Added: 3 years ago
From: leemhayward
Views: 116,545
Sort by time | Sort by thread (beta)

Link to this comment:

Share to:
see all

All Comments (224)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • vid is a great help! the adjustable bench at my gym is too high. should i tuck my feet under like i see you do? also, its hard for me to get the bar off the rack because its far from there until i get the bar over my nipples. i saw at 1:58 that you roll the bar up to the front of the rack. am i right?

  • @edscottable

    You can try placing boards or weight plates along side the bench to rest your feet on if the bench is too high. You just need to play around with it and experiment with the set up at your gym and try to find the best positions for you. Every gym, bench, rack, etc. is different.

  • omg god this is the best idea ever i fucking love u. i was doin dumbell presses every time cus my friends r retarded n cant spot me

  • this will be a pain in the arse but I'd rather do this than ask someone at the gym for help. thnx bud!

  • i dont wanna seem like a dick when other people wanna do squats :|

  • great now if only every gym in the world had that safty bar then i wouldnt have to ask someone at the YMCA to be my spotter it bothers both me and the people i ask i hate it >:(

  • perfect video, so simple and makes sense, but since I just started working out I know nothing about this sort of thing. lol I'm starting the SL 5x5 program today and this will help tremendously down the road.

  • how do i increase my bench since my max has been 185 for like 4 months now and it doesn't feel like its moving up

  • @Msherman968

    You should check out the BlastYourBench*com program this is a complete training system specifically designed to help increase your max bench press.

  • @Msherman968 yo, you should stop actual bench and work on shoulder press and incline weight 3 months and your bench will increase amazingly

  • Do you do weighted pull ups as well Mr. Hayward?

  • @Thrashaholic88

    I actually cover a complete "Progressive Pull Up Program" at: LeeHayward*com/dvd

  • Or u can use dumbells because if you cant get the weight up all u need to do is stop lol

  • Also note if you take my gyms only power rack to bench during my leg day, I'll rape you.

  • @SuperTongpo if ur gym only has one power rack then that gym is ripping off innocent civilians. cheap

  • Awesome video bro! I'm so tired of getting a spot at the bench going max 1rep and the spotter grabs the weight just cause you moving a little slow.

  • Llee I have a question in your "Blast Your Bench" e-book.

    There is a chart for the 1-rep max... and your chart starts off with 75 pounds, and my 3rd set is 20kg which is 33 pounds and it's 8 reps, you can say it's almost up to failure. How the hell am I suppose to figure out my 1-rep max? Seriously mate (no offense) what were you thinking, starting with 75lb, I've been going to the gym for 5 months now. Can you help me out figuire out my 1-rep max?

  • @LordIllidan98

    The best thing to do is actually go through the process of lifting progressively heavier and test your true one rep max. The chart is only there for a general guideline, they are not totally accurate as everyone's strength for reps will vary.

  • @leemhayward ok but u still didn't answer my question, if my last set is 33lbs, so what weight should i go for, for 1 rep?

    ANd lee, I sent u a pm, plz can u answer the questions in it? Please they're really important

  • @LordIllidan98

    If you can bench 33 pounds for 8 reps then you'll probably be able to bench 45 or 50 pounds for a single rep. But you'll have to try and find out. Just wondering here are you adding up the weights right? 33 pounds is an odd number. You have to factor in the weight of the barbell and the plates, are you doing that?

  • @leemhayward Ok for the back and bicep day: 2 questions

    1. When I do back hyper-extensions, my lower back hurts me soo bad, so can i replace it with something else?

    2. Why isn't there a trapezoid excersice? like barbell shrugs.

  • @LordIllidan98

    The fact that your lower back hurts when doing hypers is a sign that your lower back is out of shape. I'd recommend you stick to it, the more you do this exercise the less pain you'll feel. Break it up more and take longer rest periods between sets.

    This is a bench press specialization program, we purposely cut back on some exercises in order to focus the efforts more on benching. But if you really want to do some work for your traps you can go ahead and include some shrugs.

  • @LordIllidan98 lol u mean trapezius, trapezoid is an F'in shape

  • @LordIllidan98

    To figure out your 1 rep max, here is a good reliable formula to use: Lets say a person can do 10 reps with 200lbs and cannot do any more reps by themselves. Take 10 (the number of reps) and divide it by 30 (and you get .33333333) Add this to 1 and you get 1.333333333. Now multiply this by the weight used for your test (which was 200lbs) and you get 266.6666666 or round it up to 266.67 or 267lbs as your estimated 1 rep max. This is easier to do if you have Excel.

