Thanks for a great video! I realize now there are a few mistakes that I’m guilty of making and I’m psyched to hit the gym and fix them — and hopefully up my bench. I would love to see more videos of people benching various amounts of weight. Maybe a female?
AJ,
Thanks for making this info. available. I have always had a problem getting anywhere with the Bench P ress but your tips make a ton of sense and I cant wait to get to the gym and make some drastic changes. Thanks again,
Blaine T.
Damn man 30 freaking tips! AJ you really out did yourself.
I must have done about 24 of those mistakes and now I cannot
wait to go to the gym and really up my bench.
Great video!! I’m an older lifter plagued by intermittent injuries. I now see why. Great tips and visuals to take with me (in my mind) into the gym. Any tips on squat and deadlift?
Thanks for a good video. You really do a good summary of all the good bench pressing tips and ad a few yourself. I will be using your tips the next time I train the bench.
Hey AJ, great video! Excellent tips. I learned that I’m not arching my back enough nor am I making full use of leg drive. One thing you mention is the mistake of benching only once a week, and your remedy is to hit the bench 2x a week. Here’s my question to you: What is your experience with an approach spelled out in Nebraska strongman Steve Justa’s book “Rock, Iron, Steel” based on “greasing the groove” via benching everyday, doing single reps for strength, working with weights in the 70-80% of 1RM range? Thanks again for the great video. Best, David
Thanks for the GREAT video. I need your input. I’ve got much longer than usual arms. In pressing, if I bring the bar all the way down to my chest, I have serious ’sticking’ problems bringing the bar back up, even with fairly modest weight. Consequently, I bring the bar down to a level where my elbows are at a 90 degree level to the floor before pushing the bar back up (the bar comes down to between 2-3 inches of my chest before uplift)
I am guilty of some of these errors talked about and find this video to be helpful. I was at a gym owned by a bodybuilder who encouraged feet on the bench and who only had trainers that were consumed with cliants,not all of us. I agree with the spotter mental block, this gym had pretty girls workoing there and hardly any men, so I always held back a bit on max effort day and one of the guys did have his hands on it and told me it was all me. Trustworthy spotters are good too.
Thank you so much i have always wanted to learn all kinds of ways to whip my form into shape especially in the bench press; usually i struggle in this area. Now that i have a list of things to work on, I have little doubt that I can only lift a certain amount, which has been holding me back from attempting to develop a bigger and stronger bench press!
Good common sense, that we are all guilty of doing at one time or another. Excellent to have a reference to watch for when we take our weights for granted. Good Onya and thanks!.
Great instructional video…I found it very helpful. In particuliar, for me, the part of hitting the chest more than once a week. But I was surprised that you did not mention popping the elbows, when locking out. I have watch many a new lifting going hard at the bench press with good overall form but actually popping the elbow to where you can actually hear the elbow as it locks. I have had elbow issues over the years so when I lockout I actually ease into lockout not optimum but works for me. I am really looking forward to you next video!
AJ–Thanks for the tips. I make a lot of these mistakes myself. Now I am able to correct these with your help and my son can avoid the mistakes that I have been making. Thanks, Dave
im guilty of doing alot of these mistakes, this vdideo really cleared thinged up for me. great video. would love to see ones “mistakes when deadlifting” and “mistakes when squatting”
Great seminar. Here’s a question regarding mistake #20 about pressing back over the face too much or too fast. Some people say you should touch to the sternum (Tips #13 & #14) and press straight up, finishing with the bar essentially above the same spot. You suggest that there might be some lateral movement throughout the motion, just not too much or too fast. The way I learned bench press was “nipples to neck” — that the press makes a concave crescent shape, curving back in the latter half of the motion, with the bar ending somewhere above the neck / chin / or even nose area, depending on the lifter. The negative essentially does the reverse of this motion, which if done properly helps to engage the lats and pin the shoulder blades tighter together while the bar gets pulled to the chest. Advocates of both forms (straight up vs. arc) say that both are easier on the shoulder and prevent injury. Straight up people say that the weight sit less on the shoulder joint and relies on it less. Arc people say that the shoulder is designed to move in a rotation motion, not a piston-like motion, and that trying to work against the natural motion is bad. Both sides say you get bigger lifts their way. The straight up people say it’s less distance to travel and a closer lock out (obviously true), and also that it relies less on the weaker triceps (perhaps debatable). The arc people say that there is better leverage and less friction by working with the shoulder joint’s natural track, and less afferent resistance from the lats, rhomboids, and delts. It also seems related to the equipped vs. raw debate. Straight up motions are the way assisted lifters press, being restricted in range of motion by the shirt. Raw lifters are the ones more inclined to press with some arc, as are those that self-identify as “old-school”; both with exceptions though. Where do you weigh in?
Nice video man! I was just wondering, will these tips still apply in the same way to someone who is focused more on gaining muscle and who does not actually care about the numbers they are lifting? Cheers.
Thanks for a very professional and informative lecture on bench pressing. I have trained with weights
for years and I believe a have made all of the mistakes at least once. I would like to see a video for someone who is just getting started with the bench and how to setup a program (sets & reps).
Also, I would like to see a video of you performimg a normal bench press workout. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.
A video of you actually competing in a contest showing the winning lift would be nice also. By the
way, what is your personal maximum bench single?
Good vid AJ. Solid points. Point 30 I think is one of the most important for sure. My best training sessions have been either training with my football buddy in his garage, one of the most powerful guys I know personally, or in the varsity weight room. Training in a gym where your one of the strongest is alright, but when your in the gym and theres guys warming up with your max weights it really gets you jacked you want to get where they are. Nothing compares to a great atmosphere to train in.
Great video, should def help with a lot with future pressing sessions!! Lots of great information that i’ll be able to share with the young guys i work with!! Thanks a TON!!!
Excellent video. It should be required viewing before joining any commercial gym. Probably 99 percent of gym members make most of these mistakes every time they bench.
You made a lot of good points in your video. I can associate with the bad benching methods you identified. This will help me focus more on proper benching and not just the poundage. I know bad technique can easily cause you to get injured and you wind up starting all over again. Thanks for a great training video.
I lifted for eight years and learned everyone of those tips and used them all, except benching twice a week. I knew powerlifters did twice a week, but never tried it as I was bodybuilding. My biggest disappointment was coming up short of the 500 club. I’m now 53 years old and with that one tip I am motivated to go back and join that club. Thanks
Great stuff supported that I’ve been teaching/coaching for years.
Thank you, AJ for the tips and reinforcement and look forward to hearing more from you.
Good video – a lot of concentrated information that would usually take months (or years!) to gather from a number of sources. I’ve been making some of these mistakes for a long time!
Thanks for the tips!
I was fortunate that I got great instructions many years back from a competitive lifter so I don’t make these mistakes. I’ve also read Starting strength by Mark Rippetoe which is really good. Still, you made some good points which I really hadn’t given much thought before. Thanks a lot.
It took a complete pec tear a few years back to get me to re-evaluate how I was doing things. I wish I had found this kind of information and the information from all of the guys at Elite Fitness years ago. I am seriously considering making our high school football players watch this as I believe it contains tons of useful and valuable info. Thanks.
Good video, alot of little things that you would have trouble remembering. Would like to know more about what you meant by doing bench twice a week? Now I do a heavy bench press day on Monday and light flys on a friday. And by making good gains are you talking of size?or strength?
Thank you very much AJ!! I needed this video. I’ve made 25 of those mistakes. It’s no wonder that the Bench Press is the lift I need the most improvement in.
Started Powerlifting at age 13 , now 50 ; still Powerlifting ! Seen alot of crap concerning
lifting , but this is NOT ! Good Stuff !! Keep it up , the young lifters need more help every day !
