Ok fellas, lets beat this dead horse up a bit more shall we?
Some futher points and some from reading other threads...
There are a dozen ways to skin a cat but the bottom line is how hard did you work at it to skin it? (Wicked analogy I know)
The chest (pecs) has small mucles in relative size to the rest of the upper body, traps, delts, poterior and anterior...not to mention the rear of the upper and lower latismus area...
Ive seen Chinese lifters basically bend backwards to perform a lift with an arm;s lenth of about 9 inches!!!!! Now can u imagine what this looks like? Green lights or not!!!!
I never said there was anything wrong witha TIGHT small back , natural arch...our backs are made with natural arch curvatures or therefore our bending and meneuvering would look and seem robotic..What I meant what that the back itself, uppper and lower including the glutes should all be extremely squeezed together along with the lats when the press goes. If someone wants to keep that SMALL natural arch in the back area that is perfectly fine...WHEN people start arching that back in the hopes of a couple of extra inches they are inviting invterbrate trouble as well as possible sciatic nerve strains....
The CHEST does play a part in the bench but not to the extent most novice benchers would realize...the chest mucles need work and if you think about it , once the bar reaches the line away from the chest area after a few inches what takes over? The squeezing lat muslces, the strong shoulders, the the TRIPCEPS....Why do you think benchers wear bench shirts...to prevent injuries? Well yes but more No than yes...The tighter the shirt in the pec area the more spring the shirt will give off the bottom allowing the Tris and the shoulders to take over...
What gets my goat is the guys that wear triple denim suits that require a football team to assist gettin it on!!!! That coupled with a back arch of 18 inches and a guy who has stubs for arms, this to me is NOT a true bench but harks on the problem of bench powerlifting....
I have ever only competed in an Inzer single ply poly as was required and believe it or not, that single poly prob gave me an extra 20-30lbs of spring off the bottom area of chest, no shi#!!!!! But the meets were strict as for as arching ass on the bench and feet had to be FLAT on the floor for duration of lift after good pause and rack signal...
I feel most bench meets these days should be RAW with a pause to see what MEN can REALLY DO!!! It has gotten out of hand....
As far as the comment on squats and deads, of course you must bend your back, if you didnt have a nice straight tight arch then you'd end up in a whell chair!!!!!! BUT don't think that if you do 100 dumbell presses and 2000flyes during a chest workout your bench will trmemendously improve...It would actually have a less negative effect on you...Also, since Im ranting...I also suggets doing bench assistance lifts on bench days versus actual benching!!! This could be different height board presses with nice pauses, floor presses, close grips with bands and chains, amonst a ton of other things....also, when you have strong TRI's as one should for bench meets, when you decline and press, your arms should be tucked closer towards your sides downward and push up with a slight arch to your lockout position...this will take out some of those weaker pec muscles some of the beach boys like and may cause injuries if your arms come out too far such as bicep tears , etc.
I hope some of my conjecture has helped a few and for those that feel Im full of shite, well, it happens, I will continue to train and get strong and you will continue to train and get strong as well...to each their own...
Good luck everyone!!!!! Happy Benching!!!
Tankm1
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