  • hey lee! this is great but when im benching heavy weight, i just cant get it up and out of the uprights. is there a way that makes it easier to get started?

  • @davedud7

    Use a spotter to give you a lift off. That's what you'll see all advanced powerlifters and bodybuilders do.

  • My bench doesn't have those two safety bars you have. Im afraid if one day I bench press by myself & my hand slips, causing it to crush my head or chest in X_X

  • PoS technique haha your ass should be on the bench

  • @obbma4ler22

    If you look closely you'll see my ass never once left the bench at all during the video.

  • @leemhayward

    0:39.

    If your ass isn't on that bench than you have the saggiest ass in the world.

  • @obbma4ler22

    Look at it from the side angle later in the video, you can even see the bench pad is compressed under my butt and there is no space between my butt and the bench. If you have ever judged a powerlifting meet before you would know what lifting your butt off the bench means. Arching your back is totally legal, lifting your butt off the bench is not, there is a BIG difference.

  • lol at his back :D

  • @ELkORji alot of people think that arching your back like that can cause injury, but really in its arched position "like they tell you to keep a natural arch in your back while squatting" is the strongest position u can be in. give it a try next time your benching and u will see what i mean.

  • Thanks man. I was looking for a video about this

  • squat rack or powe rack is the best ideea for a home gym !

  • I use the "free bench" and if i can't make the final rep i just roll it off, no biggy, i train with around 90 kg , i think it's about 200lbs, i know it not that much but it doest feel a thing

  • Always helpful.

  • I have a question I don't arch my back like that not saying I dont aprove or anything I just dont do I keep myself flat on the bench is there another way to do this like if you cant do it and the bar is at chest height can I just move the bar towards my head so it goes to a part lower than my chest and I can place it on the safety bars without hurting myself

  • Argh. Reminds me I need a cage. The little safety pegs on my combo rack are useless...

  • I'm confused. I thought you weren't supposed to curl your back like that?

  • @maxiflo you really are confused.

  • "without hayving a spawter, I can shaw you haw to do just thayt" FAIL accent

  • in what way is having ur ass a foot off the bench proper form?!?!?

  • @Billyd3166 this is perfect form, ass is completely on the bench, you obviously don't powerlift or care for utilizing all your muscles for your bench, so just shut up and stick to what ever is working for you.

  • Man, I can't believe I didn't know you had a YouTube channel. I've been doing your 12 week work out plan for about 2 weeks now haha

  • what if i dont arch my back as much as you do? i understand there's the powerlifting bench press style and there's the more basic one..needless to say, i do raise my ribcage and puff my chest but i dont arch my lower back as much as you do..

  • What about bench pressing safely with dumbbells? Without a spotter the weights just crash to the floor upon muscular failure.

  • @gruntdesann -There is a product called "POWER HOOKS" made specifically for dumbell users if you train by yourself. It will eliminate lifting dumbells from the floor as a starting point avoiding fatigue in your arms early. Goodluck to your workouts!

  • damn he doesn't know how to properly bench, that's soooo bad for your back

  • @dankbud no it isn't that doesn't hurt your back i myself do it and my back is fine with no pain. beside how do you know because you an expert on leaving comments on youtube?

  • he benches hella weird

  • @ChrisZamoraTV that's perfect form man...you can learn a lot from this guy, lol you're the guy that was arguing with that kid that's horrible at rapping lol

  • Hi there Lee, Im planning to set up a home gym should I buy a power rack instead of another equipment?

  • @HALLOWITCH

    A power rack should be the foundational piece of equipment in any gym. You can do all the basic compound barbell exercises with a power rack and an adjustable bench.

  • Am I supposed to arch my back like that?

  • nice thanks

  • nice thanks for that

  • this is common sence...

  • Great Tip. Sometimes you can't just rolled it down to your feet, at least not if the weights falls in your face which almost happen to me once, lucky me I had a spotter. although that also had to do with the fact that I was a rookie back then and didn't knew my head was supposed to be behind the square tubes that hold the weights

  • this is the single best workout tip i've ever seen...works like a charm...don't know how or why i hadn't heard of it before or seen anyone else use this method at the gym

  • @gkosch11 yea its good ive been doing this ti works good cuz if u fail you can just slip your head out. im the only one who does this at my gym if i dont have a spotter. weird i know

  • what if your gym dont have a powerrack?