Those are all great tips and I’ve dramatically improved my benching before by only having access to a few of them! I can’t wait to start implementing them all! The only problem I continuously run into is not having a good spotter. I don’t have a training partner and every time I tell a spotter what I need at the local gym they all inevitably attempt to help you or coerce you into another forced rep. Sheesh! I know that they think that they mean well, but it gets to be where I will usually stick to the dumbbells because of it. Now, if you came up with a way to hypnotise said individuals into spotting exactly how you want them to I would be very interested! Until then I guess I’ll have to just make do;-)
Great Video, thanks for all the tips. Here a question…I recently started training at home. I have a power cage. I’ll be using the safety bars. Any thoughts on starting at the bottom of the movement instead.
great video, Im a small guy so most people don’t think i know what im doing in the gym. I do some of these techniques correctly and have had bigger guys tell me im wrong to arch my back and i need to stay flat. Thanks for the clarification and helping me keep up and even improve the technique
Awsome Video!!! very powerful information!…i have two question tough,
What’s the different between training for muscle size vs. for power? is there different rep ranges, tempos, rest times, weigths, positons, training frequencies???
and
You talk about squats and deadlifts, also benefiting to increase the bench press, besides those exercises what others ones would also greatly increase the bench?
I would really love your feedback,
thanks again for the wasome tips
Great video A.J. and you made a lot of good points concerning the proper form to use while doing the bench press. I realize that one of the main areas that I need to work on is using my legs more when pushing the weight back up. Thanks for some valuable info.
Thanx for the great video.Few of these mistakes i was traying to avoid but not knowingly i was makin few diferent ones.Now is time to fix this and get more gains on my chest.
Cheers.
Great Video, very informative! Crucial timing for me I just started a new workout that is aimed at sustaining 2.5% gains every week. You just saved my shoulders!
Nicely put together, I’ve learnt these tips over the last couple of years but its good to be reminded of them and collected in one place for people starting out. It takes quite a while to unlearn bad technique and not to rely on the stenghth you have using it. My bench 1RM halved when switching to the Powerlifter technique I had to start at the bottom and work back up which hurts the ego but its starting to show some decent progress and my numbers are increasing.
I would like to see some tips on identifying weaker / imbalanced body parts and why and where lifts fail.
Hey AJ. This is so cool. I never thought of setting my feet and driving through my legs. It makes total sense when you think about it – the way a Thai boxer stamps with his left leg fractionally before kneeing or kicking with his right leg or a boxer pushing off with his leg at the start of a punch. Can’t wait to see what the difference will be – bench will now be more of a multi-joint movement for me
Great compilation of some excellent bench press tips! I’ve seen many of the tips before, but not presented and organized so well in one list. Kudos AJ!
Hi AJ, thanks for the great bench pointers! Driving with m’legs was something important to note within. Be well and good luck with those big three numbers.
Thanks for the free advise,it’s nice to finally find someone that is prepared to supply advice without the catch of selling their e books,you raised alot of points that I think peolple haven’t even considered.I have made notes and will start today useing your advice and monitor the progress.thank you once again from a cold South Africa
Great Stuff ! As a 49 year old 1st time weight trainee, I gotta say #30 really spoke to me. We can’t be our own limiters. With good technique,good support and the right mind set, there’s nothing you can’t achieve.
Many thanks for taking the time to help others out.
Good stuff AJ – at 45 with bad shoulders wish I had access to these tips in my youth. Atleast my son has them and will not go wrong. You have done a lot of us a huge favour brother!
AJ, thanks for a great piece of educational guidance!
Found several mistakes I make and some to avoid also.
Agree with other comments. It’d be nice to see your normal bench video, especially with a talkover of what’s happening whilst your driving with your legs.
If you could answer some of the questions people have asked, that would be great too.
A list would aid mentally committing all you’ve mentioned!
Thanks for the great video. The best info I’ve ever received about benching. I’ve been bodybuilding for over 20 yrs and always struggled with my bench but excelled in other bodyparts. I will certainly apply this to my bench and I’m sure that it will increase my weight and strenght. Thanks agin
AJ
Thanks for the video. All of the tips are helpful. The tip about a tight “white knuckle” grip on the bar bar will be useful in all my xrcizes. Many others can also be applied, such as the one about pressing hard with the feet.
Thanks again – great work.
Nice tutorial A.J. when I think back to my youth and all the bench press technique flaws I commited, I think that I was guilty of each and everyone of those. Especially #30.
Great set of tips! Wish I could put this vidio on a constant loop at my gym. I think many of us have made one or more of those mistakes in the past. Anyone have any tips on how to go from a low “belly bench” to a higher “USAPL” style bench?
Try stretching your hips and quads first. Get your feet back under you as far as they will go. This will put you up on your toes. Also try stretching your arch daily on a foam roller or a 3″-4″ PVC tube.@Richard -
Like he said in the video…drive your hips back toward your shoulders, not up. Drive your heals into the floor, and push the ball of your foot forward at the same time as if you were trying to push the floor away from you. Hope this helps,@daniel -
Good points on form. I think the grip strength (#6) was a good point. Most lifters dont train their grip but its muscles just like anything else. I was hoping to hear something on training rotator cuffs. I think keeping them strong will help your bench and keep you from a terrible injury. Very good video.
AJ thanks for doing this video. I am seriously thinking about bringing in all my high school athletes and make them watch and take notes on this video. I have heard a lot of great compliments about you. I was invited to the UGSS to watch and learn from all the Elite guys this past weekend. Man wish you were out there to meet in person.
Great Stuff. One issue though. I feel the content could be much more effective if you utilized demonstrations more. Talking is great and for those of us who know whats going on it can abstractly peice together what your saying. But for alot of people they would benifit more from you showing the techniques you’re describing. You did on some points. But many more could have used visuals. All in all, i enjoyed the video and will be passing it along. Thanks
hi there, in regards to your seminar. Excellent and very informative. I also noticed that you didn’t give as much demo as I would of liked to see.
having said that, I like how you mentioned to squeeze the bar as hard as you can. speaking from experience this technic will increase the nerve follow into the shoulder to improve the stabilty in the shoulder.
GREAT VIDEO…!!! Should have seen it a long time ago. It showed the mistakes I have made, (and pain from them) also reinforced some of the proper techniques I have learned from reading, and visiting other websites. THANKS AGAIN.
Lots of interesting tips; which have a major impact on the movement & form. I’m looking forward to improving my strength & numbers once I apply the advice.
A.J.
This was great, I am trying to compete in strongman and I have been getting stronger in all of my other lifts but my bench is lacking. (That kills me)I never would have thought of most of these things and I can see myself doing them. I can not wait to get in the gym and try them out. thanks
Very informative. Appreciate the tips and your enthusiasm. I have been doing split workouts and only benching once a week – would like some tips on benching twice a week – how many days between – how different should second bench workout be – always one heavy workout then one light??
Hi,Thanks for this information from you man,it’s been a long time for me looking for someone who can explain same things like you had,now i know that i can avoid injury during training.Keep it up….
Very good information about the technique! Philosophy side (programs etc.) is allways opinional. Opinion of an expert with self experience should allways be listened to. And sometimes also body should be listened to?
AJ,
Outstanding tips. I am doing about 10 of those mistakes. You really put a lot of thought and analysis into this video. Thanks for the help. I bet a lot of us will improve. Great job.
You did an excellent job on this; it was full of good solid bench press information and anyone who uses this particular exercise in his or her program would be wise to follow your suggestions.
It’s too bad you moved out of the great Northwest.
great info,i have lifted sense i was 15, and i did not have info like this to look back on and learn from.i am 42 and still learning about the bench press, these tips will help out a lot thanks guys.body builder turned power lifter.
