Bench Press arched back advice for beginners

Arching your back into a lumbar/thoracic extension is used to put your body in a more tight and stable position It also slightly decreases range of motion and increases hyperirradation. The legs drive against the floor which transfers force through the hips into the back and keeps the chest in its high position, It also increases lateral stability.

However, extending your thoracic/lumbar to your limitations before you actually bench without adequate flexibiltiy in this region is a serious recipe for an injury.

Jim Wendler - Post Accident Bench Press

Im not trolling on jim wendler, Hes one of the most respectful powerlifters in the world. You can see before he benches he lifts his body up and extends his back to near his flexible limitations ... He obviously has good thoracic flexbility and experience. However for begginners alike with poor thoracic flexibility, this has potential to cause injury later on...



Your thoracic and lumbar is already extended to its limitations on the bench before even moving any weight... When you lift the barbell out of the rack; the legs will tighten up even more increasing the horizontal force and will 'squeeze' the spine. Hyperirradtion will occur and the tightening of other muscles with also slightly increase the arch. The adrenaline rush as you bench will act as a pain killer, which can also cause more injury. The spine cannot go back to its position the way it started because the weight of the barbell has anchored the upperbody to the bench. Thus creating a huge strain on the thoracic. Which can take weeks to recover.

Beginners alike should use a normal lordotic curve until thoracic flexibility and experience is increased.

Mark Rippetoe: The Bench Press Arch

Thoracic Extensions on Foam Roller

  back stretching will help to produce a safer thoracic extension in the future.

So thats it, I wanted to write this because I looked at experienced powerlifters with huge arched backs benching loads of weight, tried it and ended up injuring myself a week ago.



Thanks,
Dan.

(If there is any wrong infomation/terminology, then tell me then ill edit it. Im still a noob, I write this to prevent other people getting injured like me. If there are any obvious flaws in this, Then please tell me because I like learning new stuff! )

You should always warm up your back before arching to the fullest on the bench press. Once you are experienced with arching your lower back you should know when you do reach your limit of flexibility where your back feels like it's going to snap.

If you're benching to gain mass, you don't need a huge arch. It's necessary for powerlifters, but usually avoided by bodybuilders. However, I agree with Scooby, dumbbells are the way to go: dumbbell bench presses are a better pec builder, and they are safer for your joints.

Use a self-spotting rig, tie both DB to the cord hang from the ceiling.
I'm afraid of mounting DB too, never had enough courage to mount my 8RM, because just carry it already feels like my limit.

Exrx has :
standard
and
advanced

I use the advanced method. But I try to get the dumbbells higher up than that when I land on the bench, almost at arm's length. Still, it's a bitch with a 4 RM on an incline dumbbell bench press. Ask for a spotter You should be OK with these techniques for a set of 8, though.

This is what I do. I hang the rope from my pullup bar, but you can use whatever you have. Just get some rope that can hold the weight. Its the only safe way to go. The video in my signature shows what it looks like if you are interested.

Yeah, the OP mentioned thoracic extension, but you're not going to get that without lumbar extension as well whime bench pressing. What he says in the video is, in a way, to focus on thoracic extension.