteristic of representatives of powerlifting, who were previously involved in bodybuilding. They tend to use a large number of bodybuilding training techniques, which is incorrect in this situation. This is what leads to technical errors when performing a bench press in a prone position.
Powerlifters need to use not only the pectoral muscles during the exercise, but the muscles of the whole body. In this regard, it should be noted that the main sign of a quality bench press in powerlifting is not pumped up chest, and triceps. This is the main reason for the appearance of psychological blockage, established by the athletes themselves. Some expect failure when performing a movement, although they should concentrate on technique as much as possible at this point. Others fall prey to their own bragging rights and excessive bragging. You should understand that the moment you start doing the exercise, you need to clear your mind of everything and pay attention only to technical issues. When you are overly aroused or an overly energetic training partner is around you, in most cases the most important aspects go unnoticed. In this regard, it is important to note that now we are talking not only about novice athletes. Intense arousal can be a major cause of muscle congestion in experienced athletes. These can be errors in the grip or incorrect positioning of the legs. At first glance, they seem insignificant, but in sports there are no trifles.
Technical aspects
Now we need to talk about the most common technical problems. The first of them is related to the fact that we already talked about it above, namely, with the inability to use the muscles of the whole body when performing the bench press.
If you just take the starting position on the bench and immediately start doing the bench press, then your performance is doomed to be low. In bodybuilding, everything is much simpler in this regard. In powerlifting, you need to prepare properly before starting the exercise.
We have already said that powerlifters should use the muscles of the whole body, from the chest to the hips, to improve their athletic performance in the bench. To do this with the lowest possible energy expenditure requires full-body tension. You should rest your feet well on the ground and your upper back on the bench.
Probably, now many are wondering how strong this tension should be. If you imagine that while doing the bench press someone will put pressure on your knee, then it should remain motionless. It all starts from the upper back. Many people should like the next test.
Position yourself on a bench so that your feet are on its surface, and then complete the bridge that wrestlers use. You need to push your hips as high as possible. In this case, you should rest your legs and upper back against the bench. Remember the sensation that appeared in the upper part of your back, because this is what you should feel when doing the bench press.
The second technical point is the incorrect position of the sports equipment. The bar should be in the same plane, mentally drawn between the wrists and elbow joints. However, most athletes move their wrists back a little.
For this reason, the position of the sports equipment is disturbed and the force that can be transferred to it is weakened. Adjust the position of the sports equipment and a lot of problems will disappear immediately. You will immediately notice how the shell will stop going behind the elbow joints, and the press will become an extension for the triceps.
Another technical mistake is weak leg work. Often, athletes do not pay due attention to this moment, and for this reason it is necessary to repeat the basic axiom - the bench press is a movement for the muscles of the whole body. If the legs do not work properly during its implementation, then the total effort will be much less. If you combine bodybuilding and powerlifting, then it's time to decide on the sport. Otherwise, you will not be able to succeed in any of them.
Once you can determine the cause of your stagnation, it will immediately become clear how to overcome the dead center in the bench press.
For more information on how to overcome your bench press blind spot, see here:
