Despite the fact that men tend to turn this lift
into a demonstration event, and that women tend to shy away from the
lift altogether, bench pressing (and it’s variations) remain the premier
upper body development tool for physique and strength enthusiasts. Like
any tool, used properly, you’ll get a great result; done improperly,
then bench press can tear up shoulders like nobody’s business. here are
my suggestions for safe and effective bench pressing:
 Bench
presses may be performed with a bar or with dumbbells. The bench may be
flat (overall pectoral stress), inclined (more stress to the clavicular
pectorals), or declined (more stress to the lower pectorals). Lay on the
bench, placing both feet flat on the floor (if this causes the curvature
of your low back to increase, find a lower bench or place your feet on
solid blocks to elevate them). Grasp the bar such that both hands are
equidistant to the center, and make sure your thumbs are wrapped around
the bar, rather than on the same side as your other fingers. You only
have to drop a big weight on your chest one time to become convinced
that a thumbless grip is a big mistake (assuming you survive it).
Although it is difficult to articulate this concept in writing, the
shoulder blades should be tucked together prior to unracking the bar. Do
this while your hands are on the bar— lean to your right side and pull
the left scapula inward, and then put your weight down on it. Then,
leaning on your left scapula, tuck your right side in and then center
your bodyweight. When the scapulae are tucked (retracted), the shoulder
joints will be afforded additional range of motion as the bar descends,
thus adding a measure of safety to the lift.
Immediately prior to unracking, the bar should be directly over your
nose—if it isn’t, slide yourself up or down on the bench until it is.
Inhale and unrack the bar from the supports. Pause in the top position
for a brief moment, rather than making a “B-line” from the supports to
your chest. At this time, take in as much air into your lungs as
possible and hold until the bar has ascended through the sticking point.
Why? Ever notice that great bench pressers have “barrel” chests? This
gives the pecs better leverage. You can give yourself a temporary,
artificial barrel chest by inhaling as deeply as possible and holding
throughout the lift.
As you lower the bar to your chest, keep your elbows directly under the
bar, rather than in front of, or ahead of the bar. At the bottom of the
movement, the bar lightly touches your chest at nipple level. Return the
bar to the starting position (it should actually travel up, as well as
slightly back) by contracting your pectorals.
(Note: there are in fact many different variations regarding grip width,
elbow position, and contact area on the chest. The variation I’m
describing here is intended for muscular development more so than
maximum bench press strength. Competitive powerlifters use an array of
techniques designed to maximize leverage, but I assume readers who are
also competitive powerlifters will already be familiar with these
techniques).
Grip Width
Viewed from the head of the bench, your forearms should be perpendicular
to the floor at the bottom position.
Torso
Keep your torso flat on the bench at all times— the bench press is not
intended to be a hamstring exercise, despite my sarcastic article called
Bench Pressing: The Forgotten Hamstring Exercise
(located at http://www.myodynamics.com/articles/bench-ham.html)
which brings me torrents of hate e-mail every month.
Speed
Although a variety of speeds can be employed, the eccentric phase should
always be “tight and controlled.” If in doubt, allow two seconds to
lower the bar. If you wish to eliminate the stretch shortening aspect of
the lift, you can pause for two seconds at the chest, but don’t relax
while doing so.
Depth
Although the most common variant is to bring the bar down until it
touches the chest, for some athletes with poor shoulder flexibility,
this position may be too deep. As a rule of thumb, the bottom position
you choose should not use up all the shoulder flexibility you have—you
should be able to go deeper with no discomfort if you had to. For novice
athletes with adequate shoulder flexibility, you can use depth as a
method of progression, by using a constant weight over several workouts,
slightly increasing the depth every session.
Transition Position
Most bench press injuries occur during the transition between the
eccentric and concentric phase, according to Dr. Sal Arria, Executive
Director of the International Sports Sciences Association. A common
technique flaw involves the fatigued lifter allowing the bar to “bounce”
or “chop” down onto the chest, which subjects the pectoral attachments
to sudden loads, which is often the stimulus for injury. A 200 pound bar
lowered very slowly exerts about 200 pounds of pressure. But this same
bar lowered quickly, may put many hundreds of pounds of tension on the
target muscles and their attachments.
Bench Press Standards
According to Strength and Speed (Dale Harder, © 2000 Education Plus,
available through http://www.crainsmuscleworld.com),
a man who weighs 181 pounds is World class if he can bench 435, National
class at 420, College star at 330, College letter at 275, and HS star at
215. Anthony Clark, weighing 372, bench pressed 780 in 1996, and I
recall hearing that he did 800x2 in the gym recently. Chuck Ahrens,
weighing 280, benched 400 for 28 reps. Chris Confessore was the heaviest
man to bench press triple bodyweight— 741 pounds. Tamara Rainwater was
the first woman to bench 400 pounds. The heaviest woman’s bench press
may have been an unofficial 440 by Fibingerova, a Chech shot putter.
Safety
ALWAYS employ (or become!) a competent spotter when performing any bench
press variation. |
