bench presses necessary ???

[bignate73]

on militaries and incline, do you guys flare your elbows there too? try keeping them tucked and see how it goes. for my OHP, i go just outside the smooth and get my elbows right under my wrists, seems to be very easy on the shoulders. i have a few guys with rot. cuff injuries who can only press overhead if they tuck the elbows in front of them. that tells me something about elbow flare and its correlation to shoulder injury.

 

[KillahBee]

on militaries and incline, do you guys flare your elbows there too? try keeping them tucked and see how it goes. for my OHP, i go just outside the smooth and get my elbows right under my wrists, seems to be very easy on the shoulders. i have a few guys with rot. cuff injuries who can only press overhead if they tuck the elbows in front of them. that tells me something about elbow flare and its correlation to shoulder injury.

thanks for the advice bro. when I begin to do these movements keeping my elbows tucked will be a major priority.

 

[Lililston]

I think the Bowflex is good for beginners

 

[callthedoctor]

I do militaries behind the neck....elbows flared out towards the plates....

Can't imagine biomechanically doing them any other way....

??

 

[BodybuildingUniverse]

Its real easy to keep your elbows in - more in front of you and tighter to your sides - while pressing. Just have to get used to it. For me it involves the tris a bit more too but it definitely is more comfortable on the shoulders

 

[Brett44444444]

you can do flys but not flat bench? That seems awkward with a shoulder injury... I'd suggest doing more rotator cuff work and sticking with dumbells for a while. Flat press is key, though I guess you could hit the same parts of the muscle with incline/decline work...

 

[casualbb]

Of course you don't have to do barbell stuff.

Guys, guys... barbells aren't MAGIC. They're just a convenient way of putting weight on muscle tissue, which is what really causes growth. That weight doesn't have to come from barbells. It can come from dumbbells, or machines, or even your obese grandma if you figure out a way to balance her on your hands.

Yes compound movements are good, and barbell freeweight stuff may provide some slight balancing ability over machines, but from a sheer growth standpoint I don't think it matters. It may even be helpful if your tris tend to overpower your chest in a BB press.

 

[BodybuildingUniverse]

Of course you don't have to do barbell stuff.

Guys, guys... barbells aren't MAGIC. They're just a convenient way of putting weight on muscle tissue, which is what really causes growth. That weight doesn't have to come from barbells. It can come from dumbbells, or machines, or even your obese grandma if you figure out a way to balance her on your hands.

Yes compound movements are good, and barbell freeweight stuff may provide some slight balancing ability over machines, but from a sheer growth standpoint I don't think it matters. It may even be helpful if your tris tend to overpower your chest in a BB press.

Convenient? Weird way of putting it. I dont think you'll see anyone with DENSE MUSCLE that got that way from machines or their fat grandma. Stick your machines and remain casual.

 

[anthrax]

Guys, guys... barbells aren't MAGIC. They're just a convenient way of putting weight on muscle tissue, which is what really causes growth. That weight doesn't have to come from barbells. It can come from dumbbells, or machines, or even your obese grandma if you figure out a way to balance her on your hands.
Yes compound movements are good, and barbell freeweight stuff may provide some slight balancing ability over machines, but from a sheer growth standpoint I don't think it matters. It may even be helpful if your tris tend to overpower your chest in a BB press.

You can hardly do compound movements with grandma

 

[needsize]

I totally agree with bignate on form, I used to flare the elbows and benching used to hurt my shoulders bad. Once I learned to do it with shoulders in, I was able to go much heavier without pain. Funny thing is I have really bad rotator cuffs, but flat bench with good form doesnt hurt them.
I;ve tried all the different approaches, and for me nothing builds my chest like heavy bench. Its also a question of numbers, I've been up to 365lbs for 5 reps on bench, but my gym only goes up to 140's for dumbells, which is a total of 280lbs. So it stands to reason that I would grow more from bench. I do prefer dumbells for incline though as I can use any bench I want and create the right incline 30-40 degrees; where as the ones for incline barbell tend to be much steeper, bringing more delts and less chest into play