Off center bends

[Donc101]

I have been struggling with my bends being off center.  It seems like almost all of them, even warm ups, are offcenter.  I mark my bars for where my wraps should be and they still end up that way.  Today, I flipped the bar after the first hit and flipped a couple more times throughout the bend and all of my bends were pretty on center, including 2 red nails and 2 reds cut to 6 inches.  Anyone else have this problem?  Is it because of strength imbalances or favoring 1 side with technique?

[wobbler]

For me it's angle of my wrists and how much I brace each hand against my chest on the kink. Flipping the bar helps for sure. And the obvious, mark the bar and make sure wraps are in the same length from each end.

[NealB]

I like to measure out my nail and then mark with a sharpie. This helps keep me centered and actually helps me mentally on the bend. Try it out it might help brotha 

[Anthony C.]

-Make sure the wraps are as tight as they possibly can be on the bar.

-Make sure you're basically bathing your hands in chalk.

[anwnate]

Normally wrapping your bars tightly, and marking the at the wrap ends and center point will do the trick.

 

In your case however, your problem isn't wrap placement.  You...

1.  keep your right hand grip stationary and your left hand is giving in.  This may be a wrist strength imbalance or simply a locking issue with the left arm.  Dollars to donuts the right leg of the bar (shaped into a U) is longer than the left one.

2.  you are literally bending slightly to the left.  While torquing your body can be helpful on some sweep techniques and the crush...it takes away from maximum power on the kink.  You want to be hitting the bar with the fullness of your back and a twist in the body (however slight) prevents this.  This could possibly be a cause for your left hand/wrist giving in.

3.  need to start working with singles only...preferably imps.  You are doing lollipop bends for the most part.  When you build up the ends with wraps, you are changing the dynamic of the bend.  Basically, you are using the wraps to gain leverage to disperse your power towards the ends of the bar.  While there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing power bends with big padding...working in singles will make sure your grip is correct. 

4.  need to start gripping the wrap closer to the bar.  You're gripping like 3/4" back on each end of the wrap.You are losing control of the bar because you can't feel it at all.  Here's a still of Cashman's grip from his DO Tutorial...followed by a still from your Bastard bend.  

So...go back to basics.  Use singles until you are sure you are bending straight before moving back up.

Additionally...either try bending in front of a mirror...or study the hell out of your vids.  You can learn a lot from them.  

[Donc101]

Thanks for the responses guys!

anwnate: that's a lot of great info and insight.  Thanks so much!  I never realized I was doing this.  I am definetly going to work on correcting this.  Thanks again!

[KRC]

Second bending in front of a mirror and poring over your videos in excruciating detail.  Helped me a lot.  You'll get there.