Wow, those are great tips. As a high school strength coach I’ve tried to teach most of them to my athletes, but I learned a few new ones here. Thanks for the great info – I also plan to use it to increase my own PR!
awesome video A J, i didnt realize it but i make alot of those mistakes. and thanks to this video i now know that i need to improve on alot of areas to bring my bench up THANKS
One other tip[ I’d have thrown in there is what types of food would be recomended to increase muscle. While I agree with all the forms and mentality of the bech press, If you don’t eat like you want that power, your not going to improve the way you feel you need to. Just my 2 cents.
Thanks Aj awsome stuff. Have some shoulder probs and thought i could do push ups only, but am going to use your tips and see if the bench press and i can get along again.
Very nice. Your clear explanations will help me communicate proper form to my personal training clients. I often see them doing little things wrong but don’t have the right words to help fix them. You’ve clearly identified the flaws and more importantly, described the fixes. Thanks a million.
Very well done video! I’ve never really done bench presses or any weightlifting for that matter but I may give it a try sometime now that I have some guidance from a reputable source.
This is a great video! I began powerlifting 4 years ago as a bench only competitor. It took me 3 years of research and trial and error to learn most of these mistakes. He really knows what he is talking about. I just competed in my first full meet and would love it if I could find tips like this for the squat and deadlift. Thanks for being a true champion and being willing to share what no doubt took you a very long time to learn. Mark
AJ, Great work. The mistakes are all very common one that I have seen also from collegiate athletes and some strength coaches. If they would only do the work necessary to critique their lifts and routines we would be much better. Thanks
Good job. I’ve been trying to get to 325 for years with no luck. 303 on record. I will let you know how I do after 6 weeks. Pavlow says you should lift everyday which i have been doing and it did not help. Your video is very imformative and educational. Again, Good job
loved the video. me and my buddies work out in my garage and i think this’ll help us make some serious strength gains in the bench department. totally worth watchin the whole thirty minutes
Thanks for the great info! I will put this to the test right away. I used to be very active and strong but have been out of the gym for a year or so. I am just getting back into it and will use your techniques.
Awesome video! The bp is much more complex than most weightlifters realize and following AJ’s advice is absolutely necessary to achieving your max. Thanks AJ for putting this video together!
Thanks for the video! It makes all the difference in the world to actually see and hear someone explain how one can make improvements rather than being left to ones own devices with books or articles alone. The step by step explanations are the best and go along way toward helping to remember the points once one gets to the gym to put in action what has been seen. Thanks again. Great stuff!
AJ, great stuff man. I have been making a lot of these mistakes. Pushing through the legs and squeezing the shoulders are two techniques I’ll start using immediately! I was wondering if you have ever used density training in your bench like 5×5s or 8×8s to build strength using really short rests between sets? Is this a good training technique or should I scrap it? Thanks in advance!
Great Stuff! I never realized how many of the mistakes I made until I went back to the gym after watching this vid. I never would have tohught about the gloves either. Thanks!
what a great video ive never learnt so much in such a small space of time, now i know what ive been doing wrong i can’t wait to try the right way, thanks i can’t wait to see the next one
Thanks for the great tips/techniques in your video. I work out with two other female powerlifters and we will definitely incorporate these tips in our bench press work-outs. I look forward to a squat and deadlift video in the future.
Thanks so much for the video.. I can’t wait til my next bench session so I can apply the techniques you taught me and eliminate the mistakes I was guilty of committing. God bless you.
I wrote all the tips down, I was committing most of these mistakes. Pressing movements are definitely my weakness, as I am tall and have long limbs. I’m sure this will help me. Thinking of the exercise as a total body movement was something I never thought about. Awesome video.
I have a 16 year old son who discovered the weight room in High School and is doing well. No doubt that your video will help him reach even higher levels SAFER. Thank you!
Thanx for the much appreciated info.Most of the things you talked about I already incorporate in my workouts,but watching your video has made me more aware of the things I am doing,as well as the things I either haven’t done correctly[like #12,#17,#18].Very great info,I feel like I am re-energized w/new info!Thanx again!Gary G
Great tips. I would say that number thirty is my biggest problem. I was wanting to graduate to the two hundred club, and it was a HUGH psychological barrier for me, kind of like I was graduating to the “danger club” or something.
I would like to see actual lifting video overdubbed with instruction and guidance for the watcher.
Thank you.
Thanks for the vid. Alot of good info.I wish I had come across it this morning, today was max effort day on bench lol. BUT, I have some principles to incorporate next week!
The video was very, no extremely informative because I hoping to ask some Questions, and the only Question that I can come up with is what calesthenic exercises would be good for warming up before bench pressing.
A freind of mine has been kind enough to help me – however with all the help I have found 7 of the 30 I’m needing to work on. Thanks so much for the video this is really going to help me alot.
Great video, You emphasized 12 points that I’ve been allowing to slip in the gym. I’m doing anything I can to try and up my weights before competing. Thanks for the help.
Ash, thanks for the tip. I have a favour to ask of you though. can you post this for downlaod so we, with slower net speeds, dont have to sit in front of the pc for 3 hours? Plus the info is so good, we can benefit by being able to watch whenever we want
Thanks so much for sharing….I make at least half these mistakes if not more…I can hardly wait to get back to the gym today to start applying my new found techniques!
Smart tips AJ.
Love your enthusiasm!
If anyone’s looking for a great powerlifting gym & group of trainers in Melbourne Australia you need to check out Apollo in Footscray. A playground for grown ups!
Very in depth just for one movement haha. I was the same way when I first started lifting, not knowing proper techniques or not knowing what I am doing wrong. Very glad I found this.
Good stuff man! I love to see the free tips on training get put out. Not everyone can fork out money so easily…I’d love to see something similar on squats and dead lift also if you don’t already have them. Thanks again.
Great tips, most people don’t realize that the bench is a skilled lift. I spotted a friend once on a sixhundred pounder and it was almost balletic. Good thing to , cause I’d have had a helluva a time if he’d had to dump it.
I enjoyed your video and as I am a relativily new at using weights I figure I can use all the help available. Incidently, I just celebated my 68 th birthday so hopefully I still have a few good years of weight training. Keep the videos coming.
Thank you for the video. I will start implementing this immediately. I believe it will benefit and help me on my ??? return also this will help my athletes. I coach Special Olympics and I believe all of my athletes will benefit from your video. But, especially my power lifters. Since I kind of inherited them and do not know how to coach them. I have eliminated several bad habits and this will help me eliminate even more. Once again thank you for making this available.
hello. I am stuck at 200 lbs, 20 yrs ago I had a 4 plate bench and for the life of me I have forgotten what it takes, this is my first 6 months back to the gym,and I have found that the info you have put out here is great, I will have to watch it again, thats very much,
Thanks AJ.
Excellent video. My Bench is not as strong as my squat and deadlift so hopefully I will improve when I put your advice into practice. Cheers Colin
Thank you for a really great informative video. I stopped benching many years ago after numerous shoulder injuries. I can see why now. I plan to get back to the gym to try your suggestions.
couldn’t really get the video to work well. it had to load every 15 seconds or so. my connection might be the problem tonight, so i’ll just have to check it out tomorrow. might i suggest you possibly post the video somewhere else to view also? thanks.
thanks for the video before watching this i was only benching 230 which at 180 is not to bad but after watching this video i whent to the gym to try and see what my max was now that i know how to do it right and was shocked to at how easy i threw up 240 and ended up lifting 250 which was my original goal. now im working for 300 pound max which i though was imposible for some one my size
Great video, full of good tips, as a personal trainer I work with people all the time that make all of these mistakes. Having it come from another source helps to convince them( especially those “I been doing it this way for twenty years”) that there is a better way.
some really great advice! I especially liked what you said about spotters keeping their hands on the bar during a lift.I used to work out with guys who did this and I always thought it kinda cheating because you are right it does make it easier Thanks for the video!
