Bench Press Plateau / Common Mistake 

Hearing Alan say "You're weak." is actually a great relief; I can make steps toward actually overcoming that, but imagine if the answer was "Well, your genetics just wont let you surpass 135."

Killing the game my man!

Dear future self when you check back on this video, Intro: 1. Point A is lock-out position, point B is where you touch your chest. 3. Point A should be over your shoulder joint. (4:34) 2. Point A is in front of point B, the bar path is straigh but diagonal. (7:15) These shouldn't vary. This video is about point B. About point B: 4. Forearms: in the coronal plane, forearms should be perpendicular to the bar, with hands and wrists stacked on forearms -adjust grip width and/or elbow angle in the sagital plane to achieve this. (5:26) This distributes the load between triceps and pecs evenly. 5. Elbows: should be slightly in front of the bar, so that in the sagital plane the forearms and wrists are in line with the bar path. That is, position your elbows so that you can press the bar to point A in a staight line, without changing the angle of your forearms -adjust height of point B to achieve this. (10:06) 6. To reduce range of motion distance to point A Point B should be as close to point A as possible. (13:16) Recap: 13:41

Those are damn good stick figure drawings.

I really enjoy these types of videos. Please do more. Your deadlift white board video helped me greatly.

Just did AWPC worlds in Lisle Illinois. I watched this video one week before my competition. I was able to get 308.5 lb bench. New PR. I failed 308.5 in the meet 3 months before. And I had shoulder impingement in the right shoulder before watching this. Now it;s gone. Thanks Alan. 315 is right around the corner and beyond!

To have this kind of information in this high level for free is amazing!!!! I'm Brazilian and working out since 2010, but never learned so much as now with the RU-vid possibilitie! Thank you so much!!!!

Reason 1. YOU'RE WEAK. Laying down the law right there

Best description that I've ever herard, of how to fix my problem (strength plateauing, and shoulder pain getting worse). Great analysis, man, you saved my shoulders!

What workout do you recommend for the beard?

I'm still a novice. Three months into 5×5. In love with the squat and the deadlift, as those are the lifts I have improved the most and haven't failed yet. Nevertheless, I'm already stuck in a plateau with mi ohp, bench press, and barbell row. Can't get past 55kg (the ohp is stuck at 35kg). I know failure is a great teacher and that there's no way around it: my upper body is weak. Gotta power through, check my form, my nutrition, and my sleep. It's just frustrating. It's a challenge to your self esteem. But again, I've only been consistent for three months. Thank you, Alan. I feel like you are my coach. Greetings from Colombia.

This is the best video I've ever seen on this topic by far.

I really appreciate your videos teaching correct form. I never ever thought I would like doing squats or barbell rows because it was so uncomfortable...but with your help they've turned into a couple of my favorites. People at all levels can benefit from your instruction. Thanks so much!

I've been looking for some nice, in-depth videos about bench for a while. I finally found your video, and after a couple weeks my max went up after being stuck for a year. I appreciate that you seem to genuinely want to teach your viewers, not just use us as an audience for your strength. Much appreciated!

great video thanks for the white board. use this more!! would've been great to see you do 1 example of you bench pressing the correct form along with the examples in this video. as always, you rock

By far the best exercise videos by Alan on youtube......simple and easy to understand👍👍👍

Exercise is a science , if you not willing to learn technique you should'nt expect results.

Finally find perfect bench explanation video.they should show this in schools/army/buses/everywhere.

VERY helpful. Love the drawings. As a visual learner, those are key for me. Also, the drawings are well done!

i can't up-vote your videos enough, very informative, and just what i needed to get over my plateau. Instant sub

You are the most helpfull informative guy on youtube. Thank you once again Alan.

this is the first time ive seen anything from you and other than being informative and all that, youre just so effortlessly funny and positive. great video 😂💪

that hodge twins reference tho

I do not understand how any of your videos receive negative feedback. You are literally providing 100% FREE QUALITY content that people pay Strength Coaches hundreds of Dollars for!!! I have learned an incredible amount in such a short amount of time from the content you Share. Much Gratitude Allen!

Love The Diagrams !!! Keep making more please !!! The diagrams take out the complexity .

I'm a CPT out of Youngstown, OH. I don't get to watch many video tutorials, Alan, but I came across you conducting this video and I gotta say dude, I loved every minute of it. Wasn't stale or boring and very informative for the viewer. White board delivery, beautiful! Stay with that. It's perfect for a "lifting for dummies" publication. Best way to teach, especially basics, is teach like you're teaching a 2 year old, cause in the case of some people, that may only be their capacity, unfortunately. I learn much better from those keeping it simple. And as for you...knowledgeable, articulate, AND funny! Kudos brotha. I'm now a subscriber. Thanks!

love this! right on my bench day. a combination of the whiteboard and real workout videos is ideal! keep it up

I love the white board videos! You always explain in several different ways to get your point across, which I appreciate. I like seeing the drawings and then you do it too. The drawings are always on point too!

