Lock it Out

Good Cage (functional) vs. Bad Cage (Fashionable)

There is nothing more frustrating than going through the full range of motion in a maximum effort bench press and falling short just prior to lock out. All that work for nothing. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades! Lockout power when flirting with the limit of ones strength abilities is no laughing matter. Increasing lock out power is not difficult in theory but is plain hard work in practice. An excellent method of increasing lockout power is the pin press.



Pin Press: The easiest way to do pin press is inside of the squat cage. The older the squat cage the better. Most new squat cages use the big square safety supports or just have arms that come out off the front. These will not work well and you may need to find another method. The old school squat cage is simple in design and effective in use. The round steel rods used for safety supports slide in and out easy and allow for more height adjustment than new cages. The biggest difference is they are solid to pull or push against. Place your bench inside of the squat cage and set the safety support pins just below the lockout position 1"-2". Set the bar holders just below the support pins so you still have an easy place to rack/unrack the bar. Go through the full range of the bench press as per normal, but when going for lockout you will be stopped just short by the safety supports you have placed. Once the bar comes in contact with the safety supports push as hard as you can into them with maximum effort/exertion for 3 seconds. Lower and repeat the exercise. This exercise can be done for big loads and low volume or for lighter loads with high volume depending on the desired effect.


WOD
"GIRAFFE"
4 rounds for time
20 Plate Squat Press
20 Box Jump
15 Dips
20 Double Unders