Unracking the Bench Press

[gerry.]

i dont overhead press so my opinion is invalid.i think thats a shoulder exercise more than an overall.our comp benchs are the same.yes mad.
yours musta been a fast call whereas mine the judge had a cup of tea before saying its ok to press if u want to gerry.i also think the head spot teabagged me as well as pressed on the bar for the lols.

 

[Timeah]

i dont overhead press so my opinion is invalid.i think thats a shoulder exercise more than an overall.our comp benchs are the same.yes mad.
yours musta been a fast call whereas mine the judge had a cup of tea before saying its ok to press if u want to gerry.i also think the head spot teabagged me as well as pressed on the bar for the lols.

Nope. Normal press call. Felt like forever. But the weight just sailed on up.

 

[gerry.]

dammit u quoted before i could edit.yeah same here i blasted it up,if i let go i would of thrown it thru the roof.

next comp ill bench 125 again.lol..progress..whats that?..at least i can rely on the progress of my squat to stay well ahead.

not srs...that sux too.

 

[Goosey]

Hey mate, what are the other exercises that you would recommend? And also, could you elaborate on why you think it's a shit exercise?

More often than not a trainee spends too much time bench pressing compared to other variations of pulling and pushing.

It is a shit exercise in relation to the benefits garnered by most other exercises neglected;

it doesn't really biuld good overall pec strength and flexibility
the anterior deltoids do the load of the work
the triceps are worked, but there are safer exercises to load these muscles
the shoulder blades are pinned against the bench inhibiting proper shoulder movement

its and exercise that builds strength, but too much can and will cause a Miriad of shoulder complications down the track, and that's not what exercise is for, to cause injury.

 

[Davepuppies]

My view is, if I can't unrack the bar, I have no place trying to lift that much weight.

however, I am not powerlifting, and most of my pressing work is done with a minimum of 4-6 reps, no singles. I also only do incline bench

 

[Stiffy]

Since the function of the pec muscles is to bring the arm across the torso exercises like flyes* and cable crossovers hit the target muscles directly.
I'm really digging cable crossovers lately since I can do do them in the gym.

This is the reason I start with Bench Presses to test my strength (and feel all Bro) then do a lot of flat D/b Benching pulling the weight up with my Pecs rather than pressing it up with my Delts and Tris. Not a Flye movement but feels abit that way due to the extra engagement of the Pecs.

What do you fellas reckon about that Shrek, [MENTION=3627]Silverback[/MENTION]; [MENTION=9251]Darkoz[/MENTION]; ?

 

[Timeah]

I do a lot of pressing. 6 different vatiations a week in fact. I think the variation is the key to avoiding injury rather than the common train of thought in that you need to counter it all with rows/pulls etc. I used to bench 4 times a week. Just competition style benching. Shoulder fell apart very quickly. My problem was from a very tight right pec minor. Messed everything up.
Sorted that out, switched to what i do now. More progress this way. And no injuries as yet.

 

[Shrek]

Like [emoji106]

 

[Timeah]

My view is, if I can't unrack the bar, I have no place trying to lift that much weight.

however, I am not powerlifting, and most of my pressing work is done with a minimum of 4-6 reps, no singles. I also only do incline bench

I tend to think that way also. Most of my work is done between 3 and 6 reps with the odd venture into 1 and 2 reps and 7's and 8's. Very random for me.

 

[WoodyAllen]

Since the function of the pec muscles is to bring the arm across the torso exercises like flyes* and cable crossovers hit the target muscles directly.
I'm really digging cable crossovers lately since I can do do them in the gym.

Correct, which is why I really like dumbbell incline or flat presses. A barbell stops using the chest half way up, with the triceps taking over, cos your hands are fixed. They can't move in to recruit the pecs. With dumbbells you can bring them in together, using the pecs for almost the entire rep/range of motion.

I prefer them over cable flys cos you tend to lean bodyweight into the motion, but whatever rocks yer boat. Flat bench flys are good too, just make sure you get that full stretch at the bottom, meaning you probably need to use a light weight. Good way to do pec stretches too. Dem striated fibres brah.

 

[Timeah]

What about wider grip benching?

 

[Goosey]

What about wider grip benching?

What about it?

what's "wider"?

 

[Timeah]

Instead of db bench for more pec work. I dont have db's. And wont be buying any.
Wider as is index finger on the rings. Or wider. Is it more pec dominant? Or stretch them more? Despite my orangutan arms, i bench relatively narrow for competition work. Pinky inside of rings about 1cm. Thats my strongest position.

 

[WoodyAllen]

I got the same problem and have found, like you, that a narrower grip works best. KK does much the same with his raw bench. I use pinkies on the rings for my grip.

The wider the grip the more you are going to be putting stress on your delts. That might give you a bigger bench, depending on your arm length (short armed lifters seem to like a wider grip) but during a 3 month training cycle you are probably going to go backwards due to injury. Maybe do narrow grip for 99% of your training and slip in some wide grip stuff a couple of weeks out of your comp to get back in the groove. Dan Green does something like that for squats, does mostly front squats and high bar training then low bar a couple of weeks out and in comp.

 

[White_Lie]

I'm no expert but like Woody suggests, wider has definitely hurt me long term. You can lift more initially but it develops problems long term.

Best thing I have found for my bench is tightening up the back, pulling the lats and upper back in together before even touching the bar.

 

[Darkoz]

I like this for chest

NAUTILUS 2ST CONVERGING CHEST PRESS 05/01 - YouTube

 

[0ni]

Dumbbell incline bench and ring dips work best for my chest.
For the dumbbell incline bench, I do them like an Arnold press. I did this because it mimics the action I do when I bench to bench the most weight not because it's better for the chest though.

 

[Timeah]

I'm no expert but like Woody suggests, wider has definitely hurt me long term. You can lift more initially but it develops problems long term.

Best thing I have found for my bench is tightening up the back, pulling the lats and upper back in together before even touching the bar.

Yep. Good technique. More or less what i do, except i use the bar to tighten myself right up. I. Able to get so tight nowadays thats its a little tiring. Im usually fucked right up after a big volume bench session. Haha

 

[Repacked]

It's common knowledge amongst lifters that for pec activation, the clavicular head (upper pecs) is recruited more during an incline press, whereas the sternocostal head is recruited better in a flat bench press. Trebs et al. (2010)found the "sweet" spot to be right at 44 degrees for upper pec activity.
Barnett et al. (1995) found that the horizontal bench press activated the most sternocostal pec muscle and triceps fibers, close grip incline press activated the most clavicular pec fibers, and military press activated the most anterior delt fibers.
Lehman (2005) showed that a supinated (reverse) grip led to higher activation in the clavicular (upper) fibers compared to a regular grip and that narrower (close) grips led to higher triceps but lower pec activation than regular grip.
Glass and Armstrong (1997) examined the level of pectoral muscle activation between the decline press and incline press. They found that the decline press activated more lower pec fibers compared to the incline press, while the level of upper pec activation was similar between both lifts.
Clemens and Aaron (1997) found the wide grip bench press worked more prime mover musculature than narrow grip in all the major muscles. For maximum hypertrophy, we recommend performing a variety of grip widths and torso angles to stimulate as many fibers as possible.
Upon analyzing injuries during flat bench press, Green and Comfort (2007) explained how shoulder abduction at 45 degrees with a medium grip offered the safest method of bench press performance for the shoulder joint. For maximum pectoral development, we recommend performing a variety of chest exercises in a variety of rep ranges

T Nation | The Best Damn Bench Press Article Period

 

[Timeah]

Ive recently added the close grip incline press. See how it goes. Definitely had doms in that upper section first session.