I moved my grip in tighter and after being stuck at the same bench for a long time my reps and max are increasing nearly every session.

I've gotten stronger through proper technique and saved my shoulders due to your videos. Thank you sir.

I just wanna bench after watching this video but I’m resting :(

This is pure Gold! After having seen so many videos on the topic, none has nailed it like this one.

Trying to learn all the barbell stuff for the first time I wish I had a floating third eye cause I really cant tell how far off I am on a lot of this

I encourage strongly the way you are doing it on the board , it explains more and clarify the rules and instruction greatly. Thank you

been benching for 3 years and wondering why i suck at it...gonna keep this in mind! thanks dude...

Great way to teach the correct way to do bench press. I am a novice lifter and as expected, I did it all wrong. Your videos helped me to attain the correct posture. Thanks man!!!

This is great! I've been having a lot of problems with my bench lately at higher weights, ie i can do 10 reps at 135 and cant even push 155. Now that I watched this, I am pretty sure my "point B" is too low and is the problem.

First, not even done watching the full video yet AND this is the funniest video of the year so far. With the magic of editing I now have finished the video and have worked on fixing my bench. I note, I am not weak or have a lack of muscle but I recently the last decade have had Fubr technique on bench. I did everything wrong including foot placement and leg drive. So point three, bad technique was my lunacy (touched too high on my chest, too wide of a grip and too straight of a path). It caused a decade of tremendous shoulder pain. Now, 2 months later, I am lifting my previous Max weight now 10 times easy and most of my shoulder pain has disappeared. I am glad I was able to finally fix the worlds worst bench and add just under 100 pounds to my max. 3 plates are no longer my enemy. I love the stick figures because they are so easy to understand the specifics and I was able to discover how fckd my bench was. PS I am now subscribed Alan because this is a very good video and you are funny as fck. If anyone reading this wonders how I improved my max by 100 hundred pounds. Well I just had that weird isolation crazy form, with my knees up in the air. I did everything wrong. So I was pretty strong in general, just had a horrible bench. This seems to be one of the best explanations on bench press technique I have seen. Its spot on. Thanks big A.

Very good advise bro. Gotta focus on benchpress now, cause I broke my leg. Life sucks without squatting, sprinting and deadlifting :D

This is the most complete bench how to I have ever seen. Not to mention the most entertaining. Thank you Allen.

I can almost see the massive strength in you during the instructional.Though I am far removed from the pronation/supination of my wrist(I currently predominantly prefer palms fwrd),I like the power you exude.Please continue,the mission.

This video is much better than other videos on RU-vid because pertains to any person of any body type, great work 👍👌

2:07 Is that a hodge twins reference?

I have looked up so many videos and articles about what I wanted to know about benchpressing, and this video contains exactly what I was looking for. Well done

Hey Alan ! Could you do a similar technical break down like this for the olympic lifts ?

this is an eye opener for me. I never lower the bar enough to touch my chest as I am afraid of pec tear but this video gave me the idea on how to do it correctly and safely

Shit. I'm just weak LOL.

I like the white board style you're using. It helps make it easier to follow in my opinion. Keep up the quality content!

Do a video of "full day of eating" and nutrition videos .. these are my favorite

I liked the way you shown us the fastest way from point a to b. I would of never understood without that demonstration.

How can you have the forearms perpendicular to the barbell when it also has to be in front of the bar? At 5:40, it looks like you have your forearms vertical to the floor as opposed to having it slightly in front of the bar for leverage.

I just found Alan's vids recently. Love his approach, advice and presentation style.

seriously your nearly on 200k subs damn you doing well

that actually makes so much sense no video ever covered where ur elbows should be

More food vids! ALAN! I need more food vids with that funky music

The whiteboard is great to show optimal technique in my opinion. It gives us a visual on how exercises should look EXACTLY instead of having some unsureness when just watching someone preform the exercise

My bench is 345 at 171 lbs, at age 20. Your methods are amazing and the exact way you bench press. You cover everything

hey allan great video but I tried to purchase some hydro 20 but could not find it. when will it b available for purchase

As a new lifter, doing it at home without a personal trainer, this is absolutely amazing info! I knew I wasn't doing it 100% correct, no matter how many 30 sec videos I watch. Now I know exactly how to correct my form. Thanks a lot mate

so basically benching on a smith machine is not wrth it..since the path is fixd in a strait line... nywz great info...

