Why do my elbows flare out when I bench?

Why do my elbows flare out when I bench?

The bench press is essentially a chest exercise. When your elbows flare out your body is trying to engage your shoulders and to a certain extent, your triceps to help out on the lift. By keeping your elbows in and pushing straight up, You are isolating your chest muscles much more.

What angle should your elbows be when bench pressing?

around 45 degrees
For most people, an elbow angle of somewhere around 45 degrees to about 70 degrees will best line up with and activate their chest fibers when they press while being safest on the shoulders.

What does flaring your elbows mean?

The description of “flare” is the degree in which the elbows come out from the body, aka move more parallel to how the arms would look if they were extended directly outwards.

Should you flare your elbows on bench press?

The elbows should either be slightly in or directly in line with the barbell when the weight is on the chest. This position will be the most optimal way to transfer force from the shoulder girdle, through the arms, and to the barbell. However, as you press off the chest, some flaring away from the body is acceptable.

Should you lock out your elbows when bench pressing?

It’s okay to straighten your arms, but don’t lock them. When performing upper-body moves that involve flexing and extending at the elbows — including bench presses, pushups, biceps curls, and overhead presses — it’s best to straighten your arms without locking them, says exercise physiologist Dean Somerset, CSCS.

Should I lock out my elbows when bench pressing?

For best results, you should not completely lock out the elbows for a bench press. The lighter the weight in a bench press, the easier it is to lock out the elbows. The elbow lockout creates the illusion of achieving the greatest range of motion. However, at the same time, you sacrifice muscle tension.

Should you lock elbows on bench press?

Should you tuck your chin when bench pressing?

Bench press Lie on the bench with your feet flat on the floor or up on the bench if the bench is too tall. Grip the bar so your arms are evenly spaced a few inches wider than shoulder-width apart. Tuck your chin toward your chest and pull your abdominals in tight, but don’t force your back into the pad or overarch it.

Should You flare your elbows out when you bench press?

Obviously, in order to flare your elbows far out, you would need to have a wider grip, and many bodybuilders and some powerlifters adopt this elbows-out position for the bench press, some so that the upper arms come close to being perpendicular to the body.

What to do if you’re weak off the chest in bench press?

Check out my article on what to do if you’re weak off the chest in the bench press. You should be setting up your elbow position for bench press before you start the descent. As you take the bar up and out of the rack, you’ll be holding the bar over your chest with straight arms.

How do I use my elbows to push the bar upwards?

This allows you to leverage your elbow joint to push the barbell upwards in the most mechanically advantageous position. As you press the the bar upwards, your elbow should follow under the barbell with a few degrees forward travelling towards your face.

Should you bench press with Your Arms in or out?

While some lifters can and do have their pecs respond to bench pressing with arms in, for many of us, all the regular bench pressing in the world won’t make a difference to our chests. We have to keep our elbows out or do dumbbell flys or similar exercises. This is certainly true of me.