Question 4

[Joey Smith]

I seen this on Steve Maxons Log. I fiqured you could answer his question better than anyone....

Shirt work is getting better. I have solved the problem with my ass coming off the bench by staying tighter. My new dilemma is that I am placing the bar too low on my upper stomach, which causes me to mis-groove it. I don’t know why I lower it so low, maybe because I am not concentrating on tucking my elbows? My training partner told me that the last inch before I touch I have a tendency for the bar to fall towards my feet when trying to touch. Any suggestions would be appreciated; I have one more ME BP shirt work day (next week) before my meet Aug 26th.

[COOKE]

just going on what i've seen in the past, do you raise your head? if so you may be rolling up to far to make the bar touch therefore your elbows are not coming straight down the last couple of inches, they are probably being pulled back. you need to push against the bar when you set up to make your arch higher. raise your head off the bench and drive your traps into the bench. hold that position and repeat. this will make it to where you want roll up when you raise your head. i tuck my elbows while the weight is in the rack. the guys hand me the weight with my elbows tucked that way they stay tight in that position and i don't have to think about it. also if you are having trouble the last couple inches pull the bar straight down to your spot. work on this with lighter weight. you can make a lot lighter weight touch than you think. post a video so i can see.

[maxson]

Thanks Chris, I'll try it out.

[maxson]

Chris,

This evening I used lighter weight with my shirt and focused on keeping my head still and it solved the problem. The bar stayed in a straight line all the way down (and up) and I was able to touch higher than I have been which also gave me a little more pop. Thanks for the help bro.

Steve

[COOKE]

glad it helped man. wish you the best in your training. ;D