Great video! I learned to lift from an old school strength coach many years ago and take most of that information for granted, and figured that everyone should just know it. I see so many wanna be strength coaches that teach it WRONG. I am glad to see your putting out good info in an easy to learn format.
Great video AJ. Lots of useful info in it and that you take your time to do this type of a thing is really great. I wish I had a video like this when I got started.
I love this video, but dunno why it take so long to load (many hours to load fully). I would like to see squat techniques and mistakes, pull ups, deadlifts, basically all the big compound exercises thats good for starters. Thankyou!
Thanks for the info..im benching 355..now..and im doing a few things wrong..its war now..im going to smash my record…any powerlifting chicks on here lets get together..732.534-5211..my name is rich c..
Comments on 30 Biggest Bench Press Mistakes »
Thanks for a great video! I realize now there are a few mistakes that I’m guilty of making and I’m psyched to hit the gym and fix them — and hopefully up my bench. I would love to see more videos of people benching various amounts of weight. Maybe a female?
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AJ,
Thanks for making this info. available. I have always had a problem getting anywhere with the Bench P ress but your tips make a ton of sense and I cant wait to get to the gym and make some drastic changes. Thanks again,
Blaine T.
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Awesome tips AJ! I make so many of those mistakes without even realizing. Can’t wait to make the changes.
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Great stuff thanks for sharing
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Damn man 30 freaking tips! AJ you really out did yourself.
I must have done about 24 of those mistakes and now I cannot
wait to go to the gym and really up my bench.
I cannot wait to see what else you got in store.
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AJ, nice work. Thanks for posting this info!!!
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Great info. I tried to arch my back but it just would not go any suggestions?
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Great video!! I’m an older lifter plagued by intermittent injuries. I now see why. Great tips and visuals to take with me (in my mind) into the gym. Any tips on squat and deadlift?
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Great tips! My son will be learning a lot from here – I certainly did not have all these tips to give him when he started.
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Good video AJ! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
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Thanks for a good video. You really do a good summary of all the good bench pressing tips and ad a few yourself. I will be using your tips the next time I train the bench.
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Thanks for the vid tips, very helpful, saw several I am guilty of doing. In the future, could you please demo more of what you are talking about.
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Thanks AJ. Good, solid info. This should give everyone something to work on and /or think about.
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this should be the mandatory video for beginners to watch!
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Hey AJ, great video! Excellent tips. I learned that I’m not arching my back enough nor am I making full use of leg drive. One thing you mention is the mistake of benching only once a week, and your remedy is to hit the bench 2x a week. Here’s my question to you: What is your experience with an approach spelled out in Nebraska strongman Steve Justa’s book “Rock, Iron, Steel” based on “greasing the groove” via benching everyday, doing single reps for strength, working with weights in the 70-80% of 1RM range? Thanks again for the great video. Best, David
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AJ
Thanks for the GREAT video. I need your input. I’ve got much longer than usual arms. In pressing, if I bring the bar all the way down to my chest, I have serious ’sticking’ problems bringing the bar back up, even with fairly modest weight. Consequently, I bring the bar down to a level where my elbows are at a 90 degree level to the floor before pushing the bar back up (the bar comes down to between 2-3 inches of my chest before uplift)
Comment(s) please
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I am guilty of some of these errors talked about and find this video to be helpful. I was at a gym owned by a bodybuilder who encouraged feet on the bench and who only had trainers that were consumed with cliants,not all of us. I agree with the spotter mental block, this gym had pretty girls workoing there and hardly any men, so I always held back a bit on max effort day and one of the guys did have his hands on it and told me it was all me. Trustworthy spotters are good too.
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Thank you so much i have always wanted to learn all kinds of ways to whip my form into shape especially in the bench press; usually i struggle in this area. Now that i have a list of things to work on, I have little doubt that I can only lift a certain amount, which has been holding me back from attempting to develop a bigger and stronger bench press!
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I had been committing many of the mistakes you mentioned! Thanks for making this video.
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great video. i will use these tips and will definitely let some of my friends know about this link. thanks.
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Awesome instructional video… this will help alot of people up their bench without destroying their shoulders! Thanks for putting this out there AJ.
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Good common sense, that we are all guilty of doing at one time or another. Excellent to have a reference to watch for when we take our weights for granted. Good Onya and thanks!.
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thanks alot!!
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guilty on alot of counts lol great video, i hurt my shoulders a while ago because of form and im now going through rehab for it…all because of form
thanks!!
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Great info I have used numerous westside training tips and I will take them from anyone great vid keep them coming.
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great points for those starting out and for those who have been benching
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awesome video
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some really good tips – cheers.
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Great video, AJ! Many thanks!
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Great instructional video…I found it very helpful. In particuliar, for me, the part of hitting the chest more than once a week. But I was surprised that you did not mention popping the elbows, when locking out. I have watch many a new lifting going hard at the bench press with good overall form but actually popping the elbow to where you can actually hear the elbow as it locks. I have had elbow issues over the years so when I lockout I actually ease into lockout not optimum but works for me. I am really looking forward to you next video!
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Great informational video. Clears up a lot of mistake for me.
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Really good information, well explained, cheers
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thanks for giving us such important information.
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AJ–Thanks for the tips. I make a lot of these mistakes myself. Now I am able to correct these with your help and my son can avoid the mistakes that I have been making. Thanks, Dave
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im guilty of doing alot of these mistakes, this vdideo really cleared thinged up for me. great video. would love to see ones “mistakes when deadlifting” and “mistakes when squatting”
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Great seminar. Here’s a question regarding mistake #20 about pressing back over the face too much or too fast. Some people say you should touch to the sternum (Tips #13 & #14) and press straight up, finishing with the bar essentially above the same spot. You suggest that there might be some lateral movement throughout the motion, just not too much or too fast. The way I learned bench press was “nipples to neck” — that the press makes a concave crescent shape, curving back in the latter half of the motion, with the bar ending somewhere above the neck / chin / or even nose area, depending on the lifter. The negative essentially does the reverse of this motion, which if done properly helps to engage the lats and pin the shoulder blades tighter together while the bar gets pulled to the chest. Advocates of both forms (straight up vs. arc) say that both are easier on the shoulder and prevent injury. Straight up people say that the weight sit less on the shoulder joint and relies on it less. Arc people say that the shoulder is designed to move in a rotation motion, not a piston-like motion, and that trying to work against the natural motion is bad. Both sides say you get bigger lifts their way. The straight up people say it’s less distance to travel and a closer lock out (obviously true), and also that it relies less on the weaker triceps (perhaps debatable). The arc people say that there is better leverage and less friction by working with the shoulder joint’s natural track, and less afferent resistance from the lats, rhomboids, and delts. It also seems related to the equipped vs. raw debate. Straight up motions are the way assisted lifters press, being restricted in range of motion by the shirt. Raw lifters are the ones more inclined to press with some arc, as are those that self-identify as “old-school”; both with exceptions though. Where do you weigh in?
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Thanks AJ. 30 is a big number and all good points. I liked points number 26 and 30.
All the best
Anthony
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great video …this really helped
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Great instructional video…I found it very helpful.
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I watched your video. Went and got some poster board. Now they are on the wall in the gym! Thanks
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Guilty on some. Glad to be corrected before any serious damage is done. Thanks.
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Lots of good tips.EVERYTHING helps
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Good video the only thing that I had me questioning the video was the part about squeezing the shoulder blades together.
