Bench Press -- All the way down or no?

[Duke]

This goes for flat, incline and decline.

I have done the movement to my chest for all but the last year. Been lifting for about 25 years now.

I have read and been told that lowing the bar all the way to the chest puts undue stress on the shoulders. I now lower the bar till it is about 4" from my chest and them raise it. I tell you what, it's an ass kicker and my chest muscles never get a break during the lift.

My workout weight and max dropped initially but I am now lifting heavier that when I was going to my chest.

Just wonder how many more of you guys have adopted this method?

[BigRick]

i belive it will hit you chest less. However i am a huge sucker for the stretch at the bottom of the movement. I think that stretch provides more mass and intensity then most people give it credit for. I think with good form and a good weight that there isnot much to worry about. especially if u train rotator cuffs.

[king1]

Im certainly no expert, but Ive always heard full range of motion. But after doing some floor presses and feeling my chest more than bench presses i am starting to think it might be a good idea to not go all the way down. Other reasons to try going only part way down 1. the guy with the biggest chest in my gym goes halfway down and im always open to trying what people more advanced than me do. 2. Charles Glass says to go down halfway and from who he has trained (Cormier, Gunter, Flex Wheeler...)we should all try what he suggests

[JUGGERNAUT]

Nothing wrong with that at all but get ready for a lot of posts on this one.. You can definitely demolish your chest (in a good way) with that constant no let up stress, just make sure you do movements that keep you limber like flys and lighter weight full range benching with dumbbells. There is a ton of supporting evidence full range work hits surrounding groups unlike some machines and short work. I guess my question would be, are you really getting pain or are you more worried about it?

[BigRick]

i have nothing against paritals , i use them alot actually but not exclusivly. if u stop half way i think i would suggest a fair pause to activate the chest more. or add in extra flys to account for not obtaining the stretch

[bigjay]

My only advice is, your arms should never break 90 degress, on any movment, but it also depends on alot of other things, how long your limbs are, how tall you are. But really you should feel the muscle you are training give out before a supporting muscle, like delts or triceps.

[BigRick]

yeah thats a probelm with me tho, my triceps always give out before my chest does. Hell i can even pre exhause with flys and then go to bench and i still get stuck at the top of hte movement not hte bottom. TRiceps just fatigue very fast for me.

[Duke]

I guess my question would be, are you really getting pain or are you more worried about it?

No pain, do not want to ever have any. I am 6'2" so my range of motion on bench is quite long. I come much further down than half way though, I would say it more like 2"-3" from my chest. Keeping my back always on the bench and good foot position.

[Joe Pas]

yeah thats a probelm with me tho, my triceps always give out before my chest does. Hell i can even pre exhause with flys and then go to bench and i still get stuck at the top of hte movement not hte bottom. TRiceps just fatigue very fast for me.i like to open up with flies too before i get into my presses ...i actually get a better workout i feel if i doo ...

[Mr.Totality]

On incline I usually go 2-3" from my chest, on flat it is to the throat or as close as possible. I find that it is the best stretch and most comfortable for my shoulders. I have had 3 shoulder operations since 1990, so anything that doesnt strain it, and knock me out of commission I will do it.

It truly is subjective though

[MELTDOWN]

i like to open up with flies too before i get into my presses ...i actually get a better workout i feel if i doo ...

+1...........i start with 2 sets of incline followed by 2 sets of flat bench flies. then get to the presses. most guys at our gym take the bar (and db for that matter) down to the pecs. we feel the stretch is important and always force strict form on all bench movements. slow on the decent, elbows out, touch the chest (freakin don't bounce it man) and blast it up. the only time i feel shoulders involved is with inclines. and most of that is due to bench angle. i gotta get there early to get the good adjustable bench. if not, it's the old worn out 1983 bench that skips the 45 degree angle. seems it either 30 or 60.

[rockyIV]

This goes for flat, incline and decline.

I have done the movement to my chest for all but the last year. Been lifting for about 25 years now.

I have read and been told that lowing the bar all the way to the chest puts undue stress on the shoulders. I now lower the bar till it is about 4" from my chest and them raise it. I tell you what, it's an ass kicker and my chest muscles never get a break during the lift.

My workout weight and max dropped initially but I am now lifting heavier that when I was going to my chest.

Just wonder how many more of you guys have adopted this method?

