How To Keep Your Butt Down On Bench Press

For the longest time, I could never keep my butt down on bench press. I used the excuse of my extremely long tibias making it about darn near impossible, and while they do make it a bit more difficult, there was a fix. I tried different setups with my foot position, I worked on increasing my arch, I tried flat shoes versus heeled shoes, lifted on commercial gym benches versus competition benches, but none of that seemed to really matter. The route cause was the cueing of my leg drive. Two main things were wrong:

1.) I would drive through my heels, pushing straight up.

2.) And even when I fixed that, I would still think of leg drive as this push with my legs as I pressed.

So what did I do to fix the issue?

1.) First and foremost, constant tension was critical. Leg drive should not be something you initiate just as you press, but instead something that is present through the entire lift. From the time I start the downward motion until the moment I rack the bar, I am always driving with the legs. The only small change is I may be driving at 50% effort during most of the lift, but during the press I increase to 75%. And notice I didn’t say 100%. You are not trying to heave the bar up with your legs. The two main things you are trying to accomplish with leg drive is increasing tension and creating inertia moving back, not up, which leads me to the next fix…..

2.) Leg drive is back, not up. What you are trying to essentially do is slide back into the bench. But because you are holding weight and have your upper traps dug into the bench, what happens when you drive back is those traps stick into the bench, drive down into the bench, which then has the opposite reaction of driving the bar up. Just like the feet pushing into the floor on squat and deadlift to create the force to drive the bar up, the upper back drives into the bench to apply force in the opposite direction to move the bar. Your legs do not move the bar, they just create the tension and inertia to drive the upper back down. So when I drive with the legs (reminder from point #1 that this is a consistent drive throughout the entire range of motion), what I am thinking about is trying to slide my feet forward and out. Almost like I am trying to push my pinky toes through the front of my shoe. This force in return should cause your body to want to slide back into the bench. If done correctly, the butt really shouldn’t move, as there should be little to no vertical force with the leg drive, but rather horizontal force.

Weight Cutting for Powerlifting

When weight cutting for powerlifting, the goal is to be able to cut the desired amount of bodyweight without losing strength or having to take drastic measures. I personally I am not experienced or knowledgeable enough to comment or give advice on more drastic weight cutting measures. But the below protocol easily takes care of about a 3-5% drop in body weight, which for the vast majority of competitors should be the top end of how much they should cut for a meet. Optimally if you are under a 2 hour weigh-in process, it would be best to not really have to cut at all, but if the time calls for a cut I have a fairly easy go-to plan that has worked for many. The below article in my opinion is probably the best there is on weight cutting, but it is fairly detailed an all encompassing. I instead want to give a simplified version for the very specific approach of a 3-5% body weight loss, as well as add some information gained from other sources and that has worked extremely well through experience. Also if you want the full detailed version, below is a link the YouTube video I made on weight cutting that is more encompassing. 

https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/cutting-weight-for-powerlifting/

So if you look at that article, one of the first charts is the water loading process, which is the same for 24 hour and 2 hour weigh-ins for the most part. The weight cut I use is a combination of this water loading process and a gut cut, emphasis on the gut cut. When all that is needed is a 3% or less body weight loss, many times I will only do a gut cut only, as that is where most of the weight loss comes from. What is a gut cut? Basically it is getting rid of all the “poop” that is in your intestines. Gut weight does not have any effect on strength, so if we can limit the amount of built up food in your intestines, then we can achieve a fairly high amount of weight loss (2-3% of body weight) with no impact on your performance. If we need more than a 2-3% loss, then I will also add the water loading process. The scientific detail of the exact physiological processes of why a water load works is beyond my scope of knowledge, but if you are interested in the actual mechanics of it, take a listen to The Strength Athlete Podcast Episode 15, where Reid Reale goes into detail about that (TSA Podcast Episode 15). Basically you drink water in excess of what you need, which then tells your body to start to urinate more, and then once you cut water back you continue urinating at the same rate, yet your aren’t drinking as much water. So since we’ve got the details of what is happening physiologically, let’s lay out the actual plan.