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Thanks for the tips!
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Very beneficial instructional video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience.
Harold
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Nice video man! I was just wondering, will these tips still apply in the same way to someone who is focused more on gaining muscle and who does not actually care about the numbers they are lifting? Cheers.
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Thanks for a very professional and informative lecture on bench pressing. I have trained with weights
for years and I believe a have made all of the mistakes at least once. I would like to see a video for someone who is just getting started with the bench and how to setup a program (sets & reps).
Also, I would like to see a video of you performimg a normal bench press workout. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.
A video of you actually competing in a contest showing the winning lift would be nice also. By the
way, what is your personal maximum bench single?
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Some invaluable information. Thanks so much for the grear tips to improve the bench.
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nice video
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Excellent video !! Hope to have more training tips from all types of situations in and out the gym.
Jo.
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That was great, great tips nice and clear you can’t go wrong thanks good work.
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Great video! Very usefull!
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Good vid AJ. Solid points. Point 30 I think is one of the most important for sure. My best training sessions have been either training with my football buddy in his garage, one of the most powerful guys I know personally, or in the varsity weight room. Training in a gym where your one of the strongest is alright, but when your in the gym and theres guys warming up with your max weights it really gets you jacked you want to get where they are. Nothing compares to a great atmosphere to train in.
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thanks man really helpfull, im guilty of alot of these mistakes haha
but they will be fixed
thanks
-Dan
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Thanks alot! I look forward to putting these tips to good use on bench day.
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Great info. I think this will help many people up their bench..
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Thanks it was great, the imfo was informitive.. learned some new tricks//
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Great tips! I have to admit I do a number of the things you mentioned. I am pumped to get my bench work in this week (twice!). Thanks again AJ.
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Great video, should def help with a lot with future pressing sessions!! Lots of great information that i’ll be able to share with the young guys i work with!! Thanks a TON!!!
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Excellent video. It should be required viewing before joining any commercial gym. Probably 99 percent of gym members make most of these mistakes every time they bench.
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You made a lot of good points in your video. I can associate with the bad benching methods you identified. This will help me focus more on proper benching and not just the poundage. I know bad technique can easily cause you to get injured and you wind up starting all over again. Thanks for a great training video.
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Terrific AJ! Keep up the great work. I’ve been in the athletic/fitness industry for nearly 40 years and it’s always good to see ‘real’ infomation.
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Very nice job.Keep up the good videos
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Great video.Very insightful.I will keep watching and learning.
Many thanks
Mahbub
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great video, the area i need to work on is using my legs to drive the weight back up. Maybe another video showing how the legs are used would be good.
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very informative
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I lifted for eight years and learned everyone of those tips and used them all, except benching twice a week. I knew powerlifters did twice a week, but never tried it as I was bodybuilding. My biggest disappointment was coming up short of the 500 club. I’m now 53 years old and with that one tip I am motivated to go back and join that club. Thanks
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Great info! You have anything on Squat and dead lift?
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Thanks for the great video. Really helped cause I know I make some of those mistakes myself
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thank AJ, awsome tips i will be using them with my clients..
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I appreciate the advice AJ. This is incredibly helpful. I make quite a few of these mistakes.
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Great stuff supported that I’ve been teaching/coaching for years.
Thank you, AJ for the tips and reinforcement and look forward to hearing more from you.
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Thanks for tips, can’t wait to hit gym 2moz
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Thanks for the info, it will be really helpfull for my bench this week
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it is a very valuable and effective information for fitness and body building practitioner and an instructor.
thank you very much
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Good job,helped me alot.
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excellent
now i can realised how many mistakes i hvae done
thankx a lot
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Good video – a lot of concentrated information that would usually take months (or years!) to gather from a number of sources. I’ve been making some of these mistakes for a long time!
Thanks for the tips!
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Great video.
I was fortunate that I got great instructions many years back from a competitive lifter so I don’t make these mistakes. I’ve also read Starting strength by Mark Rippetoe which is really good. Still, you made some good points which I really hadn’t given much thought before. Thanks a lot.
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Thanks a lot for good advices. Ihave done many of the mistakes in the video, but I also realized I have done something right!!
Thanks again.
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Thanks for this great vids and sharing all these tips and your knowledge!
Can’t wait to hit the gym !
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Wow, been lifting a lot of years and somehow never analyized the execise to that degree. Discovered more than a few ideas from this video
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It took a complete pec tear a few years back to get me to re-evaluate how I was doing things. I wish I had found this kind of information and the information from all of the guys at Elite Fitness years ago. I am seriously considering making our high school football players watch this as I believe it contains tons of useful and valuable info. Thanks.
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some excellent coments
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Great video.
good tips
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Good video, alot of little things that you would have trouble remembering. Would like to know more about what you meant by doing bench twice a week? Now I do a heavy bench press day on Monday and light flys on a friday. And by making good gains are you talking of size?or strength?
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Good /basic but solid effective information.Thank you.
Do one for the legs/arms.
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Thank you very much AJ!! I needed this video. I’ve made 25 of those mistakes. It’s no wonder that the Bench Press is the lift I need the most improvement in.
Keep up the good work.
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Started Powerlifting at age 13 , now 50 ; still Powerlifting ! Seen alot of crap concerning
lifting , but this is NOT ! Good Stuff !! Keep it up , the young lifters need more help every day !
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Great info, thanks for sharing all the great tips.
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awesome advice
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Great video, great tips.
For someone like myself who has had shoulder issues in the past, these tips are awesome.
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Good stuff AJ. Looking forward to any other tips you have!
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great video. very helpful. i shall utilize your training tips. thank you.
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Those are all great tips and I’ve dramatically improved my benching before by only having access to a few of them! I can’t wait to start implementing them all! The only problem I continuously run into is not having a good spotter. I don’t have a training partner and every time I tell a spotter what I need at the local gym they all inevitably attempt to help you or coerce you into another forced rep. Sheesh! I know that they think that they mean well, but it gets to be where I will usually stick to the dumbbells because of it. Now, if you came up with a way to hypnotise said individuals into spotting exactly how you want them to I would be very interested! Until then I guess I’ll have to just make do;-)
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A.J., spot on. You put on video what I have been teaching for 30 years. Great info for those who don’t have access to a good teacher. Great job.
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AJ, Great video. Keep’em comin’. Thanks, W
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Great Video, thanks for all the tips. Here a question…I recently started training at home. I have a power cage. I’ll be using the safety bars. Any thoughts on starting at the bottom of the movement instead.
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Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
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It is all true it really does work –this advice is amazing tried it last night
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Is it possible to make this into a printable list that we can take to the gym?
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thanks for the tips, will give them a try
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And I noticed the differences right away. It also made very evident the areas I had been neglecting for assistance exercises. Well done AJ. Thanks.
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great video, Im a small guy so most people don’t think i know what im doing in the gym. I do some of these techniques correctly and have had bigger guys tell me im wrong to arch my back and i need to stay flat. Thanks for the clarification and helping me keep up and even improve the technique
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Really nice video. A squat and/or deadlift version would be great as well. Thanks!
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Awsome Video!!! very powerful information!…i have two question tough,
What’s the different between training for muscle size vs. for power? is there different rep ranges, tempos, rest times, weigths, positons, training frequencies???
and
You talk about squats and deadlifts, also benefiting to increase the bench press, besides those exercises what others ones would also greatly increase the bench?
I would really love your feedback,
thanks again for the wasome tips
Keep it Up!
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thanks for sharing. Good tips. I’ll use some of them tomorrow.
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more more more more more grad job
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Great video A.J. and you made a lot of good points concerning the proper form to use while doing the bench press. I realize that one of the main areas that I need to work on is using my legs more when pushing the weight back up. Thanks for some valuable info.