I try to mix it up. I have been doing that for a few months and it has helped my strength. If I go too low it seems to work my shoulders more and I can feel the pump better with this method. On my light chest days I go all the way down for the sake of variety.

[Toni69]

I go about an inch above my chest for both flat bench and incline...this seems to work for me. I see a lot of guys put a towel between their chest and the bar. Why do they do that?

[area51]

im 6'2 and my dad told me not to go all the way to my chest but on days im 1 rep maxing for the coaches i will go all the way

[Pokoritel]

I like doing it all the way down and all the way up. You wouldnt do any other workout half way up. But if you see it works for you then do it man. Because everyones body is different. You see muscle gains and improved strength then keep doin what you doin, however i like doing it all the way up and all the way down.

[gnoll5]

i am pretty tall and have long arms, and find that going all the way down puts a lot of stress on my body. i usually stop about 3-4 inches from the chest. i also seem to have some sort of injury to my left outer hand, and going too far down really hurts it. not sure what it is, but i guess i should have it checked. someday.

[Extreme]

i'm 6'4" with a pretty massive wing span. when i bring the bar all the way to my chest one of two things happens. 1) my triceps fatigue way too fast and 2) i hit a sticking point right around the half way point of trying to push the bar back up. i've found that dumbbell presses work best for me. i have deferred from bench press all together for now. i like mixing it up on a regular basis though, meaning working a new routine every 2 or 3 months. but when i do dumbbell presses i don't bend my arms past 90 degrees, keeping strict form the whole way through the lift. and as it has been stated already, "do what works for you". there are always exercises that work best for some but not for all.

[Tron]

I go about an inch above my chest for both flat bench and incline...this seems to work for me. I see a lot of guys put a towel between their chest and the bar. Why do they do that?

I'm not quite positive on this but I could give two reasons. 1) It might add a little heighth, like what's discussed in this thread and 2) a lot of people bounce the bar off their chest. This can of course result in some pretty painful bruises. That's the whole reason why I stop 1-2" myself. I find that I keep from bouncing the bar if I stop just above.

[Steve7m]

I personally lower the bar till it just brushes my chest and then begin the ascent. There is absolutley no reason why anybody should bounce the weight off their chest, as this just shows an inability to handle the chosen set weight.

[GFH1911]

Because I have to touch my chest with a pause in competitions I go all the way unless I'm doing boards or lockouts or something like that. Hell I love benching with a 4" cambered bar to go down even further and really pound the bottom end of my bench. It's great for raw lifters for developing power off the chest.

[mombasa3]

I agree with Extreme. I'm 6'6" and have a long reach. I can touch the bar to my chest for a couple of weeks, then the soreness starts to develop. I prefer not to touch as I am not competing in any events. I have incorporated rotator cuff work for the past 5 years and at least for me it, touching my chest will bring on the kind of pain that I do not want. Hope this helps.

[tek52086]

i have a big problem with peole that dont touch the bar to their chest since i am a powerlifter. you either move the weight or you dont. simple as that.

[Beefondemand]

I always lower the bar till it just touches my chest and then go all the way back up. I usually find that people who don't touch their chest simply mean the weight is too much for them and they are unable to do so. I am a huge fan of form.

[xman]

i always try to hit the chest cut it stretches my more and expand my chest ... and all the guys at my school thing its pussy if you dont ... but dont slam it cus youll hurt your sternum .. i learned that the hard way!

[KEEPtheZEN]

I am 6'1" with a 4" ape index and I go to the chest. I figure unless you have a shoulder issue that will prevent full ROM then you are cheating yourself. Proper RC excercises and warming up are essential for longevity.

[bovat]

if you stop at 4" from your chest, i don't think you get a good enough stretch, and it might tire your tris out before your chest. i have the problem with the shoulders too, so i stop about an inch to two inches.

[Big Mic]

I am 6' 3" so I have long limbs. I found if you keep your grip a little wider than outside the shoulders it puts more stress on your chest. I also come down with the bar about 1-3 inches off of my chest. This keeps constant tensoin on your chest as well. Especially when you bring the bar down stop for 1-2 seconds and then push back up. I still get a strecth, but of course my arms are long so when I have the bar 1-3 inches off of my chest my elbows are down below my torso (bringing the chest to full stretch).

[LuvsThePain]

Arnold Schwarzennegger (hope i spelled that right), once said that if you do not do the full range of motion you end up with "short" muscles.

