Is Your Grip Sabotaging Your Bench Performance?

There’s a reason we’re called “Powerlifting Technique”. It’s because, above everything else, we focus on the how and why behind each lift. Whether you’re focusing on a specific deadlift cue or evaluating your squat stance, small changes can make a big difference in performance. That’s what we’re covering this week as we head into the new year.

This Week’s Resources

• Why Powerlifters Focus on Shoulder Strength

• Is Your Grip Sabotaging Your Bench Press Performance? (Video)

• How Deadlift Strength Carries Over to Squat Strength

• Time Under Tension vs. Volume to Build Strength

• How to Do the Smith Machine Shrug (Video)

• How to Break Through a Squat Plateau

• Are Sauna Suits Worth It?

The Safest Shoulder Position While Benching

The safest position for the shoulder to be in while bench pressing is retracted and depressed. In other words, when the arms are pulled back and the shoulder blades are pressing down.

This is because the shoulder structure is like a “ball and socket”, and the ball inside the socket doesn't have much room to play. If the ball starts to rise up or move forward then it will cause a shoulder impingement.

In order to prevent this from happening, you can actively pull your shoulder blades “back and down”, which “sets” the shoulder blades on the rib cage. This position allows the arm to efficiently and safely produce as much force as possible.

Is Your Grip Sabotaging Your Bench Press Performance?

Coach Lucero discusses the impact of grip on bench press performance. He explores how different grip techniques, beyond just the width, can affect muscle recruitment and overall lift effectiveness. He highlights the significance of hand placement on the bar and its influence on elbow position, primary and secondary muscles like pecs and triceps, and overall pressing strength.

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How to Do the Smith Machine Shrug

Let’s talk about another Smith machine exercise, the shrug. This short video covers how to do it, what mistakes to look out for, and how to incorporate it into a larger workout.

Note that we also covered this in a written step-by-step guide to the Smith Machine shrug exercise. That’s where we discuss some of the more common mistakes in more detail. For example:

If the weight is too heavy, a common mistake is to hyperextend the spine at the top of the movement. This happens because there is too much load for the traps to handle, so the lifter resorts to using their full body to rock the weight up to the top of each rep.

How Deadlift Strength Carries Over to Squat Performance

Deadlifts can carry over to squats for people with longer legs, people who tend to have weak back and hip muscles, and people with a weak squat lockout. A weak squat lockout is a sticking point where you struggle after halfway up and cannot push your hips through.

The carryover from deadlift to squats will not be experienced by everyone though.

In our guide on deadlift to squat strength, we discuss things you need to take into consideration while deadlifting as a way to improve your overall powerlifting performance. We also cover other exercises that help lifters build squat strength

Are Sauna Suits Worth It?

Sauna suits are becoming more and more popular in the fitness industry. They were popularized by athletes who train for boxing and are often used to enhance sweating, but there are various preconceptions by the vast majority of sauna suit users.

But do sauna suits offer any benefits? The main benefits of sauna suits are that they can contribute to short-term weight loss through enhanced sweating, improved cardiovascular fitness, and improved heat acclimation for athletes.

We evaluated a bunch of these and landed on this one as the best option based on cost and performance.