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Thanx for the great video.Few of these mistakes i was traying to avoid but not knowingly i was makin few diferent ones.Now is time to fix this and get more gains on my chest.
Cheers.
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Great Video, very informative! Crucial timing for me I just started a new workout that is aimed at sustaining 2.5% gains every week. You just saved my shoulders!
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Awesome tips, thank you. I see there’s a bunch of mistakes I’m making and I can’t wait to get back to the gym and correct them!
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Thanks for the advice. I’ll give a shot, especially trying to do bench twice a week.
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Excellent video. I really enjoyed it
Thanks
Kevin
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Nicely put together, I’ve learnt these tips over the last couple of years but its good to be reminded of them and collected in one place for people starting out. It takes quite a while to unlearn bad technique and not to rely on the stenghth you have using it. My bench 1RM halved when switching to the Powerlifter technique I had to start at the bottom and work back up which hurts the ego but its starting to show some decent progress and my numbers are increasing.
I would like to see some tips on identifying weaker / imbalanced body parts and why and where lifts fail.
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Hey AJ. This is so cool. I never thought of setting my feet and driving through my legs. It makes total sense when you think about it – the way a Thai boxer stamps with his left leg fractionally before kneeing or kicking with his right leg or a boxer pushing off with his leg at the start of a punch. Can’t wait to see what the difference will be – bench will now be more of a multi-joint movement for me
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thanks for the tips,Great video,Can’t wait to make the changes.
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Awesome video. Can’t wait to try out some of these improvements
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Great compilation of some excellent bench press tips! I’ve seen many of the tips before, but not presented and organized so well in one list. Kudos AJ!
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That has really touched any aspect I can think about.
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A. J. ! You are the man. I have learned more from you in a short time than I thought possible. You are a genius. Thanks for all your help.
GO CARDS!
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Hi AJ, thanks for the great bench pointers! Driving with m’legs was something important to note within. Be well and good luck with those big three numbers.
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Great tips learned alot
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Thanks for the free advise,it’s nice to finally find someone that is prepared to supply advice without the catch of selling their e books,you raised alot of points that I think peolple haven’t even considered.I have made notes and will start today useing your advice and monitor the progress.thank you once again from a cold South Africa
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Great vid. Great reminder of the basics of the bench and how to go from a to z without injury.
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The vid is great but i cant really understand the part with the shoulders. How should be their position ?
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Enjoyed the video-would like to use it in my high school weight lifting class. Thanks
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Great tips!
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Awesome Stuff!!
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great stuff
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Gotta have my high school athletes push through their feet more.
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Great Stuff ! As a 49 year old 1st time weight trainee, I gotta say #30 really spoke to me. We can’t be our own limiters. With good technique,good support and the right mind set, there’s nothing you can’t achieve.
Many thanks for taking the time to help others out.
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Good stuff AJ – at 45 with bad shoulders wish I had access to these tips in my youth. Atleast my son has them and will not go wrong. You have done a lot of us a huge favour brother!
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Nice job AJ.
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AJ, thanks for a great piece of educational guidance!
Found several mistakes I make and some to avoid also.
Agree with other comments. It’d be nice to see your normal bench video, especially with a talkover of what’s happening whilst your driving with your legs.
If you could answer some of the questions people have asked, that would be great too.
A list would aid mentally committing all you’ve mentioned!
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very informative and very detailed
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Thanks for the great video. The best info I’ve ever received about benching. I’ve been bodybuilding for over 20 yrs and always struggled with my bench but excelled in other bodyparts. I will certainly apply this to my bench and I’m sure that it will increase my weight and strenght. Thanks agin
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Awsome video! Found a couple mistakes I was making that I didn’t realize. I can’t wait to fix them!
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Excellent video and very well explained! Looking forward to future videos.
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AJ
Thanks for the video. All of the tips are helpful. The tip about a tight “white knuckle” grip on the bar bar will be useful in all my xrcizes. Many others can also be applied, such as the one about pressing hard with the feet.
Thanks again – great work.
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Very good video. Great basic info . Thanks
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I’ve paid for videos with less content than this one; talk about giving back to the sport! Great job! And thank you very much.
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Awesome Video. Great Information!!
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Great job of teaching.
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Great tips for all! At age 65 I”m a ’senior’ bencher and would like to see tips for older lifters.
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This video has helped me to understand why my shoulders hurt after my bench press workouts.
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Thank you I appreciate you sharing your insight with me. But my training partner is going to be pissed when I stop helping him. lol Good video.
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Nice tutorial A.J. when I think back to my youth and all the bench press technique flaws I commited, I think that I was guilty of each and everyone of those. Especially #30.
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what should I do to keep my butt from lifting off the bench?
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Great set of tips. I didn’t realize how many mistakes I was making. I can’t wait to get to gym and correcting them
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Great set of tips! Wish I could put this vidio on a constant loop at my gym. I think many of us have made one or more of those mistakes in the past. Anyone have any tips on how to go from a low “belly bench” to a higher “USAPL” style bench?
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Try stretching your hips and quads first. Get your feet back under you as far as they will go. This will put you up on your toes. Also try stretching your arch daily on a foam roller or a 3″-4″ PVC tube.@Richard -
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Like he said in the video…drive your hips back toward your shoulders, not up. Drive your heals into the floor, and push the ball of your foot forward at the same time as if you were trying to push the floor away from you. Hope this helps,@daniel -
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Good points on form. I think the grip strength (#6) was a good point. Most lifters dont train their grip but its muscles just like anything else. I was hoping to hear something on training rotator cuffs. I think keeping them strong will help your bench and keep you from a terrible injury. Very good video.
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Great video. Alot of very good advice. Can’t wait to go try them out at the gym.
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Thanks. Great video. I started repairing my technique using your tips and immediately felt an improvement.
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in appreciation…
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AJ thanks for doing this video. I am seriously thinking about bringing in all my high school athletes and make them watch and take notes on this video. I have heard a lot of great compliments about you. I was invited to the UGSS to watch and learn from all the Elite guys this past weekend. Man wish you were out there to meet in person.
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thanks man! great video. haha i seriously think i added 15 pounds to my bench just by watching it.
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Great Stuff. One issue though. I feel the content could be much more effective if you utilized demonstrations more. Talking is great and for those of us who know whats going on it can abstractly peice together what your saying. But for alot of people they would benifit more from you showing the techniques you’re describing. You did on some points. But many more could have used visuals. All in all, i enjoyed the video and will be passing it along. Thanks
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hi there, in regards to your seminar. Excellent and very informative. I also noticed that you didn’t give as much demo as I would of liked to see.
having said that, I like how you mentioned to squeeze the bar as hard as you can. speaking from experience this technic will increase the nerve follow into the shoulder to improve the stabilty in the shoulder.
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AJ- Good stuff- You hit most everything- trying to rip the bar apart while you grip tight helps fire more motor units by irradiation- Thanks
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GREAT VIDEO…!!! Should have seen it a long time ago. It showed the mistakes I have made, (and pain from them) also reinforced some of the proper techniques I have learned from reading, and visiting other websites. THANKS AGAIN.
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Loved the video! Thanks for the tips! Loved tip #30! I agree completely.
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Lots of interesting tips; which have a major impact on the movement & form. I’m looking forward to improving my strength & numbers once I apply the advice.
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A.J.
This was great, I am trying to compete in strongman and I have been getting stronger in all of my other lifts but my bench is lacking. (That kills me)I never would have thought of most of these things and I can see myself doing them. I can not wait to get in the gym and try them out. thanks
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Great video. Alot of very good advice.
