I couldn't get anything CLOSE to leg drive into the bench until I got my lats firing in the setup and the movement... which took a coach sticking her fingers into my back until I fired them and locked it in and her telling me that's what lats feels like. I way underestimated the importance of mind muscle connection and how little I actually knew about my own body.
I never use my leg drive until my last couple of reps and sometimes my last set. IDK if that's a good thing, I was told not to use your legs until you need to.
I do need benchpress in my daily life. Sometimes i wake up with my girlfriend laying over me and i have to benchpress her away. Thanks to your tipps i can get 6 more reps in, but now she is screaming „let me down already“ all the time. 10/10 for the tipps 2/10 for practicallity.
This was a video I really took to heart. Around this time, I was barely benching over 275 lbs with elbows flaring like an eagle in the sky. So I did ABSOLUTELY everything said in this video and a year later, I'm benching 320lbs with no spotter (don't do this btw). RUclips videos like this one saved my life. Thank you Brian Alsruhe!!!
You could start adding instructional videos on some of the press, bench, squat & deadlift variations that you do for Conjugate rather than just the main 4 lifts. Something like Floor Press, CG Bench, different deadlift variations like car deadlift simulations, squat variations.. to a box (& why that height). Things of that nature may give you some more content and help out the mass of viewers.
LEG DRIVE NOT MAKING SENSE? If you ever thought, "hey, I need to press the bar UP but I'm suppose to leg drive my body NORTH, and not the direction I'm pressing, how does that make sense?" Then you're not alone. First of all, with enough weight on the bar, it will anchor your shoulder blades in place. When you apply the leg drive it will increase the arch of your back, giving you that lift. Think about a fenching foil/sword. When you "stab" the sword to a stationary target like a wall, it raises the level of the sword by arcing upwards. Your shoulder blades are the wall, and your legs are the driving force pressing towards the wall. Secondly. It's just simple PHYSICS. "Object in motion likes to stay in motion." By adding motion to the bar with your leg drive, you're turning the bar from a stationary object (when you're doing it powerlifting style with a powerlifting pause) to a "Object in motion." Therefore being easier to go in a motion you desire, which is upwards.
I dunno man if you've got a saber tooth tiger mauling your face off id rather be better at benching than not. plus you'll be be a lot better at pushing hostiles through walls if you have a strong bench.
Thanks for the conjugate free program my man! Written my own program thanks to your video and I'm going to begin it starting monday. Cheers from Norway!
Good usefully tips! Usually watching vbloggers videos with 1.25x speed to save time my time, but this guy speaks so fast that regular speed is just spot on good job! Was quite funny to watch you at 2x :)
Maybe it didn't make sense in your past evolutionary path, but my ancestors needed to press the weight of full grown bears off their chest as they wrestled them.
hahaha dude, I'll remember that when a 600lb monster is killing me with it's face. Spoiler. When bears and humans fight hand to hand, humans don't win. ever.
One more thing about bench press, what are your thoughts about using/not using safity collars? Could we have a video about the Duffalo Bar? I am really curious about it...
Yes great “how to” video again! But what I like to see... - how to farmer walk, done... - how to yoke walk, done... - how to build bigger traps, done... - how to build a keg, done... - how to... done I don’t no Brian, you already done everything I wanted to see. So thanks, keep posting and I’ll keep watching and rewatching and learning... and laughing. So thanks again, greetings from across the pond in that little country in Europe called Holland!
To answer your question about content; I'd be interested in learning more about keg lifts. Keg over bar, Keg clean and press, Keg throw, etc. Keep up the good work brother!
Brian, I've been waiting to see when you begin bench pressing again before I reached out to you. If you are familiar with eccentric training via weight releasers, I'd be happy to send you a free set of my Ecco Arms that I fabricate at my family's machine shop in Alabama. If you are interested, please check them out at www.eccoarms.com Thank your for everything that you do for humanity. You are a true role model. Get strong soon!
al·ba·tross ˈalbəˌtrôs/ noun 1. a very large oceanic bird related to the shearwaters, with long narrow wings. Albatrosses, some species of which have wingspans greater than 10 feet (3.3 m), are found mainly in the southern oceans, with three kinds in the North Pacific.
