You set your arch, drive your feet, unrack, and somewhere in the descent your upper back creeps toward your head. By rep three your setup is gone and you are pressing from a different position than you started in. That is sliding, and it is one of the most common complaints on the bench.

What causes it

• Slick pads. Most commercial bench pads are smooth vinyl. Add a sweaty back or a slick shirt and there is very little friction holding you in place.
• Leg drive with nowhere to go. Leg drive pushes you toward your head. If your upper back is not anchored, the drive moves your body instead of the bar.
• Losing tightness on the descent. Relaxing the upper back between reps lets you drift a little each time.
• The wrong shirt. Some fabrics slide on vinyl. Cotton tends to hold better than slick synthetics.

Setup fixes

1. Pin your upper back before you touch the bar. Pull your shoulder blades down and together, then drive them into the pad. This is your anchor.
2. Set your feet last. Feet come after the back is locked in, not before. Then you can drive without moving.
3. Keep the whole body tight between reps. Breathe and brace at the top; do not relax and re-set every rep.
4. Check the bench height and pad width. A pad that is too narrow for your back gives you less contact area to grip with.

What a bench mat does

The Odyssey Bench Mat is a purpose-built grip surface for the bench pad. You lay it under your upper back, build your normal setup, and the Advanced Grip Polymer surface gives your back something to hold onto. The idea is simple: lay it down, lock in your setup, press with confidence, and stop rebuilding your setup every set. It works on flat barbell bench, incline dumbbell press and flat dumbbell press, with no chalk, towel or band setup required.

It is tested by 700 lb+ benchers, rated 4.98 out of 5 across 207 reviews, and one verified customer described being able to maximize her leg drive without sliding. Heavy sweaters should still expect to manage sweat, because no surface replaces a tight setup, but a proper grip surface takes the slick pad out of the equation.

The order to fix it in

Setup first, then surface. Learn to anchor the upper back and set the feet last. Then put the mat down so the setup you built stays where you put it. Every mat ships with a free Odyssey Liquid Chalk for your hands, from Odyssey Products in Ottawa, Canada, with a 30-Day guarantee.

See the Odyssey Bench Mats