View Full Version : logistics of the barbell bench
I have noticed that I have some struggle with the bench press. I actually don't do the flat bench anymore because of the danger in it. I do slight incline and incline when it comes to the barbell bench. I have long arms and I notice when I do do reps that the muscle contraction is taken away from my pecs and goes more towards my arms and even my shoulders. I find the closer I get it to my chest the weaker my system seems to become.
What is the answer to this? I am thinking that I should stick more with DB's since they seem to hit my pecs a bit more because I do feel more sore after doing reps with them?
My hands on the barbell are about shoulder width apart. I use a smith half rack machine. It is an ironmaster. It if you go ironmaster.com you can see what I am talking about. I workout at home so it spots me.
Any comments?
DEADn
PORTERHOUSE
02-25-11, 4:15 pm
I have noticed that I have some struggle with the bench press. I actually don't do the flat bench anymore because of the danger in it. I do slight incline and incline when it comes to the barbell bench. I have long arms and I notice when I do do reps that the muscle contraction is taken away from my pecs and goes more towards my arms and even my shoulders. I find the closer I get it to my chest the weaker my system seems to become.
What is the answer to this? I am thinking that I should stick more with DB's since they seem to hit my pecs a bit more because I do feel more sore after doing reps with them?
My hands on the barbell are about shoulder width apart. I use a smith half rack machine. It is an ironmaster. It if you go ironmaster.com you can see what I am talking about. I workout at home so it spots me.
Any comments?
DEADn
check this article out man, maybe it will help you.
http://www.animalpak.com/html/article_details.cfm?section=training&ID=522
Carrnage
02-25-11, 5:39 pm
I have noticed that I have some struggle with the bench press. I actually don't do the flat bench anymore because of the danger in it. I do slight incline and incline when it comes to the barbell bench. I have long arms and I notice when I do do reps that the muscle contraction is taken away from my pecs and goes more towards my arms and even my shoulders. I find the closer I get it to my chest the weaker my system seems to become.
What is the answer to this? I am thinking that I should stick more with DB's since they seem to hit my pecs a bit more because I do feel more sore after doing reps with them?
My hands on the barbell are about shoulder width apart. I use a smith half rack machine. It is an ironmaster. It if you go ironmaster.com you can see what I am talking about. I workout at home so it spots me.
Any comments?
DEADn
Long arms are no excuse to skip out on the barbell bench press, if you do it correctly, shoulder back, stretch your chest on the negative and slowly contract your chest on the positive. But what most of us dont realise is you gota find the form that works for your body, for example going too far up and locking out on a press will just transport the stress from the targeted muscle onto the joints and triceps. Some may call it half reps but at the end of the day, how is it a half rep when my chest is fully stretched and contracted. Learning the function of how each muscle works is a powerfull tool.
PORTERHOUSE
02-25-11, 5:51 pm
going too far up and locking out on a press will just transport the stress from the targeted muscle onto the joints and triceps. Some may call it half reps but at the end of the day, how is it a half rep when my chest is fully stretched and contracted.
Thats definitely true. If you pay attention, you will see countless people move well beyond the range of the actual muscle they are trying to work, be it pressing, curling, etc. Keeping the movement forced onto the targeted muscle on both the positive and negative without taking the tension off by over extending, rotating, etc, is much more effective.
I have read the article by machine and took my place on my bench and went through the motions with some weights. I stuck my chest out a bit, flexed my shoulders back towards my spine and had to play with hand position. What I did that I didn't do in the past is pulled my hands in a little closer. That gave me a good feel in my pecs so I did 3 sets of 10 reps with it.
What part does back strength play in helping the barbell bench?
Also, being that I use a half rack in which the bar goes straight up and down am I at a disadvantage with this because of the ROM?
I am coming off of a cervical hernia of which I believe has finally healed up through cervical traction. I haven't been able to lift since last May. I am taking it all slow and I feel like I am starting over but I know I need to take it slow otherwise I will create more problems for myself.
thanks for the input!
shizz702
02-25-11, 8:09 pm
Your "sweet spot" for the bench may be a few inches off the chest rather than touching your chest. Me personally, I've found a good 3-5 inches away from the chest feels best for me. Experiment with different rom's and see what you can find.
I'm a bit confused, what's this danger in flat benching that doesn't exist in de/in cline benching?
LegendKillerJosh
03-01-11, 9:27 pm
I've notice the only way to fix weaknesses in an exercise is to keep on doing it. If you want to increase your squat you gotta squat cause the leg press or machine squat ain't gonna do it. I've also noticed a lot of people who say they don't like benching or it doesn't work for them just say that cause they aren't particularly strong in that exercise and want to avoid it. I'm not saying you are one of these people but I bet that practicing the bench will get you to learn how to make it mostly chest involved. It has a lot to do with squeezing your pecs while you are doing the exercise and trying to pull your hands together (but not ACTUALLY moving them) while you are driving the weight up. It's like a lat pulldown. If you squeeze your lats on the way down and spread them at the bottom and pause and then allow them to fully stretch when you let bar back up you can maximize your pump in your back and take the biceps out of the movement. Same goes for bench. If you concentrate and visualize your chest contracting and squeeze your pecs during the lift you will be more sore in the chest than the arms or shoulders.
I'm a bit confused, what's this danger in flat benching that doesn't exist in de/in cline benching?
A person is more susceptible in tearing a pec by doing the bench press than by doing the incline or decline bench. Powerlifting is different since the bench is done in a different form . I have learned about this in the last few years and seen a number of people tearing their pecs from the flat bench but nothing from incline or decline. A better alternative is using DB's for it. Hence I have dropped the flat bench from my training.
Your "sweet spot" for the bench may be a few inches off the chest rather than touching your chest. Me personally, I've found a good 3-5 inches away from the chest feels best for me. Experiment with different rom's and see what you can find.
'sweet spot' yeah, I think that is the key. When I am doing the incline bench I recognize that if I go below a certain spot I find my shoulders and even my tri's entering into the picture at the speed of light. I am finding that my threshold is about 3-4" above the chest. I think that stinks because I feel like the muscle isn't being pushed to the max but I don't want to injury myself either. When I do decline bench I can touch the bar to my chest and I won't feel it in my shoulder so much.