LEONIDAZZZZ, Right Babe? It sounds like you are putting too much emphasis on your hip flexors in the bent over row and not engaging the movement with your posterior chain. I could be wrong but thats what it seems like. When you bend over to do the row think holding a deadlift to engage the posterior chain. Hopefully that helps
I sorta had the same issue. I switched to doing seal rows and spent 2-3 weeks spending 5-10 minutes every work out and some rest days to do hip flexor and low back stretches. I also had a lot of mobility issues(sitting 14 hours a day at a computer) so I mixed in yoga and 15 minutes of stretching every 4 hours for like a month. World of difference. Went from back and hip pain on deadlift/squat at 135 to dead lifting 375 and squatting 315 with no pain at all. Seemed counter intuitive to do yoga, but it worked wonders.
The first very good explanation for leg drive! Seen so many people talk about it, but I would guess many of them don't understand themself what they are doing while using legdrive, lol
Just keep changing things up my guy, close grip, floor press, pin press (those are what blew up my bench), incline, pause bench, the list goes on and on brother
This might sound like a stupid question but for some reason in all my years of lifting I have never really done much floor press. Do u want to retract your scapula or no. I've heard both. Thanks for everything Brian. Hope everything bis going good with the current diagnosis of your puking thing man.
doing a 1 rep max bench press to me is almost a different skill set than say a heavy set of 4 to 6 . i want to get lats more involved for sure, ive always been a flared elbows guy. 25 years of bad habit.
I know how leg drive feels, I know how to set up for it, but my gym is so shitty that the benches are super low and so I cant set up properly because my knees are a lot higher than my hips
i have shoulder issues right now and my lifts especially my bench has been really hard to progress. i hope i'd break it someday, get surgery done. And Boom !! ill become a beast like you Bri. LOL
An albatross is a bird. It can lock it's wings out and flying further than any other bird. They can even sleep while they fly. Amazing reference... kind of?
I’m stuck at 335 and I’m thinking of start doing pin presses and floor presses.. I must say I’ve never done.. my question is will this help? I’m 6’1” 247lb 41 yrs
Your videos are priceless. I have watched quite a few and implement many of the tips you provide! Thank you!! It's bench day tomorrow for me, so I will be sure to include your suggestions!
i have a question, i am a member of Planet fitness and unfortunately they do not have regular benches they have smith machines. I feel like I use all the tips that were demonstrated in the video but my problem is i seem to slide down the bench while i'm pressing and i think it is because of the smith machine. do you have any tips for me? I am currently 150lb and putting up 235lb on the smith i don't slide until i get up in weight and struggle a bit. THANKS SO MUCH LOVE THE VID!!
Love these tutorial videos. I know there are a lot out there on YT on these but even Alan Thrall puts up videos on tutorial/set-ups and other beard flaunting stuffs.. keeps the channel engaged and more subs. Please continue with these.👌
Got in a bit of a heated debate with a PT in gym today over my benching with an arch, he's sure I'll break my back ( I'm a short ass with decent flexibility, so i focus my arch to mid/ upper back and use the same set up as yourself ). Dude, why do so many bodybuilders fear limiting their range of motion on a bench but are pro's at 1/2 squats?
Can you make video about partial reps for bench, squat and maybe even Deadlift? www.bodybuilding.com/content/tendon-and-ligament-training-for-greater-gains.html I just read that article and wonder what is your opinion on strengthening tendons and ligaments with partials
You can see in the video around 3:52-4:01, as you lower the bar you're rotating your wrists/elbows. Can you do a video specifically about this motion? Every bench video talks about it but never goes into details how you tuck elbows on the way down, then flare on the way out. Please show a top and side view. Difference between twisting elbows, tucking, flaring too much, pushing the bar above eyes for optimal push, ect.
When I try to do leg drive, my body literally slides up the bench--so much that I am under the barbell support bracket and I can't push the barbell up because the bracket is blocking me. Don't really know how you can truly apply leg drive without literally pushing your body north. I see some people put chalk on their upper back. I'm guessing that this is to add friction to prevent sliding. Yet, many people do the leg drive without chalking their back. What is the secret to not sliding up?
i really liked this video, simple and fucking effective, the only thing im not 100% agreeing on is the leg drive, pushing your body back on the bench as hard as possible like u did, i'd rather keep the lowerbody as tight as possible and squese my glutes while pushing the bar back over my head like u did, that way i feel more powerfull and stable through out the whole rep since i see many people do that move wrong where they do like u did and they slide upwards the bench, lose tightness and then gets to far away from the bar, anyways Great fucking video Brian
Hi Brian, love your vids. Your toughness is simply inspiring. A friendly comment for improvement is you speak so fast and your voice is less attractive in this vid, I think no need to speak in hurry~
I know technique is important but I don’t think it’s the most important thing to consider when trying to get stronger. Too many people over focus on technique and don’t focus on simply getting brute strength.
