Bench vs Squat form...

[EnderJE]

Is there a huge difference between benching so that bar touches your chest vs 1 - 3 inches above your chest?

Is there a huge difference between squating to 90 or ATF?

I used to do it one way, but now I"m trying the other and just wondering if I should really bother.

 

[Guinness5.0]

Is there a huge difference between squating to 90 or ATF?

Yes.
http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=332299

Cliff's notes:
-squatting to 90 is hard on your knees
-going deep loads the joints appropriately (hips bear the brunt - knees are secondary and are stabilized by the hamstring tension that going deep enables)
-one benefit of using the full ROM is more stimulation to more muscle

 

[TheOak84]

i go untill my hams are 90 degrees, but my stance is pretty wide.. using mroe gluets and hams.. which are bigger stronger muscles then the quads

 

[Guinness5.0]

i go untill my hams are 90 degrees, but my stance is pretty wide.. using mroe gluets and hams.. which are bigger stronger muscles then the quads

This brings up a good point - you can squat safley by not going atf but you'd need to use a powerlifter type of stance as TheOak mentions to load the appropriate areas.

 

[EnderJE]

First, thanks for the cliff notes.

Second, What about benching?

 

[wooldog]

First, thanks for the cliff notes.

Second, What about benching?

It's easier on your shoulders if you don't use a full ROM when you bench.

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

"It's easier on your shoulders if you don't use a full ROM when you bench."

This isn't an accurate statement.

It really depends on the person's arm length, shoulder width and chest depth.

The first 1-3 inches are the hardest part on the bench press, but I still think you should touch your chest. Best thing you can do is really learn to improve your bench technique to overcome this and still get the fullrange.

Bench technique:

retract shoulder blades
grip barbell tightly
get a big arch
tighten your ass
pull your legs back and outwards until you feel tension in your hips and ass and everything feels locked tight.

then point your toes inward and then while pushing your feet into the ground, corkscrew them outwards, now you will feel REALLY tight throughout the whole body, especially the hips and ass

BIG breath into chest

then tighten stomach which will lift your chest higher and further tighten you up
unrack
lower barbell moderately slowly to nipple line or lower pec, do not bounce the weight off your chest

now explode the weight up, if you set up properly your body will be really fucking tight and this is where that really comes in handy at least to me

as you explode the weight off your chest, push hard into the ground with your legs which will help you drive the weight up those initial 1-3 inches

it also helps on heavy attempts to not only squeeze the barbell hard, but also to imagine pulling it apart from the middle as you drive it up with the leg drive. This activates the triceps even more.

rack the bar


If you do all this you will have great technique and if you can manage to do it all together you will be amazed at how tight, strong and stable you feel on heavy lifts.

 

[markshark]

sometimes before i perform a bench press set i grab the bar and pull myself upward like a pullup almost to stretch out the chest muscles then power it off. supposedly this gives you more explosive power but my friend was spotting me and told me that when i take the bar off, i cant seem to get my shoulder blades into a cocked-back position which he says actually gives mroe strength. any comments on this??? if u get what im sayin.