Illegal Wide Barbell Bench Press

Line up the bench so that your eyes or nose are under the bar. Grab the bar at shoulder width or wider to take the barbell off of the J Hooks by doing a pullover type motion as opposed to rounding the shoulders. Rest the bar on your chest for a second to put your grip wider than the rings on the bar. This is done to avoid pinching your hand between the bar and the J Hooks. Perform the desired repetitions. Make sure your feet are planted, and keep the chest sticking out and try to grab the bench with your shoulder blades. Lower the bar until it touches your chest. Bring the bar back to the lockout position by using the triceps to lock out the elbows. Imagine you are pushing your body away from the bar and not the bar away from you. This will keep your bench tight and avoid energy leaks. Try to “spread the bar here.” When you are done with the designated repetitions, rest the bar on the chest and bring your hands in to avoid crushing them or pinching your skin between the bar and the J hooks. Rerack the bar onto the J Hooks.

Trainer Tip: Do not use crazy heavy weight with this if you aren’t an advanced lifter. The purpose of this exercise is to bench extremely wide to build up the pec tendon and rotator cuffs to avoid injury by strengthening the weak points of the lift. These should be done LIGHT and for high repetitions. If you are concerned about injury use just the bar and take the reps slow.