	Gut Cut
3 Days Out	3/5ths of your calories from Protein Shakes and Almonds (split these evenly, half and half of those allotted calories), and 2/5ths from very calorically dense foods and zero fiber foods (most likely high sugar foods with low weight). Maintain your normal caloric intake. For example if your intake is 3,000 calories, what you will do is account for 1,800 calories, or 3/5ths, to come from protein shakes and almonds, and the other 1,200 calories to come from sugary/zero fiber foods.
2 Days Out	3/5ths of your calories from Protein Shakes and Almonds, and 2/5ths from very calorically dense foods and zero fiber foods.
1 Day Out	3/5ths of your calories from Protein Shakes and Almonds, and 2/5ths from very calorically dense foods and zero fiber foods.
Weigh-Ins

	Water Load (adjust numbers as needed to your average intake)
2 Weeks Out	1 Gallon a day for a minimum of a week prior to the water load.
4 Days Out	2 Gallons
3 Days Out	2 Gallons
2 Days Out	1 Gallon
1 Days Out	.5 Gallons
Weigh-Ins

The protein shakes and the almonds are the key to the gut cut. Protein shakes have basically zero gut weight to them, and almonds are super calorically dense and also are dense in all 3 macro-nutrients. The is no real need to do this for more than 3 days prior to weigh-ins, as longer is not better. If someone only needs to lose 1-2lbs., I may even only have them do this for 2 days instead of 3. But this 3 day gut cut should yield around a 2-3% loss in body weight. I actually have most people used salted almonds, as sodium is still important and if all you are eating is protein shakes, unsalted almonds, and sugary foods you are also accidentally doing a sodium cut as well. In cases where we may have a large weight cut, then I will go unsalted so that we cut down on sodium as well, but otherwise I keep it as salted almonds.

For the water load, it is a must that at least a week prior to starting the load that you consistently consume 1 gallon a day to get yourself acclimated to that intake. 1 gallon is a baseline number, and that will have deviation based on how much you intake on average. If you drink significantly less or more than 1 gallon daily, adjust the numbers as needed. But I will use 1 gallon for the example here. At 4 days out you will start loading with 2 gallons, which by the second day of that you will most likely be urinating non-stop. 2 days out you drop to 1 gallon and then 1 day out is .5 gallons. Make sure this water is accounted for within the protein shakes. That last day you have to be pretty sparing with water, and most likely every drop will be used for your protein shake consumption. These liquid amounts are a generic average though, so if your normal water intake varies greatly from 1 gallon daily, you may need to adjust these numbers up or down.

Now for some caveats to this:

1. Make sure to weigh every single morning, with the most important days being 2 days and 1 day out. Based on where you are at, you can adjust. In particular what commonly happens is that 1 day out an athlete has already hit weight, and if that is the case I will increase the water intake to .75 or maybe even 1 gallon so that they do not have to suffer as much.
2. The gut cut is the main priority and where the majority of the weight loss will come from. You MUST weigh and track your food. Do not eyeball. The small details are extremely important, and 20 almonds does not necessarily equal 28 grams of almonds. Same goes for water loading. Make sure to measure out every ounce/liter you drink.

For a 200lb. athlete, typically I can expect about a 6-7lb. loss from this protocol, with times where I have seen up to 11lbs. and other times as low as 4lbs. So what that means is try this well before a competition. If you have never cut before, don’t let your first time be the week of the competition. Typically I will have new athletes practice this during a deload week a couple months out just to see how their body responds. If done correctly and with precision, this is a very effective protocol that is much easier on the body and strength levels than subjecting yourself to a sauna for hours on end.

What is the proper descent speed on a squat?

