Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 16:42:43 -0400 From: Wade Hanna Subject: Strength_List: Leg Drive on the bench >I suppose one o' these days I'm going to have to readjust my benching style >to suit powerlifting, but I have *always* done pec-style benches. I don't >see how it is possible to get leg drive into a bench press without coming up >off your butt, or at least sliding along the bench with your butt. Could >anyone explain this one to me? A friend of mine tried to teach me how to >use leg drive, and all I got was a sore lower back from hyper-arching my >lower back, as my big fat butt stayed put as I "drove my legs". Well, I am no expert bencher but, I think I have a grasp on how to get the leg drive to work (I don't always get it too but, I know how to do it). It sounds like what is happening is you are not keeping your abs tight when you bench. If they aren't tight then when you drive your legs you will only succeed in driving your hips back and your shoulders stay rooted...the result is you over arch your back. The leg drive is only effective for about the first third of the lift (IMO). It will help to get you blasting off your chest. The actual drive is a quick burst that you push initially while staying tight as your delts/tri's finish off the lift. If you are slowing and continue to push with your legs then you will either raise up your butt or over arch. If you can get your timing right then you will feel the energy transfer all the way up your body from the leg drive and it really gets the start. After that I think you are only going to push as much as your delt/tri area can do. The harder you get the bar started (read:explosive) then the more momentum you carry through the mid and upper part of the lift. I think a part of what the leg drive does is to help tighten your entire body. The big benchers would probably agree that you have to be tight to make the big lift. Like a squat or dl you have to be tight all over to make the limit attempts. Same holds for the bench. Maybe try a couple of the following and see if they will help. Before you unrack the bar take a big breath and push it down into your stomach. Like you are pushing your gut out and tightening it all at the same time. Once done, hold that breath throughout the bench motion. This will help to keep you nice and tight during the bench. Once you bring the bar down to your chest, pause, then give a quick push with your legs. Try to think of the push as a sort of leg extension instead of pushing from your hips (that will raise your butt quicker than anything). Make sure your feet are rooted to the floor. Plant your feet before you even lay down and don't move them. As soon as you start to push/drive your legs blast the bar off your chest for everything you are worth. Don't slow down at the top, continue to push through to the lockout. You will need to use some weight to keep from banging your elbows but, this teaches you how to follow through (helps eliminate the middle sticking point that is pretty common). As soon as you drive the legs and the bar simultaneously you will find the bar about half-way up and then your concern is with the tri's to lock it out. If you are stalling here and arch it is because your tri's are weak and you are pushing with your legs to mimic a decline position (which generally is a stronger benching postion). Try to concentrate on fininshing with your tri's and nothing else. If you stall then DO NOT allow your legs to push in an effort to alter your postion on the bench. One last point to consider, if you are a really big archer before you unrack then you are probably not going to get much from a leg drive. I think you have to have a mild arch to maximise the leg drive. As I mentioned above it helps to tighten your whole body. With your abs tight you drive your legs and it will further tighten your back and such, during limit attempts you will assume a posture that is where your body is at its strongest orientation. I think the quick leg drive postitions your body in this type of orientation and really what you are doing is just putting the final touches on your postion. An example would be if you were going to push something (car, etc) from a standing position. From a relaxed standing orientation if you get the signal to push you would step into it and your back arches to a certain point as your legs drive then you would push off with the arms. This is a quick analogy but, I think the point is clear (maybe not). There is a sequence of muscle firings that needs to occur...they always say lifting starts with the feet right? This is by no means the definitive dissertation of how or why a leg drive works. This is just my interpretation and analysis of my own personal experimentation. I hope maybe it has sparked an idea or helped to make something more clear. It is an odd aspect of the bench that is hard to really describe...one of those things you just need to "feel" to fully understand. Anyway, hope this helps and maybe some of the better benchers could offer some insight. Good liftin' - -wade