When you retract your shoulder blades during the bench press, do you retract them all the way so they are touching? Or just as much as you can after you’ve laid down on the bench?
What I do right now is lay down, pull myself up under the bar, and retract my shoulder blades as far as they’ll go before laying back down.
Im wondering if this is wrong and I should be laying down and then, while keeping contact with the bench, retract them as far as they’ll go before unracking the bar.
Thanks, hope this makes sense
You’re doing it right. Retract them as far as you can get before pinning them down to the bench.
Thanks
Just so I’m clear, I lift my upper back up off the bench, retract my shoulder blades as far as I can, then lay back down keeping them retracted… then create arch, unrack the bar etc?
I find that I’m having trouble keeping them retracted throughout the rep\set. Do you have a queue that you like to use? I am consciously trying to keep them retracted but it’s still a struggle.
If you’re fully retracted, and pinned down on the bench with a heavy weight in your hands, all you need to do is just not protract your shoulder blades when locking out the bench and things will stay in place.