Simply the best bench press technique video I've ever watched. Just brilliant

Lol, dude, I fucking love your brutal honesty XD

Great video! I've been "trial and erroring" where to bring the bar down and I never thought of hand position in relation to where the bar comes down onto the chest. Thanks!

Summary: 1. You are weak. Keep training. 2. Enough food, sleep, stress, adequate time for recovery 3. Switch program 4. Proper technique 5. Don't be skinny. Build muscle.

I hit 160kgs squat today and hit deadlift 170kg with 6 months of training. but my bench stucks at 65-70kgs. I use leg drive. I think my upper body is weak. Thank you very much for these informative videos.

theyre all #1

One of the best videos I've seen about benching

I liked the hodge twins reference i loled at that haha

Best explanation I ever heard...wish I knew this when I started (60 years ago)...thank you...

you're a Marine!?! Oorah!! hey man, once i saw your transformation pic..damn...i have the exact same body type. i just started lifting, hopefully i can get a kickin beard, and mad gains like you..btw..what was your last unit..?

I was having trouble with my bench press just last week and couldn't figure out what's wrong. Watched this video yesterday evening and put the gathered knowledge to use this morning - the results were there! My problem started from being too much under the bar already before you even lift it off - meaning my hands were already tilted when trying to keep it up there in resting position, keeping it up straight would've meant dropping it back on the rack at that point. I moved down the bench so the bar would be above my face on the rack, lifted it off so my hands could stay straight up in resting position, and found the perfect spot to lower the bar to on my chest. Thanks a lot, Alan!

I keep on thinking that he’s telling us to “train on time”

Im a strong visual learner. These drawn images made sense a lot. Thanks. You just earned my sub.

This guys last name is Thrall. How lucky can you get?

great video Alan, The part about your elbows being just ahead of the bar is a main part for me. I have not looked at this in my pressing before. I will be looking at this on my next pressing day

Awesome video Alan. I don't do the flat bench at all as I feel my shoulders burn more. So I stick to dumbells on the flat and incline with barbells. Would you say the bar path is the same on an incline bench press?

Dude just make whatever video you like they are always high quality !!

how much progress should you make in your first year of benching?

Man, Thrall I gotta say that the fix I needed was right here in this video right off the bat. Exactly what I needed. Thank you SO much.

Lol at the Hodge twins reference @ 2:08

One of the best presentations of bench press mechanics, hands down. Great diagrams with explanations. Thanks a lot Alan

Hodge twins impressions Hahahaha

The explanation is crystal clear.

I actually disagree with this. In theory, yes, a straight line may be the most efficient way to move a weight most of the time. But by putting your elbows in front of the bar rather than directly under it (even if it is only a little bit) will put a lot of sheer stress on the joint, especially due to the eccentric. The bench press should be an arching motion rather than a straight line

Whiteboard videos are sick! The anterior pelvic tilt vid helped me so much!

i laughed ym ass off at 8:34

man...weekend trainers pay a lot more money for wrong information and you give this piece of gold for free...

2:08 reminded me of hodgettwins lol!

Thanks for the video! The Elbow being in front of the bar plane and the shortest route thing were really great. had been doing it wrong all along and wondered why my performance is going down. Great job man. Cheers!

this reminds me of old school Elliott Hulse/Strength Camp. please don't become what he is now

Your anterior pelvic tilt video helped me tremendously! I like these kinds of videos

I'm confused. you said keep arms at 90 with bar yet when bringing it down keep arms in?

please make more of these, they are a tremendous help

I gotta teach you what moment arm means my dude. Lol.

Gotta say man I love your channel! You seem very transparent and honest and I've learned a lot from watching your videos! I also love that you credit all of your work. I get this sense that you genuinely just want to help people lift more weight safely and I really appreciate that!

How much can your beard bench press?

Alan, I've been watching your videos a lot lately and frankly I love them. You remind me of a friend of mine whose very straightforward and passionate about a different sport. This video is very informative and has a great tone. Thank you for sharing the ramp analogy, it helped me picture the motion from a different perspective. Your drawings are very well produced, too. I think you overexplained the bar paths and arm angles. More profile shots of you on the bench with the correct and incorrect angles superimposed on you could've done more explaining with less language. That said, you're obviously knowledgeable and well read on the subject and have a great passion for sharing your love for fitness. Thank you for sharing and reminding me to train untaaaaaaaaameuhh

13:40 thank me later

Finally the video I was waiting for. Nobody told me that I was screwing up my bench press with the motion path. Thanks!

Le Bench Press