  • @kookeediishh

    Well I guess you can't do this exercise variation. Simple as that. But I would suggest you try and find a better gym that does have all the basic equipment such as a power rack.

  • @leemhayward lol he should have one i bet he does because its usually the squat rack that his this

  • @leemhayward hey lee me and you have a very similar bodytype very stalky how tall are you? im 5 foot 9 1/2

  • @kookeediishh you can also just put on your normal weight, but don't put in the safety clips on the end, so if you get screwed you can just tilt off the weight

  • @kookeediishh I guess you could just ask someone to spot you. Most people will be friendly enough to do it :)

  • @kookeediishh Or use free weghts!

  • @Strange0ne More chest development, and its harder. :)

  • never seen of this way before. guess ill try it, but you really dont need all that equipment just to bench "safely". as in if you fail at that last rep just bring it down to your legs and stand up with the weight.

  • Check me out benching(more) runnin a 40 and playin left tackle

  • Guy is using some pretty extreme back arching in this video. Any idea if this is a good idea for optimal chest development?

  • @dogfan4lyfe yes, its good. this guy is a fitness god, so listen to everything he says.. although most importantly, do what feels right for you

  • A big back arch is quite normal for powerlifting in the bench press, it reduces the distance the bar has to travel and is easier as a result

    In competition your shoulders and backside must remain on the bench at all times, you can arch as far as you like

    If he is training for lifting a maximum weight in competition then he is not looking for chest development and by that I assume you mean overall size ?

    hope that answers your question

  • Big back arch is normal in powerlifting, it results in a shorter pressing distance and is easier

    In competition you must keep shoulders and back firmly on the bench, you can arch your back as much as you like

    It is not best for overall development but I assume that is not his goal

    Hope this helps

  • i only use the arch for heavy lifting, for lower weights i try to isolate my chest by not arching.

  • Not for chest development but for maximum bench press.

  • Nice trick. I think my gym has one of these racks and I'll try this uut...another trick I use DB's two hands on one DB for my own spotting of course this isn't for competition. Lee has some tasty things to teach.

  • How to benchpress without a spotter...do it on your own :) nah lol if you do it own your own go lighter, but make sure you arms are level when your holdin the bar up so you keep form (goes without saying really) simple :) be safe. have a good workout. :)

  • thanks for the video. Interesting accent. Ontario?

  • Check me out benching runnin a 40 and playin left tackle

  • @Federico0nthetube lol...silly noob

  • Yeah but if your gym only has one or two power racks and they wanna do squats, don't steal the rack from them. Otherwise good tip.

  • what about negatives

  • Dude. That's awesome. Thanks for the tip

  • Grate Idea Lee!

  • good technique thanks bro

  • I'm too small to let my ribcage to come up above the safties. :(

  • I have been wondering how to go to failure (or close to failure) while benching (and squatting) heavy weights without a spotter. I though this might be a possibility but I though I would look stupid doing it. Now if someone says anything I will just say Lee Hayward taught me this and if you have a problem with it you should take it up with him oh and by the way his bicep is the size of your head.

    Great video thanks Lee!!!

  • Comment removed

  • The guy is wearing converse all-stars! People still wear those?  Wow!

  • They're good weight lifting shoes because they are flat soled

  • hell yeah, it's the all American lifting shoe, if you don't own a pair you're probably a communist

  • @The1CamBo or if you do you're a fuckin redneck

  • They're good lifting shoes.

  • @scootmanbill i wear converse and im 13 they are good for weight lifting thats for sure and if you want a pair they are $40.00-$45.00 a pair

  • hes arching his back cuz thats powerlifting form guys...go completely flat for more bodybuilding and back arching if ur trying to max out i.e. for powerlifting

  • lol people are always using the power rack at my gym so i kinda have to risk it . the only thing is if i dont know for sure if i can do another rep i dont guess and do it anyway i stop.

  • power rack rules!

  • The benefits of arching like a moron is that you get alot of more strength. The RM is shorter, you put ALOT of less stress on you shoulder joints.. The weight is more on your triceps. You can try this if you are a bodybuilder, works for some, just like flat back doesn't work for all.

