Single Leg Longitudinal T-Bench Chest Press

Want to crush your entire posterior chain & core while simultaneously improving your horizontal pressing mechanics? Try this single leg longitudinal T-bench chest press as demonstrated here by MLB pro baseball player Austin Meadows. This has several benefits.

1. The lack of hip support forces the lifter to drive with the hips, legs, & glutes. Besides creating more full body tension this also does wonders for improving bench press technique as it truly represents the epitome of teaching someone how to engage their lower body during horizontal pressing movements.

2. When performed in a single leg fashion not only does this pulverize the glutes & hamstrings but it also produces intense instability & rotational forces the lifter must resist in order to lose his or her balance. As a result the entire core musculature as well as just about every muscle from head to toe must be fully engaged to maintain balance without falling off the side.

3. Similar to the above point, most of my athletes have expressed how intensely their feet & ankles have to fire in order to balance their body during this drill. And yes foot & ankle activation is critical for all movements even upper body presses as it maximizes signaling up the kinetic chain and helps eliminate energy leaks.