Man I love those Vids! I'm lying in Hospital right now, so it's time to binge every Video about benching from you, since benching (with my feet Up😒) is all I will be abled to for the next weeks 😅 Keep those videos coming, great work💪
leg drive : you slide up bench due to vinyl bench cover and a fancy shirt , or just wonder why How in the Fck did i get so close to pegs and bang them?
I bench with heels up but sometimes I get sore quads that ruined my squat training the next day any ideas of how to avoid sore quads while bench pressing
Now, why do guys like you and me know what a duvet is? Is it essential to our survival in the hunter-gatherer sense of the word? No. What are we, then? 3:14
Benching is for pushing a lion off of you after it died from landing on your sword while trying to attack you in a narrow mountain pass. Bench press is the carcass push.
Is it bad to lower the bar below the nipple line? My strength coach for shotput was talking about how it puts a lot of stress on you joints with this method and that you should bench to your nipples or about it
An Albatross is a bird so the spread out wings actually made perfect sense in that analogy.... WAY TO GO BRIAN!
YES!
I like the way you casually slip in 'Since I broke my back twice'. Monster!
Albatross Cats would be scary as sh--. Would they be Cats with 10 foot wingspans or Birds with claws and sharp little teeth?
Nice third person reference...loved it...thanks to ur set up tip added 15 pounds today to my bench..after a 6 month plateau
“They’re kinda like dragons you don’t see them nearly as much as you think you should”. Subscribed.
The hardest thing aside from mastering the leg drive, is keeping the shoulder blades retracted.
UnknownUser the first 2 reps I do, my shoulder are always retracted, but after that, I somehow loose tightness and the retraction is gone
That leg drive cue is great, thank you!
I couldn't get anything CLOSE to leg drive into the bench until I got my lats firing in the setup and the movement... which took a coach sticking her fingers into my back until I fired them and locked it in and her telling me that's what lats feels like. I way underestimated the importance of mind muscle connection and how little I actually knew about my own body.
I never use my leg drive until my last couple of reps and sometimes my last set. IDK if that's a good thing, I was told not to use your legs until you need to.
I just never felt a way actually use my lets at all until I found the lat connection to complete the circuit from my traps to my feet.
I do need benchpress in my daily life. Sometimes i wake up with my girlfriend laying over me and i have to benchpress her away.
Thanks to your tipps i can get 6 more reps in, but now she is screaming „let me down already“ all the time.
10/10 for the tipps 2/10 for practicallity.
This was a video I really took to heart. Around this time, I was barely benching over 275 lbs with elbows flaring like an eagle in the sky. So I did ABSOLUTELY everything said in this video and a year later, I'm benching 320lbs with no spotter (don't do this btw). RUclips videos like this one saved my life. Thank you Brian Alsruhe!!!
Glad you're back doing this stuff! Solid tips
You could start adding instructional videos on some of the press, bench, squat & deadlift variations that you do for Conjugate rather than just the main 4 lifts. Something like Floor Press, CG Bench, different deadlift variations like car deadlift simulations, squat variations.. to a box (& why that height). Things of that nature may give you some more content and help out the mass of viewers.
These are really good ideas!
As someone who just started incorporating kickbacks and press downs, I second this idea...
Hey Brian. You ever consider adding in Ukrainian Deadlifts? Might be pretty good for stones & deadlift auxiliaries. What are your thoughts?
That bending the bar demonstration, 10/10. Glad you re recovering well brother, been there too. Temptation to back to old weights quickly was real.
Is it possible to use leg drive on the Incline bench? Never thought of that
LEG DRIVE NOT MAKING SENSE?
If you ever thought, "hey, I need to press the bar UP but I'm suppose to leg drive my body NORTH, and not the direction I'm pressing, how does that make sense?"
