Lifting Guides

Where the mat goes, how to build your setup on it, and the mistakes that make a bench mat feel like it is not working. Three steps, plus incline and dumbbell use.

Lifters have tried everything to stop sliding on the bench: a towel, chalk on the pad, a band around the bench, a strap-on grip cover and a bench mat. Here is how each one holds up in a real gym.

The best benchers press from the same setup every rep. Here is the checklist, in the order that works.

Sliding is a setup problem before it is a strength problem. Here is what causes it and how to stay planted.