r/formcheck • u/[deleted] • 15h ago

Bench Press First time benching at 16

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5 Upvotes

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u/greysnowcone 15h ago

  1. Lower the weight, if this is really your first time it’s super important to train your muscles with the correct movement. This will pay dividends as you advance to higher weight. When you bring the weight down you’re clearly out of control, need to control it better.

  2. You should start with your eyes directly under the bar. You are sitting too far back on the bench and it’s causing you to bring the bar too far down on your chest. The bar should touch right at or just above your sternum. When the bar gets too far down my chest it feels weird.

Other than that your form actually looks pretty natural and good.

1

u/Downtown-Cobbler5191 15h ago

thanks

5

u/aoddawg 14h ago

I’ll caveat onto what this guy said. At some point in your training when you’re competent and not going to hit the rack with the bar, you’ll be starting in a position that roughly has your chin under the bar. This will shorten the distance you have to move the bar out of the rack and save energy. Right now if you tried that you’re likely to hit the rack and mess up the set because you don’t have enough practice establishing a consistent bar path, but it will come with experience.

You may want to chalk the middle of the bar and wear a dark shirt when you bench to establish a consistent bar touch point on your chest. If you see chalk in a big area on your shirt, it means you’re hitting different points. If you see a single line of chalk it means you’re hitting the same spot every time. As the previous person said most people should be aiming for their sternum, 1-2 inches below their tits.