  • The guy in this video is lifting his butt out of the bench. This is obviously incorrect form and something you do not want to do. The butt and shoulders should always be touching the bench. The space inbetween is fair game.

  • This video is great, thank you Lee, and people should learn to arch their backs, which is a great powerlifting technique, and a very difficult one to master

  • Whats the deal with arching your back? Is it just to make the lift easyer?

  • what are the benifits of doing the arch trick

  • it's an advanced powerlifting technique. If you are just a bodybuilder, don't even try it

  • Now that I did not know. I would always do that to close distance, but if it reduces chance of injury or re-occurring injury then that is great!

  • why does he arch his back. wht does that do? and is it bad form if i bench with a flat back and brn the bar to the top/middle of my chest (in line with my armpits)

  • He's expanding his chest and squeezing his shoulder blades together in order to decrease the amount of distance his arms have to travel. It's an old bodybuilder's secret and really does work too! He was showing it exaggerated, but when you do it you usually try to keep the small of your back on the bench. To answer your question about YOUR form, it is great to bench with a flat back and bring the bar down to that point.

  • Its should be a little lower than the imaginary line where your nipples are.

  • That's brilliant. Why didn't I think of that??? Thanks Lee.

  • what if i dont have a power rack??

  • Get a spotter.

  • Play tennis.

  • Now I just need to get a power rack for my home gym (not having a go, I really do want one!) lol

  • That's bad form. I know this because I am a 7 times Mr Olympia. See how easy it is to pretend to be an expert to try to give yourself some credibility when you're hating on a video. BTW, if all those people are experts, why are they looking for tutorial videos on youtube? Great videos Lee.

  • yeah man..and i'm arnold shwazzenegger ..for mellowb1rd

  • No you're not. I AM!

  • what's your name..and show it to me..as/%£$

  • I don't think you get what I was saying. I was pointing out that people who hate on these videos always give BS about what experts they are, when half of 'em are 14 yr olds who borrowed the "ladybird guide to beginning bodybuilding" from the school library and have declared themselves experts.

  • benching in the power rack sucks. one side of the bar is guaranteed to tap the safety bar and then it's all off balance

  • good video lee...you should also show how people can do this with an incline bench also

  • why is he arching his back like that?

    looks like he's gonna get hurt some day.

  • hes flexing his back/traps so his chest is higher.. so u can go thru a shorter motion, in turn letting u up the weight

  • im eating a lot, im training 5 by 5 bench once a week but gains are still a tad slow, but im getting 4-6 hours a day of broken sleep, waking up in the middle of the night to go piss, how cna i correct this, and get best sleep for best gains, also im 16 year old.

  • i was doing 5x5 for a while also.. fun! try not drinking a whole lot until you actually are gonna sleep, not when u settle down. also, take a leak right before.. go to bed earlier and no caffeine. i used to have this problem.. not completely sure how I fixed it lol

  • when i try going ot bed early, i cant sleep at all, i ahve to stay awake till at least 11:30 - 12 at night to sleep

  • i remember what i did now.. i had to close the window next to my bed, thought i was warm enough, just make sure u arent either too cold or too hot.

  • ma windows always close, cz its too loud at night soemtimes, adn theres too much sound if its left open, but i iwll try soemthing.

  • HAHA BLAC KPEOPLE

  • yoyoyo

  • Why does he twist his ellbows when he benches?

  • He is using the proper technique for benching. This eliminates the stress on the shoulder. I would suggest you review highly informative videos from DieselCrew. Good luck!

  • Is that nipple line? to me it looks lower than nipple line and i was told you shouldnt bench like that cuz it works ur triceps to much

  • The line runs through your sternum. I will admit that you once start this routine, you will first feel it in the triceps. I have consulted with colleagues, their expertise ranges from personal trainer to strength coach. This will save your shoulders in the long run.

  • wow that is bitch bench press.the plate not even heavy,but i guess maybe its just an example.

  • No shit dumbass, he's doing it just to demonstrate, I'm sure he can do more.

  • im already said it fuck heads, read my comment properly dumb shit. people like u is pussy fuck in this place.

  • Uh, I think you got some learning left to do before you call ANYONE else dumb.