[Steve7m]

Arnold Schwarzennegger (hope i spelled that right), once said that if you do not do the full range of motion you end up with "short" muscles.

cmon man we all know that guy didnt know anything......

[Hellreaver]

You really have to rely on yourself for this one. Many different people use many different methods for training. Some people go all the way down with the bar (especially powerlifters), some people don't. Personally, I believe that you should go down as far as you feel comfortable doing. Don't try to force your body to adapt to an angle that is not comfortable. I don't have a great range of motion when it comes to my shoulders, and I feel very uncomfortable going all the way down to my chest, so I don't. I usually go until my arms are about parallel to the ground. You have to know your own body and find out what feels the best for you. Don't worry about what other people say bro. For this question, it's a matter of personal comfort. Peace out.

[LuvsThePain]

cmon man we all know that guy didnt know anything......

Please..... One of the greatest body builders of all time "didn't know anything".... give me a break

Arnold was right, a full range motion will lengthen and build the muscle more than a short range motion.

[McKnife]

Please..... One of the greatest body builders of all time "didn't know anything".... give me a break

Arnold was right, a full range motion will lengthen and build the muscle more than a short range motion.

1: Schwarzenegger takes only one N
2: I think it's fucking true, full range of motion lengthen and build muscle
3: He's not only one of the greatest bodybuilder of all time: he's one of the father of this sport and we should all give some respect to these guys who invented the basics of this sport

[gottalift]

I belive there is benifits to both methods, just like there is benifits using multiple angles

[kczip7070]

Absolutely to the chest everytime. Slow and deliberate.

[IronLeague]

I'm not trying to step on any toes, but I just tell it like it is...
FULL RANGE of MOTION!! Same with squating, go in the bucket or don't go.

I believe you have to bring the bar to your chest, touch(not bounce) and press the bar back up to complete a rep and get a full range of motion.

Respect,
IronLeague

[Big Jawn]

This is definitly a controversial topic. The way I see it if its working don't quit it, if its hurting find another way.

Again it will also depend on your goals, if your a training powerlifter it will not benefit you to do partial bench reps if you need to go full ROM with a pause in competition, but if your bodybuilding and tha stimulates strength/size gains for you then by all means, do it up.

[cartertk]

Imma go with full range of motion on every exercise. I tried dat half rep B.S. a couple of years ago and it felt great for about a week. No results though. Just don't bounce te bar off of your chest. When I am doing Incline Barbell Presses I always get this question..."Does it hurt when you go all the down to your chest"? I am in total control of the weight so I feel a full strech and then blast the weight up. If you want to see perfect form for any chest exercise then check out the Animal Chest DVD. Wrath has some of the best form I have ever seen. BIG weights and perfect form. That's the way...the only way.

[RoJoHen]

I can see benefits to both, and maybe including both in the same workout wouldn't be a bad idea.

The big problem people have with touching the bar to their chest is that they end up bouncing it, which shows that they don't have enough control. If you need to bounce it, it's probably a bit too heavy.

The problem with the 90 degree rule, however, is that long arms make that hard. If I keep my arms at 90 degrees, the bar is still a good 6 inches away from my chest.

[the_reaper]

i drop to about an inch above my chest, and damn it works, but have heard that full range is better

[BigGuy345]

As a bench presser I want to add some to this post. If you focus on the lockout of your bench you will feel it in your pecs, but touching is a must to get the stretch refelx out of your pecs and to help build strength. I was in the same dilemma a while ago before I started training seriously for competition. If you train the full stroke of the bench with maximum weights, you will gain strength and mass. But stopping short of the touch, or doing partial I personally feel is a waste of time. Why short change yourself? If you want the mass and the strength train the entire range of motion.

[pdiesel]

full range of motion always..it doesn't matter if ur into bb or powerlifting..down all the way

[bharatoza]

All the way definitely....

[Radahh]

i'm 6'4" with a pretty massive wing span. when i bring the bar all the way to my chest one of two things happens. 1) my triceps fatigue way too fast and 2) i hit a sticking point right around the half way point of trying to push the bar back up. i've found that dumbbell presses work best for me. i have deferred from bench press all together for now. i like mixing it up on a regular basis though, meaning working a new routine every 2 or 3 months. but when i do dumbbell presses i don't bend my arms past 90 degrees, keeping strict form the whole way through the lift. and as it has been stated already, "do what works for you". there are always exercises that work best for some but not for all.



exactly what happens with me... im also 6'4" and my tri's were always gettin burned out (even with pre exhaust) so i started doin DB presses... i hit a plateau for about a month so i switched back to BBs and i go to about 2 inches off my chest...workin pretty good so far...

