freak

[EMC]

next stop, disney land

[SoaringSwine]

The lifter must lie on his back with head, shoulders and buttocks in contact with the bench surface. The feet must be flat on the floor (as flat as the shape of the shoe will allow). His hands and fingers must grip the bar positioned in the rack stands with a thumbs around grip. This position shall be maintained throughout the lift.

Bummer about the grip being closed. When you take the thumb out of the equation it's easier to relax your forearm/bicep during the concentric phase of the movement.

You don't want to relax those muscles. Everything has to be tight. YOu should be gripping the hell out of the bar.

[Pilsner]

One thing to add to the above thread. A raw powerlifting bench with a pause and three referees and strict rules is generally much harder than a typical gym bench. So a gym lifter /bb etc will often loose up to 10 % when they turn up at a comp.