Then you're not alone. First of all, with enough weight on the bar, it will anchor your shoulder blades in place. When you apply the leg drive it will increase the arch of your back, giving you that lift. Think about a fenching foil/sword. When you "stab" the sword to a stationary target like a wall, it raises the level of the sword by arcing upwards. Your shoulder blades are the wall, and your legs are the driving force pressing towards the wall.
Secondly. It's just simple PHYSICS. "Object in motion likes to stay in motion." By adding motion to the bar with your leg drive, you're turning the bar from a stationary object (when you're doing it powerlifting style with a powerlifting pause) to a "Object in motion." Therefore being easier to go in a motion you desire, which is upwards.
100% agree
I dunno man if you've got a saber tooth tiger mauling your face off id rather be better at benching than not. plus you'll be be a lot better at pushing hostiles through walls if you have a strong bench.
I like to “ROW to bar to my chest” on the eccentic....found alot of gains there and consistancy too
Thanks for the conjugate free program my man! Written my own program thanks to your video and I'm going to begin it starting monday. Cheers from Norway!
Its a bird
It's a joke.
I was aware xD
+Brian Alsruhe Unicorn's and Saturn
Good usefully tips! Usually watching vbloggers videos with 1.25x speed to save time my time, but this guy speaks so fast that regular speed is just spot on good job! Was quite funny to watch you at 2x :)
Hey! The descent is a great horror movie! lol
Maybe it didn't make sense in your past evolutionary path, but my ancestors needed to press the weight of full grown bears off their chest as they wrestled them.
hahaha dude, I'll remember that when a 600lb monster is killing me with it's face. Spoiler. When bears and humans fight hand to hand, humans don't win. ever.
This guy talk so fucking fast. Play at 2x speed for a better experience
Love the JM press for heavy tricep work
Good to see you doing what you do best: helping people!
Thanks brother!
They've done studies you know. 60% of the time it works... every time
Lol. Great comment
One more thing about bench press, what are your thoughts about using/not using safity collars?
Could we have a video about the Duffalo Bar? I am really curious about it...
Yes great “how to” video again! But what I like to see...
- how to farmer walk, done...
- how to yoke walk, done...
- how to build bigger traps, done...
- how to build a keg, done...
- how to... done
I don’t no Brian, you already done everything I wanted to see. So thanks, keep posting and I’ll keep watching and rewatching and learning... and laughing. So thanks again, greetings from across the pond in that little country in Europe called Holland!
Hahah thanks man!
This is the first bench press help videos I have found that actually helped. Thanks, Brian!
To answer your question about content; I'd be interested in learning more about keg lifts. Keg over bar, Keg clean and press, Keg throw, etc. Keep up the good work brother!
Brian, I've been waiting to see when you begin bench pressing again before I reached out to you. If you are familiar with eccentric training via weight releasers, I'd be happy to send you a free set of my Ecco Arms that I fabricate at my family's machine shop in Alabama. If you are interested, please check them out at www.eccoarms.com Thank your for everything that you do for humanity. You are a true role model. Get strong soon!
Is this guy (Brian) intense or what??? Love this guy!
Leg drive is so elusive...
CIRCUS DUMBELL :) those are terrible, and i am terrible at them
It's already made brother!
I really liked the monthly Q and As you were doing for a while.
Heavy weighted dips a good exercise to increase your tricep strength and in turn your bench press?
yes
next, OHP and Deadlift please we are strongman!!! haha thanks for effort Brian
al·ba·tross
ˈalbəˌtrôs/
noun
1.
a very large oceanic bird related to the shearwaters, with long narrow wings. Albatrosses, some species of which have wingspans greater than 10 feet (3.3 m), are found mainly in the southern oceans, with three kinds in the North Pacific.
Let me lay down and pick up that boulder.😅
Never had much use for bench press myself.
So true about kick backs and push downs👍😆
Do ways to increase your row, btw when i do bent over rows my hip flexors get strained and after a few days it heals, how can i prevent this?
Sorry man, I have never heard of that before!
