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Question: Not sure if you tried this for your bench but why not use band tension with the tension kicking in below your weak point on the bench.You might have tried it but just an idea.
Not sure if when you floor pressed that you had the legs bent or not.If the legs are bent its easier to use leg drive so its pretty much like a bp on the floor.When the legs are straight on the floor ,its a completly different animal.
Answer:
In my personal experience and in observing folks that use bands with raw lifting, I believe they are not a good idea simply because we can never truly quantify what weight is on the bar. Try as we may to accurately quantify, each band set-up is different and thus is the load it provides. Having said that, we have used the lightest bands and have just kept the weight the same to ensure that "enough" weight was in the bottom position of the bench press.
In the end, we have found that chains are better suited for this and that is why I am now using them once a week in my training, without "compensating" with a lowered bar weight; as my weights have stayed the same despite the addition of the chain. If the weight is "too light" at the bottom of the bench press for raw lifters then it can easily weaken the pause off the chest. Finally, I am not a fan of how the bands "anchor" the stroke of the movement.
I have tried floor pressing with leg drive, with legs straight, and with legs crossed and up in the air. We may go back to it as a supplemental S.P.P. movement at some point, because it has been some time since I have used them.
Thanks for the suggestions.
About Eric Talmant
Eric Talmant is a top lightweight powerlifter and has a "passion for all things nutrition." A 1996 graduate of the University of Evansville, Eric is a certified Metabolic TypingŪ advisor and Functional Diagnostic nutritionist.
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