Bench press tips

Average estimated bench press of a gorilla: 1200 lbs. Get to work!

Bench-press

  

The new breed of trainers has put the bench press under the microscope. A tier 4 trainer came to a location I was working and told us not to have anyone perform the bench press. He was an ultra-marathoner (running 100 mile races). Roughly the equivalent of asking a gardener how to paint a house.

 The bench press is an important upper body movement. Before the press was eliminated from competition, in 1964, the bench press was a useful health boosting movement. Invented, arguably, on navy ships the bench press took the place of the press while standing on a ship. Regardless of the origins this practice made us take notice. I can give my back a rest while pressing heavy weights and advance my training. We continue standing presses to this day. Take notice if you do no standing presses. The rotator cuff has far more injuries as a result of bench pressing than standing press. Both should be performed. We move in a wide variety of ranges/planes in everyday life. Move through these ranges in training.

The practice took a bad turn when Arnold and his friends made “pecs” popular. A lot of people did this movement to their rotator cuffs demise. No back training bad shoulder pack. There is a ratio of strength in each part of the human body. The quadriceps are three times as strong as the hamstrings at the knee. The hamstrings are three times as strong as the quadriceps at the hips. The posterior deltoids are not as strong as the anterior deltoids. This is where the problem took roots. Heavy pecs caused a lot of shoulder issues. Sitting at a desk had a role here as well. Driving a car, working on a computer, life takes place in front of us not behind. Lifters have always given attention to the backside strength because it is terribly functional. Recreational bodybuilders ignored the backside strength and paid the price.

Wrong and right, They do exist, sorry.

Years ago a friend of mine gave me a Ronnie Coleman video insisting “bodybuilders are strong”. I observed as many started doing the press and bench press in a partial range of motion. I theorized that they also saw this video in which Mr. Olympia could not go through a full ROM. I thought that was why others were doing these “partials”. Until this Tier 4 trainer told us “if you need to put someone on the bench press only go down half way”.

I asked “WHY?”

He stated that “the shoulder rhythm does not allow a full range of motion”. He has no understanding of the shoulder blade rhythm (gardener).

Women need to bench press!

The blades rotate while performing a bench press. If the anterior shoulder rocks forward as the bar touches your chest you have not rotated properly. Raise your chest to the bar. Pull your elbows in to your torso as you press. Position yourself as if you are pushing a large door opened. Place the weight on your lats for stability. You will never find a good bench presser without an impressive upper back. Set your entire body in a vertical orientation and press upward. Feet are on the floor. Mid-section is taught. Everything is dedicated to the lifting of the weight. Only do partial movements when a weakness within the ROM is identified. Pecs are only part of the workforce. Triceps are responsible for the top half of the ROM. Only going halfway down is a triceps movement. Use the entire body to lift any weight. This is how we are designed to move. This is where “cheat curls” were born, homeostatically, they are just more efficient. Use everything.

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