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4/1 check-in and announcement!
I’m excited to announce that in conjunction to the “Gym Buddies Daily Check-In”, we will be making a new bowl call “Rest Day Buddies Daily Check-In” for you all to compare notes and strategies for how to take a breather from the gym. Follow link below to learn more: https://tinyurl.com/3yv8rvx8
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11/27 Check In 🙌🙌 What’s everyone up to today?
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I see mostly powerlifters do this, the thought is it adds stability and reduces range of motion so you can lift more…. But I think your butt should still be on the bench when you arch.
NOTE: Not a powerlifter
As long as your shoulder and your butt are on the bench (and heels in some feds), this is legal form.
The only powerlifting fed that has a caveat is IPF (they have an elbow depth rule).
However, for your question about arching, it actually helps to protect your shoulders as opposed to a flat back (how much you arch is up to your power stance and mobility).
Arching is better for you.
Severe arching may not be but if you’re mobile enough for it, it helps reduce rom for a competition and is legal.
You’re back!!!!
Arching should be natural and not forced. Butt should still be on the bench. If you train properly from the start, you learn how to set your shoulders/shoulder blades properly so that it’s never a problem. This extreme arch puts pressure on the neck, which is worse. Start with a flat back and let leg-drive and the tension you hold in your upper back form a natural arch. The person in the picture is doing it way wrong. From a CSCS.
This is exactly what I thought. The arching etc should just come naturally when lifting correctly.
Just seeing kids do stuff like this scares me, probably because I’m not knowledgeable enough. But, I’ve also injured myself over the years.
I wrecked my shoulders with years of heavy flat bench, flared elbows, and no arch. I think that the extreme arch pictured is just this side of laughable, but a good amount of arch is the smarter way to lift.
IMO, once you get so contorted that your chest activates the same as when on a decline bench, that's akin to cheating. Rules are rules, so perhaps not actual cheating, but it's not at all "impressive" to me.
After 185 I just start naturally arching my back. But seeing kids doing that stuff with like 95 on the bar just looks like “injury in your future”.
Atib pretty much nailed it.
A few additions - arching allows for greater leg drive which allows you to move more weight.
Her shoulders and butt need to be on the bench when she is actually doing the lift (once she unracks). It’s not uncommon at all to see greater arch in the setup and lesser arch during the actual lift. (She hasn’t untracked here)
Re range of motion - as noted in the first comment, arching does reduce the required range of motion. Without knowing her final position, it’s tough to say how much that would happen when she actually lifted.