The fastest speed at which you can stay in control of the movement. This includes maintaining proper positioning, keeping the bar path over your mid-foot, correct bracing patterns, keeping your knees out and tension in the hips, and much more. But the main point is the descent speed is dictated by if you can keep all the technical specifications of a squat in order. You may even notice with yourself that as the intensity increases, you start to slow the movement down a bit, which is very common. That is a natural reaction to make sure you stay in control of the weight, versus the weight controlling you. Lighter weights will be easier to control than heavier weights, so many times as you work up in intensity, descent speed will start to change. For some, they can almost dive bomb a squat and stay in proper positions, while others basically do a tempo squat. There is a benefit to speeding the eccentric up, as the elastic rebound is greater, but when the eccentric speed reaches a point where it compromises form, it is detrimental.

One of the first things I have my athletes do when there are technical breakdowns in the squat is to slow down the eccentric. If the eccentric loading process is correct, usually the concentric portion of the squat will follow suit. What commonly will happen with lifters is that during the last 1/4th range of motion during the eccentric, things will start to show an internal bias. Knees cave in, upper/lower back rounds, hips and knees push forward, and ankles pronate. Not always, but many times this can be fixed by slowing down the movement. A good tell is if a lifter has great form at lighter weights. If they do, that means they have the ability to hit proper positions in a squat, it’s just that at certain intensities that breaks down. And if that is the case, slowing down the movement can help to alleviate these issues.

The take home message is to only go as fast on the eccentric as allows you to maintain optimal movement quality. If you consistently experience breakdown in form, slow down the movement until you can maintain proper position and tension throughout the movement. But if you can speed up the movement, do so, as that elastic rebound will aid in strength if you can control the movement through the entire range.

 

Volume vs. Intensity Induced Powerlifting Injuries

When it comes to powerlifting injuries, one of the single biggest questions to ask is if it is volume or intensity induced. What that basically means is that if it is volume induced, at a certain volume level pain starts to increase. On the other hand if it is intensity induced, that means at a certain percentage of your 1RM pain starts to increase.

Volume induced injuries usually are overuse based injuries, such as tendinitis or other types of inflammation. What it boils down to is you are just doing too much of something, whether that is the total volume of a lift, volume of one specific movement pattern (Ex: only competition squatting, no variations), or possibly too much frequency with not enough time to recover between sessions. Volume induced injuries usually are minor at first, probably described as “discomfort” rather than pain, but when left untreated they build and build and build until they eventually start affecting your training.

Intensity induced injuries on the other hand usually are due to form breakdown. If at X% someone starts to feel pain, I can almost guarantee that is also the % that they start to alter their movement in a negative way. Unlike volume injuries, intensity based injuries are more acute and happen quickly, such as muscle strains or possibly even tears. While there is definitely overlap between these two, in my experience each injury definitely fits more into one than the other and we can adjust training based off that.

So how we do we know which it is? There isn’t a perfect answer for this, but usually three factors play into it:

1. What is causing pain?
2. Has this issue slowly built up over time?
3. When you warm up, does it feel okay until a certain weight?

“What is causing the pain” can many times dictate the answer right off the bat. If you know it is some type of tendinopathy, then we know it is probably volume induced. If it is a strained hamstring from a max attempt deadlift, we know it is probably intensity driven. The second question helps to determine if this is an overuse injury or an acute injury. If it has very slowly worsened each passing session, that follows the characteristics of an volume induced overuse injury. If you’ve had zero pain and then all of a sudden it’s now “7/10” on the pain scale, then that sounds more like an intensity induced acute injury. And lastly, if when warming up you do not experience any pain until a certain weight, that is leaning towards an intensity based injury.

So how do we treat this?

First let us understand that knowing if it is volume or intensity induced is not the end all be all. There are many more variables that go into play in determining a proper rehab protocol. But with the knowledge of knowing it is caused by volume or intensity, we can definitely make alterations to the training plan to adjust for this.