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Very insightful, thanks for putting some time aside to get this great video together:) can’t wait to send this to some of my workout buddies
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Very informative. Appreciate the tips and your enthusiasm. I have been doing split workouts and only benching once a week – would like some tips on benching twice a week – how many days between – how different should second bench workout be – always one heavy workout then one light??
Thanks.
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This is great info. Thanks AJ.
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Thank you excellent video..rb
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Hi,Thanks for this information from you man,it’s been a long time for me looking for someone who can explain same things like you had,now i know that i can avoid injury during training.Keep it up….
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Very good information about the technique! Philosophy side (programs etc.) is allways opinional. Opinion of an expert with self experience should allways be listened to. And sometimes also body should be listened to?
Thanks for a great video!
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Awsome video,I started correcting just a few of these and saw my bench change immediatly.
thanks, AJ
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AJ,
Outstanding tips. I am doing about 10 of those mistakes. You really put a lot of thought and analysis into this video. Thanks for the help. I bet a lot of us will improve. Great job.
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Sweet video I do so many of those and it never crossed my mind once that it was wrong.
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AJ,
You did an excellent job on this; it was full of good solid bench press information and anyone who uses this particular exercise in his or her program would be wise to follow your suggestions.
It’s too bad you moved out of the great Northwest.
Thanks for your time in putting it together,
Danny M. O’Dell, MA. CSCS*D
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this video rly helps
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great info,i have lifted sense i was 15, and i did not have info like this to look back on and learn from.i am 42 and still learning about the bench press, these tips will help out a lot thanks guys.body builder turned power lifter.
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remarkable video….insighful and highly knowledgeable……finally less hatin and more innovatin…..big ups A.J.!!!!!
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Wow, those are great tips. As a high school strength coach I’ve tried to teach most of them to my athletes, but I learned a few new ones here. Thanks for the great info – I also plan to use it to increase my own PR!
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awesome video A J, i didnt realize it but i make alot of those mistakes. and thanks to this video i now know that i need to improve on alot of areas to bring my bench up THANKS
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Great advice, never realized how many mistakes I made!
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Thanks AJ for some great tips.
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Great video, I love the one about using the little powerband to help with the squeezing of the bar.
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nice information
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One other tip[ I’d have thrown in there is what types of food would be recomended to increase muscle. While I agree with all the forms and mentality of the bech press, If you don’t eat like you want that power, your not going to improve the way you feel you need to. Just my 2 cents.
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Thanks Aj awsome stuff. Have some shoulder probs and thought i could do push ups only, but am going to use your tips and see if the bench press and i can get along again.
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thanks for the videos, they were great. I’m shure they will help me…thanks
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good, practical advice. now to just remember all that as i am laying under the bar.
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nice sum up of a lot of key elements of a good bench.
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What your recomendations for changing sets and reps from week to week.
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Thanks
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Thanks AJ for some great information.
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Good stuff AJ!
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thanks AJ it will help me a lot and it very interesting
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I plead guilty on about 1/2 those mistakes…looking to set my life straight from now on…thank you!
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Very nice. Your clear explanations will help me communicate proper form to my personal training clients. I often see them doing little things wrong but don’t have the right words to help fix them. You’ve clearly identified the flaws and more importantly, described the fixes. Thanks a million.
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Great video AJ and thanks for informing me of some things that i relise im doing wrong.
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Very well done video! I’ve never really done bench presses or any weightlifting for that matter but I may give it a try sometime now that I have some guidance from a reputable source.
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Great video, learned a lot and hopefully i will see improvement in my bench press. Thanks.
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Great video! Very informative. Can’t wait to bench again so I can try to fix some things.Thanks a ton!
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This is a great video! I began powerlifting 4 years ago as a bench only competitor. It took me 3 years of research and trial and error to learn most of these mistakes. He really knows what he is talking about. I just competed in my first full meet and would love it if I could find tips like this for the squat and deadlift. Thanks for being a true champion and being willing to share what no doubt took you a very long time to learn. Mark
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Great video! I’ll be sure to pass this on to my friends.
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Great video mate !, education thats what the people need !
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Great video mate !
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Great video! I definately learned a lot from this. Thanks a lot!
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Thanks for the video. Great information.
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cool stuff.
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thanks great video, 54 yrs old and still learning
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AJ, Great work. The mistakes are all very common one that I have seen also from collegiate athletes and some strength coaches. If they would only do the work necessary to critique their lifts and routines we would be much better. Thanks
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Good job. I’ve been trying to get to 325 for years with no luck. 303 on record. I will let you know how I do after 6 weeks. Pavlow says you should lift everyday which i have been doing and it did not help. Your video is very imformative and educational. Again, Good job
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loved the video. me and my buddies work out in my garage and i think this’ll help us make some serious strength gains in the bench department. totally worth watchin the whole thirty minutes
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Thanks for the great info! I will put this to the test right away. I used to be very active and strong but have been out of the gym for a year or so. I am just getting back into it and will use your techniques.
Thanks
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Hi AJ
Great tips, I’ve already noticed an immediate improvement to my pressing.
Looking forward to trying the new porogram
Grant
Australia
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Congrats AJ – Great Video Aussie boys can learn a lot from u
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Awesome video! The bp is much more complex than most weightlifters realize and following AJ’s advice is absolutely necessary to achieving your max. Thanks AJ for putting this video together!
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Another thanks from me too
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Thanks for the tips. Going for the 300 club at present.
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Thanks AJ
Great Tips, will be showing it to all aspiring benchers in my gym!
G
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Great stuff! Thanks for the video
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Awesome video. i agree 100% of what you said and i can’t wait to get back to the weight room and up my bench. thanks for the vid
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Thanks for the video! It makes all the difference in the world to actually see and hear someone explain how one can make improvements rather than being left to ones own devices with books or articles alone. The step by step explanations are the best and go along way toward helping to remember the points once one gets to the gym to put in action what has been seen. Thanks again. Great stuff!
John
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Nice tips to have all in one video. Although I already knew the majority of these things it’s nice to have a refresher.
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AJ, great stuff man. I have been making a lot of these mistakes. Pushing through the legs and squeezing the shoulders are two techniques I’ll start using immediately! I was wondering if you have ever used density training in your bench like 5×5s or 8×8s to build strength using really short rests between sets? Is this a good training technique or should I scrap it? Thanks in advance!
Keith
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awesome!
I’ll work this in this week!
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What’s there left to say? I guess a big thanks
Thanks for the tips and hopefully we can get more for other lifts as well 
kudos!
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Awesome video! This will really help with my bench press.
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great tips these will hopefully prevent the pain i’ve been feeling in my shoulders recently
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Great Stuff! I never realized how many of the mistakes I made until I went back to the gym after watching this vid. I never would have tohught about the gloves either. Thanks!
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Aj,
I’m looking for this bench pressing information for a long time, can’t wait to try it tommorow.
Thank you!
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thanks..some good tips especially regarding feet positioning, leg drive and bar grip…often overlooked
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good info for beginers and great re-inforcement for vetrans!
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what a great video ive never learnt so much in such a small space of time, now i know what ive been doing wrong i can’t wait to try the right way, thanks i can’t wait to see the next one
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Thanks for the great tips/techniques in your video. I work out with two other female powerlifters and we will definitely incorporate these tips in our bench press work-outs. I look forward to a squat and deadlift video in the future.
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Thanks for the tips most of them i have used and they work.
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Great instruction. Hope a number of trainers took notes.
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great tips learned alot
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Thanks aLot AJ !
Good Video .
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Thanks so much for the video.. I can’t wait til my next bench session so I can apply the techniques you taught me and eliminate the mistakes I was guilty of committing. God bless you.
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thanks for the great video… now i know what i have to change in my work out this should be good thanks again.
