By Charles Staley, B.Sc,
MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
The bench press has achieved almost
cult status, reaching even into popular culture. It wasn’t
always this way - prior to the 1960’s the most popular upper
body lift was the military press - at that time, one of the three
lifts contested in the sport of weightlifting (the press was removed
from competition in the early 1970’s due to fears that lifters
were using dangerous lifting postures in the attempt to press larger
and larger weights).
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.
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 800×2
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.
Of Interest:
Bench Press 600 Pounds by Dave
Tate
http://www.testosterone.net/html/body_115b600.html
15 Secrets to a Bigger Bench Press
by Ian King
http://www.testosterone.net/html/body_101bench.html
Bench Press Blowouts by Dr. Ken
Kinakin
http://www.testosterone.net/html/body_94bench.html
About The Author
|
His colleagues call him an iconoclast,
a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients call him “The
Secret Weapon” for his ability to see what other coaches
miss. Charles calls himself a “geek” who struggled
in Phys Ed throughout school. Whatever you call him, Charles’
methods are ahead of their time and quickly produce serious
results. His counter-intuitive approach and self-effacing
demeanor have lead to appearances on NBC’s The TODAY
Show and The CBS Early Show.
Currently, Charles competes
in Olympic-style weightlifting on the master’s circuit,
with a 3-year goal of qualifying for the 2009 Master’s
World Championships.
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