For volume induced injuries, your absolute best friend is data tracking. If you do not track volume, total sets, and just general training history it will make this much harder to know exactly what your tolerable volume limits were. If the injury is volume induced, as stated above, it means that you have done too much volume. So if we know a measured volume that you were able to sustain healthy training at, we know exactly where we need to be. A good recent example is my athlete Dan, who suffers from patellar tendinopathy that is definitely volume induced. Fortunately we track volume every block, and this past training block we specifically did a volume bump to see if he could tolerate it. Unfortunately he could not, but it was an easy fix as we know exactly where his tolerable levels of volume are from previous blocks where he was able to train pain free. We adjusted, and in a manner of one week he was already back to being pain free. They key comes down to reducing training volume. Usually at first I will drop volume more than needed though. If we continue at too high a volume the injury will get worse, but if we only drop to our normal tolerable volume most likely the injury will just maintain, neither improving nor worsening. So to initially to reduce inflammation, I will drop volume below their tolerable levels, allow them to recover, and once pain subsides then increase their volume back to the levels we know they can sustain.

As for the other side of things, with an intensity based injury the main fix is to adjust training loads to be below the threshold of whatever % causes pain. As mentioned before, intensity based injuries usually coincide with some type of form breakdown at that same %, so we will use that time at submaximal loads to specifically focus on fixing that improper movement pattern. Each session you can gradually increase loading, no more than 2.5-5% per session, and slowly work your way back up, always staying below that pain threshold. If you increase one session and pain is reintroduced, drop back down and stay under that threshold. Many times there will be “bad days”, so you need to autoregulate the training loads to account for that. To go along with reducing training loads, many times I use self limiting variations to accomplish this task. For example, we may still be able to keep relative intensity fairly high by doing a tempo pause squat variation that greatly reduces the loading demands, yet RPE wise can still push to higher levels. It is all dependant on the lifter, but the key here is staying below that pain threshold and working to improve movement.

For any injury there are always more variables that come into play than simply volume vs. intensity induced injuries, but this question is one that every lifter needs to ask themselves when experiencing pain. It is vital to know the route cause of the issue and address the training stress accordingly. Hopefully this helps better guide your rehab efforts, and any questions always feel free to reach out!

 

 

 

 

Database Of the Best Powerlifting Articles

One thing I will never forget is when I asked one of my clients who was 25 years old what his future career goals were, and it was to retire by 30. He was a software engineer, and I followed up that question with how in the world did he learn all the stuff he knows? His answer…..youtube. He watched youtube videos and learned enough to create a multi-million dollar software company. The information is out there, we just have to find it. I do not have a formal education in exercise science or kinesiology, I actually have a Master’s in Business Administration, but what I am is a diligent reader. I try to read everything I can get my hands on when it comes to exercise science, especially pertaining to powerlifting. So to make this a bit easier for everyone else, I compiled a database of all the articles I highly recommend reading. And I would be bold to say that anyone who reads every one of these articles could probably consider themselves in the upper 1% of knowledge in the realm of powerlifting. I’ll also try to continue to add to this database as I come across new material, so make sure to save this page and come back for updates. The articles are in no particular order of best to worst, so make sure to scroll and check everything out!

Strength Training Theory and Principles

https://www.strengthandconditioningresearch.com/perspectives/strength-endurance-continuum/

http://www.thestrengthexchange.com/are-you-overtrained-or-overreached/

http://www.thestrengthexchange.com/sleep-science-and-swoleness-part-1/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/how-to-get-strong-what-is-strong/

http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2013/03/25/why-speed-work-doesnt-work/

https://www.elitefts.com/education/3-scientific-theories-behind-blood-flow-restriction-training/

 

Programming

https://kabukistrength.com/the-autoregulation-book-of-methods-includes-a-free-velocity-profiling-download-for-all-readers/

http://www.barbellmedicine.com/12-ways-to-skin-the-texas-method/?utm_source=Barbell+Medicine+Newsletter&utm_campaign=09c3b99516-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_12_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_94e0e9d430-09c3b99516-32701868

http://complementarytraining.net/set-and-rep-schemes-in-strength-training-part-1/

https://sci-fit.net/scientific-recommendations-1/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/non-responders/

https://www.elitefts.com/education/what-why-when-how-a-guide-to-using-an-intro-week/