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I wrote all the tips down, I was committing most of these mistakes. Pressing movements are definitely my weakness, as I am tall and have long limbs. I’m sure this will help me. Thinking of the exercise as a total body movement was something I never thought about. Awesome video.
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Awesome vid AJ! Thanks!
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I wrote all these down =D. Pressing movements kill me, I’m tall. Shoulder press is also a weakness of mine =/.
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good video
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I have a 16 year old son who discovered the weight room in High School and is doing well. No doubt that your video will help him reach even higher levels SAFER. Thank you!
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sweet.
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Great video.This is so helpful.
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Thanx for the much appreciated info.Most of the things you talked about I already incorporate in my workouts,but watching your video has made me more aware of the things I am doing,as well as the things I either haven’t done correctly[like #12,#17,#18].Very great info,I feel like I am re-energized w/new info!Thanx again!Gary G
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Wow, some really informative tips will definitely use them. Thanks!
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Great video. It was very informative.
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Great tips. I would say that number thirty is my biggest problem. I was wanting to graduate to the two hundred club, and it was a HUGH psychological barrier for me, kind of like I was graduating to the “danger club” or something.
I would like to see actual lifting video overdubbed with instruction and guidance for the watcher.
Thank you.
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Lots of things to think about. Very informative and well thought out. Thanks.
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Good Video – brings together a lot of tips from varied sources
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This video was very good. I learned a lot and realized some things that I was doing were not correct.
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useful
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Thanks but i dont do any of this mistakes either!
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I have been looking for a good exercise routine for a long time and now I have it
Gregory Riley
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The video was very informative also.
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I did not realize the many mistakes that I have made in the past, until I have seen the Free video.
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Thanks for the vid. Alot of good info.I wish I had come across it this morning, today was max effort day on bench lol. BUT, I have some principles to incorporate next week!
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The video was very, no extremely informative because I hoping to ask some Questions, and the only Question that I can come up with is what calesthenic exercises would be good for warming up before bench pressing.
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Good video and good explanations
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Great video lots of information. Can’t wait for my next upper body workout day and c how much i can truly bench!!
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Great stuff…It was good to see the basics again…Helps keep it fresh in the mind when benching
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Thanks for the video. A lot of good stuff.
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Thank you for sharing those precious informations.
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A freind of mine has been kind enough to help me – however with all the help I have found 7 of the 30 I’m needing to work on. Thanks so much for the video this is really going to help me alot.
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great stuff!
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Great video, You emphasized 12 points that I’ve been allowing to slip in the gym. I’m doing anything I can to try and up my weights before competing. Thanks for the help.
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Ash, thanks for the tip. I have a favour to ask of you though. can you post this for downlaod so we, with slower net speeds, dont have to sit in front of the pc for 3 hours? Plus the info is so good, we can benefit by being able to watch whenever we want
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AJ
Great stuff.
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Thanks so much for sharing….I make at least half these mistakes if not more…I can hardly wait to get back to the gym today to start applying my new found techniques!
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good stuff!!!!!
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Smart tips AJ.
Love your enthusiasm!
If anyone’s looking for a great powerlifting gym & group of trainers in Melbourne Australia you need to check out Apollo in Footscray. A playground for grown ups!
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Very in depth just for one movement haha. I was the same way when I first started lifting, not knowing proper techniques or not knowing what I am doing wrong. Very glad I found this.
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Good stuff man! I love to see the free tips on training get put out. Not everyone can fork out money so easily…I’d love to see something similar on squats and dead lift also if you don’t already have them. Thanks again.
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Good tips! This will definately help my son and polish off my lifting regimine
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awesome video very informative
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Great tips, most people don’t realize that the bench is a skilled lift. I spotted a friend once on a sixhundred pounder and it was almost balletic. Good thing to , cause I’d have had a helluva a time if he’d had to dump it.
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NICE Job! Way to dumb it down for most of us…
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I enjoyed your video and as I am a relativily new at using weights I figure I can use all the help available. Incidently, I just celebated my 68 th birthday so hopefully I still have a few good years of weight training. Keep the videos coming.
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Nice video, can u make a video on what supplements i should take,im kinda new to weightlifting and want to make faster healthier gains in muscle.
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oh…and im only 14
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Some good tips for beginners. Beeficial especially to kids just starting out.
Thank you.
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powerful information…stuff everyone needs to know
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Thank you for the video. I will start implementing this immediately. I believe it will benefit and help me on my ??? return also this will help my athletes. I coach Special Olympics and I believe all of my athletes will benefit from your video. But, especially my power lifters. Since I kind of inherited them and do not know how to coach them. I have eliminated several bad habits and this will help me eliminate even more. Once again thank you for making this available.
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awesome. lots of great information
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hello. I am stuck at 200 lbs, 20 yrs ago I had a 4 plate bench and for the life of me I have forgotten what it takes, this is my first 6 months back to the gym,and I have found that the info you have put out here is great, I will have to watch it again, thats very much,
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Thanks!
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Thanks AJ.
Excellent video. My Bench is not as strong as my squat and deadlift so hopefully I will improve when I put your advice into practice. Cheers Colin
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AJ-
Very concise and clear. I enjoyed all of the tips, especially tips 25-30.
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solid video
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Great stuff. Many thanks.
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Very nice support from you to build up himself.
Thanks a lot
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dude thanx great vid
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wow great info really nice to hear from a expert. thanks for all your hard reaserch and passing it on thax again
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Awesome tips. I definitely was doing 75% of those mistakes. I wondered why my bench was so much lower than everything else.
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Thank you for a really great informative video. I stopped benching many years ago after numerous shoulder injuries. I can see why now. I plan to get back to the gym to try your suggestions.
Thank you
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Great video; looking forward to putting some of these tips into practice.
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Thanks for the great video. It’s great to get all of this useful information in one video. Good stuff!
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couldn’t really get the video to work well. it had to load every 15 seconds or so. my connection might be the problem tonight, so i’ll just have to check it out tomorrow. might i suggest you possibly post the video somewhere else to view also? thanks.
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thanks for the video before watching this i was only benching 230 which at 180 is not to bad but after watching this video i whent to the gym to try and see what my max was now that i know how to do it right and was shocked to at how easy i threw up 240 and ended up lifting 250 which was my original goal. now im working for 300 pound max which i though was imposible for some one my size
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Great video, full of good tips, as a personal trainer I work with people all the time that make all of these mistakes. Having it come from another source helps to convince them( especially those “I been doing it this way for twenty years”) that there is a better way.
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great video! I will be sharing this with my coach and teammates for off season training so everyones form is perfect!
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Great video, cant wait to use thes tips on my next bench day.
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some really great advice! I especially liked what you said about spotters keeping their hands on the bar during a lift.I used to work out with guys who did this and I always thought it kinda cheating because you are right it does make it easier Thanks for the video!
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GREAT VIDEO! please keep making more!!
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Great video! I learned to lift from an old school strength coach many years ago and take most of that information for granted, and figured that everyone should just know it. I see so many wanna be strength coaches that teach it WRONG. I am glad to see your putting out good info in an easy to learn format.
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A lot of important info, thanks a lot A.J.
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Thx for the tips, the leg tip was the best for me.
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Great video AJ. Lots of useful info in it and that you take your time to do this type of a thing is really great. I wish I had a video like this when I got started.
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I love this video, but dunno why it take so long to load (many hours to load fully). I would like to see squat techniques and mistakes, pull ups, deadlifts, basically all the big compound exercises thats good for starters. Thankyou!
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Thanks for the info..im benching 355..now..and im doing a few things wrong..its war now..im going to smash my record…any powerlifting chicks on here lets get together..732.534-5211..my name is rich c..
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