[ironthrasher]

I live for the bench, my experience with it is if you go all the way to the chest you hit, a sort of dead spot when trying to push back up and you have to use all shoulders to get the weight up. If you stop short a few inches you keep constant tension on you tri's and shoulders and get a better workout in my opinion. It's kinda like when you do military press with the bar, if you go all the way down you hit your full r.o.m. and sort of get a rest, but if you stop short you get that constant tension.

[abwowang]

PLEASE. full motion. All the way down ppl.

I can't stand people that think they are the shit when they just go halfway down with 3 plates.

[Maestro]

I try to mix it up. I have been doing that for a few months and it has helped my strength. If I go too low it seems to work my shoulders more and I can feel the pump better with this method. On my light chest days I go all the way down for the sake of variety.


Completely agree with you all the way.
I lower to roughly 3 inches off my chest before I raise the bar back up. Im working my chest not my shoulders - i get a full stretch with isolating exercises like flys. When my chest is sore a couple days after working it (i work chest once a week) I'll do a couple sets (wide grip) of 10 reps with lighter weight and lower the bar all the way to stretch myself out and re-flush the muscles with fresh blood. Going heavy while benching and taking the bar too low has always strained my rotator cuffs no matter how perfect and controlled I go. Once those elbows go past parallel with your body, the load on your chest is reduced and why would you want to do that when your building your chest? You don't past parallel on squats do you?

Touching the chest might be a requirement in power lifting but for building mass, shape and size I'd say that keeping the bar in one plane, one strict vertical motion, throughout the lift while squeezing those pecs will do more for you than getting that few extra inches at the bottom where the stress of the weight can be shifted to the tri's, shoulders, and even the back.

Keep those elbows out and push through your chest.

[Maestro]

PLEASE. full motion. All the way down ppl.

I can't stand people that think they are the shit when they just go halfway down with 3 plates.

Abw- I agree with you in one respect: If you are maxing out you gotta touch your chest, but if you're lifting for bodybuilding strictly avoid it. Bench is one of my weaker areas, most I've ever benched was 300 touching my chest then pressing up. If i stay real strict and stop a few inches off my chest before pressing my chest is twice as sore, and twice as pumped than it would be otherwise. I can lift more weight and for more reps when I take the bar to my chest since I get that break at the bottom than I can when I stay strict and don't touch.

[bovat]

cmon man we all know that guy didnt know anything......

are you kidding me, he one like six sandows and had one of the best bodys ever

[pdiesel]

im a strong advocate of full range of motion training..my muscles seem to have great lines and definition because of this..a full range of motion emphasizes the stretch more and essentially, does more damage to the muscles..its a double edged sword though--while you will destroy the muscle more, you will obviously lose reps and poundage on your bench, but who cares, this will give you more explosiveness in all of your other lifts and sooner or later, you will be stronger than you would have been if you were doing partials..then again, if you have shoulder problems, dont push it..read that last part again..the last thing you want is a shoulder sublaxation, or even worse--an entire dislocation..that will keep you away from the iron for a long ass time..one final thing--the use of partial reps training is a good technique to employ every ONCE IN A WHILE..it will allow you to go heavier and let the muscles get used to heavier poundages..

[Steve7m]

are you kidding me, he one like six sandows and had one of the best bodys ever

sarcasm man.

[USMC_Muscle]

you should do what makes you feel the most out of ur chest. I cant go all the way down because it hurts my shoulder too much but I only stop bout 1-2 inches from my chest it works for me. but go with what works for you without getting yourself hurt.

[Nightshift]

What has really worked for me recently was to reduce the weight I was using, slowly bring the bar down to an inch awy from my chest, hold foa a two count, then really squeeze the weight up, using a medium speed. I've seen a huge difference in the last three weeks.

[Stiff]

All the way down works best for me. To keep myshoulders out of the equation, I pin my shoulder blades together and keep me chest up, focussing on expansion and contraction.

[Torque757]

I havnt done bb press in ages, but db I go as low as possible. Get the fullest ROM possibly without causing discomfort and you know you are doing it right for you.