LEONIDAZZZZ, Right Babe? It sounds like you are putting too much emphasis on your hip flexors in the bent over row and not engaging the movement with your posterior chain. I could be wrong but thats what it seems like. When you bend over to do the row think holding a deadlift to engage the posterior chain. Hopefully that helps
I sorta had the same issue. I switched to doing seal rows and spent 2-3 weeks spending 5-10 minutes every work out and some rest days to do hip flexor and low back stretches. I also had a lot of mobility issues(sitting 14 hours a day at a computer) so I mixed in yoga and 15 minutes of stretching every 4 hours for like a month. World of difference. Went from back and hip pain on deadlift/squat at 135 to dead lifting 375 and squatting 315 with no pain at all. Seemed counter intuitive to do yoga, but it worked wonders.
The first very good explanation for leg drive! Seen so many people talk about it, but I would guess many of them don't understand themself what they are doing while using legdrive, lol
A few successful bodybuilders have used the Guillotine Press.
Jonathan Norris lol.
Glad to see you back with your usual content! Keep it up! oh and i really like the comeback series too!
its takin me 2 years to go from 350 to 380 and all i want to do is bench 405. its so verydepressing
Ive yet to reach to the coveted Tree Fiddy. You'll get to 4 bills soon my man.
Just keep changing things up my guy, close grip, floor press, pin press (those are what blew up my bench), incline, pause bench, the list goes on and on brother
I love your content Brian and the energy you bring to every video.
This might sound like a stupid question but for some reason in all my years of lifting I have never really done much floor press. Do u want to retract your scapula or no. I've heard both. Thanks for everything Brian. Hope everything bis going good with the current diagnosis of your puking thing man.
dude....thanks for the tips and...really bad GUY humor was killing me....thanks bro!
doing a 1 rep max bench press to me is almost a different skill set than say a heavy set of 4 to 6 . i want to get lats more involved for sure, ive always been a flared elbows guy. 25 years of bad habit.
Diet video from Nic and you please
I'm watching this even though I basically only OHP. #brainsboyzzzzz
I know how leg drive feels, I know how to set up for it, but my gym is so shitty that the benches are super low and so I cant set up properly because my knees are a lot higher than my hips
i have shoulder issues right now and my lifts especially my bench has been really hard to progress. i hope i'd break it someday, get surgery done. And Boom !! ill become a beast like you Bri. LOL
I don't always like and comment on videos, but when I do, I prefer Brian Alsruhe.
Keep lifting my friends.
Great video ... Helpful, Informative and really funny!! Great job.
04:40
it’s a island bird that has the longest wingspan in the world
you’re welcome
Your intro gave me a fright
An albatross is a bird. It can lock it's wings out and flying further than any other bird. They can even sleep while they fly. Amazing reference... kind of?
I’m stuck at 335 and I’m thinking of start doing pin presses and floor presses.. I must say I’ve never done.. my question is will this help? I’m 6’1” 247lb 41 yrs
Your videos are priceless. I have watched quite a few and implement many of the tips you provide! Thank you!! It's bench day tomorrow for me, so I will be sure to include your suggestions!
i have a question, i am a member of Planet fitness and unfortunately they do not have regular benches they have smith machines. I feel like I use all the tips that were demonstrated in the video but my problem is i seem to slide down the bench while i'm pressing and i think it is because of the smith machine. do you have any tips for me? I am currently 150lb and putting up 235lb on the smith i don't slide until i get up in weight and struggle a bit. THANKS SO MUCH LOVE THE VID!!
I know this is an old video but thank you so much for these tips, I was struggling to move 215 2 weeks ago and today I hit 225 like nothing.
I think George Hackenschmidt (sp?) invented the bench press
Love these tutorial videos. I know there are a lot out there on YT on these but even Alan Thrall puts up videos on tutorial/set-ups and other beard flaunting stuffs.. keeps the channel engaged and more subs. Please continue with these.👌
You took all of the preworkout on this one lol
Got in a bit of a heated debate with a PT in gym today over my benching with an arch, he's sure I'll break my back ( I'm a short ass with decent flexibility, so i focus my arch to mid/ upper back and use the same set up as yourself ). Dude, why do so many bodybuilders fear limiting their range of motion on a bench but are pro's at 1/2 squats?
Can you make video about partial reps for bench, squat and maybe even Deadlift?
www.bodybuilding.com/content/tendon-and-ligament-training-for-greater-gains.html
I just read that article and wonder what is your opinion on strengthening tendons and ligaments with partials
You can see in the video around 3:52-4:01, as you lower the bar you're rotating your wrists/elbows. Can you do a video specifically about this motion? Every bench video talks about it but never goes into details how you tuck elbows on the way down, then flare on the way out.