https://precisionpowerlifting.wordpress.com/2018/05/08/monitoring-internal-load-and-intra-block-progress/

https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/how-to-rate-rpes-correctly/

http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/autoregulation/

http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/powerlifting-programming/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/weekly-load-progression/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/flexible-training/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/frequency-muscle/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/training-frequency/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/periodization-data/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/autoregulation/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/periodization-history-theory/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/tapering/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/complete-strength-training-guide/

https://articles.reactivetrainingsystems.com/2016/04/01/project-momentum/

https://articles.reactivetrainingsystems.com/2018/02/28/why-i-dont-use-prilepins-chart/

https://articles.reactivetrainingsystems.com/2018/01/10/should-you-use-heavy-singles-in-training/

http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2016/12/06/making-sense-of-bondarchuk-periodization-models/

http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2016/09/06/making-sense-of-bondarchuk-athlete-adaptation-profiles/

http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2016/07/06/making-sense-of-bondarchuk-transfer-of-training/

http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2016/06/20/making-sense-of-bondarchuk-exercise-classification/

http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2012/06/15/how-i-would-westside/

 

Programs

https://www.barbellmedicine.com/scivationstrong/

https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/powerlifting-programs/

https://articles.reactivetrainingsystems.com/2016/08/18/using-rts-on-a-sheiko-base-program/

https://articles.reactivetrainingsystems.com/2015/12/01/the-rts-generalized-intermediate-program-by-mike-tuchscherer/

https://startingstrength.com/article/into-the-great-wide-open-the-texas-method-and-5-3-1

https://physiqz.com/powerlifting-programs/

 

Bench Press

http://bonvecstrength.com/2017/01/26/6-ways-to-improve-your-bench-press-lockout/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/healthy-shoulders-big-bench/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/lats-bench-press-much-ado-little/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/bench-press-bar-path/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/why-you-should-not-tuck-your-elbows-benching/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/how-to-bench/

 

Squat

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/squat-stance-width/

https://www.elitefts.com/education/alternatives-to-squat-training-after-overuse-injuries/

https://www.elitefts.com/education/using-squat-variations-to-alter-movement-patterns/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/sitting-back-squat-much-ado-little/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/the-sticking-point-in-the-squat-what-causes-it-and-what-to-do-about-it/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/high-bar-and-low-bar-squatting-2-0/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/its-time-to-end-this-nonsense-high-bar-vs-low-bar-squatting/

http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2013/01/21/7-habits-of-highly-effective-squatters/

http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2013/01/25/the-greatest-squat-article-ever/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/how-to-squat/

 

Deadlift

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/trap-bar-deadlifts/

https://www.elitefts.com/education/the-sumo-deadlift-youre-doing-it-the-wrong-way/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/how-to-deadlift/

https://www.powerliftingcoaching.com/blog/2018/7/25/why-you-dont-have-a-deadlift-lockout-problem

 

Mobility/Warm-up/Movement Prep

http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2014/09/04/best-damn-squat-mobility-article-period/

 

Injury and Rehab

https://drjohnrusin.com/stop-squatting-through-that-painful-hip-pinch/

https://drjohnrusin.com/the-complete-guide-to-foundations-fallacies-of-tissue-regeneration/

https://www.elitefts.com/education/coaching-education/case-study-programming-considerations-for-the-injury-prone-powerlifter/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/powerlifting-injuries/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/squatting-with-patellar-tendinopathy/

https://www.stokedathletics.com/blogs/articles/reaching-rotating-flexing-for-powerlifters-and-some-other-stuff

 

Powerlifting Meets and Competing

https://www.elitefts.com/education/the-biggest-mistakes-first-time-competitors-make-in-training-and-at-the-meet/

https://marylandpowerlifting.com/2009/05/11/a-powerlifters-guide-to-attempt-selection/

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/which-weight-class-is-best-for-you/

 

Weight Cuts

https://marylandpowerlifting.com/2007/09/14/makingweight/

https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/cutting-weight-for-powerlifting/