  • Next time you should delete the comment after writing it to fix it =P

  • wow you hate people who dont bench properly....speechless

  • Arching back is a safe way to do Bench Press ??? Are you shure ?

  • probably a stupid question, but i just started benching and was wondering if i have 20kg on each side, does that mean im benching 40kg or just 20?

  • 40kg m8

  • 40+ the weight of the bar

  • I never thought about the weight of the bar. Do people seriously count that??? If so, my bench just went up overnight!!! YAY!!! Hehe.

  • Hells yeah, 45 lbs for an olympic bar. It counts as much as a plate does, weight is weight.

  • 40kg

  • yeah 40 kg + the bar which would be around 60 I think?

  • 45 lbs

  • jesus christ. dont arch ur back so much. when ur goin 4 a really heavy lift i know its pretty natural 2 arch ur back slightly but when ur just benching the bar ur back is still arched. u shouldnt arch it on purpose!!!! try 2 keep it straight for cryin out loud. i hate people that dont bench properly!!!

  • i hate people like you who make these dumb comments, he is doing a powerlifting style bench press, which is a whole body movement, fuck your stupid

  • thank you! i hate fuckin retards like leftyfliphero (retarded name) who think they know shit.

  • thanks a lot man

  • what if you don't have that machine? not all benches are built with that safety shit and why did you make a video about that safety piece its pretty obvious what it is used for

  • the rack isn't made FOR THE BENCH. its for squating. he's just using it for this since this is one way to use it that most people don't think of. it's a SQUAT RACK. which is why not most, but all benches aren't built with it.

  • good idea lol

  • LOL The safest way is to use a weight that you can handle....pretty simple I think!

  • Duhrrr...but sometimes we need to test our limits and push ourselves.

  • sometimes to break your limits you need a little help going beyond them.

  • get the fuck outta here... poppin your chest up in the air.... wtf

  • In b4 a baby alien pops out of his lower abdominals.

    For fucks sake man.

  • when someone says they can bench 200lbs does that mean like 1 time or multiple times

  • Their "max" is what they can do 1 time.

  • It depends. Sometimes they mean the highest they can lift once, or several times. I don't believe in lifting one-rep maxs, because people get obsessed with it. I never lift less than 3-4 reps, and that is *my* "one rep max".

    For example, I bench 285, that means I can perform 4-5 clean repetitions on a good day. Please don't get obsessed with the benchpress. For strength and sports (Except combat sports or tackle sports) you should be much more concerned with your back and upper arms.

  • well im planning on being a defencive lineman for football next year so i just started bench pressing , thanks for the help

  • most football coaches only care about 1rm, so try to have a high one, but dont train for a 1rm

  • this shit is so common sense :- /

  • looks like that bench needs to be a little longer for that dude

  • i've never seen form like that before

  • Regarding all the comments about arched backs, the side view is actually quite poor technique, not because he is arching his back, as that's normal in powerlifting, but because his bum is about 6 inches off the bench. My advice is to make sure your body bridges between the tops of your shoulders and your feet, then maintain contact with the bench with your bum, but don't sit on it during the reps. You should naturally arch your back if you bridge, as it's difficult to do when lying flat.

  • How is my butt 6 inches off the bench? Just go to 1:00 in the video and watch again.

  • Sorry, that was an exaggeration, but you do drop your bum between 1:14 and 1:16. It just looks like you've lifted your bum off the bench, but it may just be hard to see exactly what is going on.

  • For another exercise, he should recommend pausing on the rack at the bottom and releasing a bit of the tension before pressing the weight back up. That helps a lot with power and stability below the sticking point.

  • i think hes just telling you how to bench without a spotter. he has plenty of other tips in his youtube.

  • your back should always be flat on the bench

  • I have to agree... I always keep my lower back on the bench at all times... and with dumb bells I often will put my feet on the lower part of the bench and keep my head and back on the bench focusing on the move of the weights for complete control. This is difficult if you've not tried it before but I can do full sets of 100lb dumb bells this way and don't fall off :)

  • that looks alot like a power cage, at least its not a smith machine though.

  • dats bad technique....ur back is supposed to be flat on the bench......if u want to do it without a spotter just do it ona smith machine

  • his technique is perfect !

    in this position u are at your strongest

    he is a powerlifter

    and for BBs, you don't need a bench heavy weights to get a great pump and grow ;-)

    all the best