Please show a top and side view. Difference between twisting elbows, tucking, flaring too much, pushing the bar above eyes for optimal push, ect.
When I try to do leg drive, my body literally slides up the bench--so much that I am under the barbell support bracket and I can't push the barbell up because the bracket is blocking me. Don't really know how you can truly apply leg drive without literally pushing your body north. I see some people put chalk on their upper back. I'm guessing that this is to add friction to prevent sliding. Yet, many people do the leg drive without chalking their back. What is the secret to not sliding up?
Also squeeze the ring finger. I don't know what it does, but it works and helps with the bending the bar. You can feel the difference.
i really liked this video, simple and fucking effective, the only thing im not 100% agreeing on is the leg drive, pushing your body back on the bench as hard as possible like u did, i'd rather keep the lowerbody as tight as possible and squese my glutes while pushing the bar back over my head like u did, that way i feel more powerfull and stable through out the whole rep since i see many people do that move wrong where they do like u did and they slide upwards the bench, lose tightness and then gets to far away from the bar, anyways Great fucking video Brian
Circus dumbbell instructional video. Ya fav. Lmbo
Brilliant advice mate, so grateful we have people like you in this world (yy)
Another awesome video! I love your black and white dry humor bits. Do you have any advice and width of grip for the bench?
Hi Brian, love your vids. Your toughness is simply inspiring. A friendly comment for improvement is you speak so fast and your voice is less attractive in this vid, I think no need to speak in hurry~
Thank you Brian!! Your explanation so clear a baby could bench 240 after watching this.
I like how you exaggerate the leg drive so we can see which direction we should be pushing
I know technique is important but I don’t think it’s the most important thing to consider when trying to get stronger. Too many people over focus on technique and don’t focus on simply getting brute strength.
Very nice video Brian. I had a question that if you recruit leg drive in Bench-press then is it cheating? Will I achieve Hypertrophy ?
my bench is weak..or pushing ability. Question. Do you push the bar with chest or arms?
Man I love those Vids! I'm lying in Hospital right now, so it's time to binge every Video about benching from you, since benching (with my feet Up😒) is all I will be abled to for the next weeks 😅
Keep those videos coming, great work💪
Beautiful pressing technique. That fast snappy motion on the way up is just porn.
I’m going to be laughing at “...cats bench like this.” all day.
He said "with the unicorns and the ether" LOL, Im dead..... and he is not wrong btw
leg drive : you slide up bench due to vinyl bench cover and a fancy shirt , or just wonder why How in the Fck did i get so close to pegs and bang them?
I bench with heels up but sometimes I get sore quads that ruined my squat training the next day any ideas of how to avoid sore quads while bench pressing
Great Tutorial, especially the part about triceps as I have been lately doing lightweight tricep work. Will change it up now. Thanks!
This guy is awesome. Thank you brother.💪🏽
the name of the first guy to put a bar with weights on the floor get underneath it and bench it was George hitchenschmidt, of Estonia.
well I'm shit out of luck. my bench faces west, so I certainly can't leg drive north on it
Now, why do guys like you and me know what a duvet is? Is it essential to our survival in the hunter-gatherer sense of the word? No. What are we, then? 3:14
Benching is for pushing a lion off of you after it died from landing on your sword while trying to attack you in a narrow mountain pass. Bench press is the carcass push.
I was completely inactive until about two years ago. This video helped me hit 20 reps of 70% of my one rep max today! Really stoked! Thank you!
Then youre 1 rep max is probably higher :)
Always wonder why you don't have 10x the subs... killer content
Me too man...wish I did
@Brian Alsruhe is Hilarious!!! Great Videos!!!
Is it bad to lower the bar below the nipple line? My strength coach for shotput was talking about how it puts a lot of stress on you joints with this method and that you should bench to your nipples or about it
You should consider adding less meth to your morning coffee
Instructions unclear, dropped a bar on my face, teeth and head
Want a bigger bench you say...
Use a shit ton of roids
Please stop trying to be funny. It's not working.
*black and white "yestersay" I laughed hard
Bench strength is cool I guess, but im more interested in getting a loyal brand wristband where can i get one?