Power Rack Series – Part 2: Dead-Stop Rack Bench Press

Using the power rack pins for the bench press and standing press is a powerful yet underutilized tool in my opinion.  Like the rack pull, rack presses and bench presses can be employed in a variety of ways to improve various aspects of each lift. 

Typically, when rack presses are described they are associated with lockouts.  But this is only one way to employ this powerful exercise, and arguably the least effective.  For the bench press, “lockout” work is by far the most popular variation of the exercise.  This is in large part because the exercise has been widely written about by geared lifters and those who coach geared lifters, and for them, the top end of the movement is of course very important.  It’s also popular because it enables lifters to use tremendous amounts of weight.  And this is always fun and good for the ego.  But for those of us who prefer to lift raw (think t-shirt and a belt) we need our focus to be on the bottom end of the lift. 

Enter the Deadstop Rack Bench Press

The Deadstop Rack Bench Press has been around for many decades but, mysteriously, is still not something you see in wide use today.  This particular variation of the movement calls for the lifter to start with the bar resting on the pins at the lowest point possible without actually resting on the chest.  From here the lifter has to actually crawl or slide between the bar and the bench and get set up.  After tightening up, the lifter must explode into the bar with zero momentum and zero stretch reflex.  This is a serious challenge and your Deadstop Rack Bench Press 1RM will be significantly less than your Bench Press 1RM.  In fact, it will be significantly less than if you had actively lowered the barbell to the pins and paused.  Even if a long pause is used of 3-5 seconds, it still is not the same challenge as the “dead stop” version of the lift. 

The exercise can also be done with a medium or close grip.  This makes the movement even harder and places more stress on the triceps to finish the lift.  Make no mistake, even though lockout work gets the credit as the best tricep builder, dead stops are not solely for bottom end strength.  One thing you will notice if you do the lift is how amazingly slow the lift starts out at the bottom.  There is very little speed with a heavy weight, so when the bar gets to the midpoint of the lift where the triceps take over, the bar is moving very slowly and carrying very little momentum.  So when the triceps kick in they have to really kick in or the lift will stall halfway up.  I have lost several at the halfway point.  The other advantage to a close or medium grip is safety.  Wider grips place more stress on the pecs which is the area most exposed to injury with this lift. 

Deadstop Rack Bench Presses are best trained for singles only.  Working up to a 1RM in the lift is fine, but it is also risky from an injury perspective.  Pec injuries (especially around the very sensitive pec/delt tie in area) are common if the exercised is used too often with too much weight.  Therefore, a more effective method may be to use multiple singles for sets across.  For high intensity work 3-6 heavy singles with complete rest periods is appropriate.  For higher volume work 10-15 high speed singles with 30-60 sec rest can also be effective.  Whether you go heavy or fast, nothing quite builds explosion from the bottom end like dead stop bench presses. 

Below is sample way to program the Dead Stop Rack Bench Press

Texas Method

Volume Day – Bench Press 5×5

Intensity Day – Bench Press 5×1 (week 1)

                             Dead Stop Rack Bench Press 5×1 (week 2)

This method alternates the exercise in with regular bench presses every other week.  In my opinion this exercise is best used as part of a rotational concept instead of something that is done week in and week out.  It’s simply just too stressful on the shoulders/pecs to be used every week.  

Below is some very raw video footage of me doing a Dead-stop Rack Bench with 355 several years ago:

In Part 3 we’ll get into the best uses for the power rack for the Standing Press