Benching and chest touching

[IrishHandGrenade]

time under tension is completely overrated. I respectfully disagree. While it's not the only factor I do think it's very important.

the bench press is not a chest exercise it is an upper body press. the lats, shoulder and chest are all heavily involved. Of course it is however you missed my point. As I said the full range of motion has its place in powerlifting and bodybuilding but if one wanted to place the majority of the load on the pecs for bodybuilding purposes then a shortened range of motion would be the better choice. Now if you're one who belives that only compund lifts are useful then thats a whole seperate debate.

the idea is to have strength through the entire range of motion. this results in added hypertrophy. narrow grip on all presses is safer on your elbows and shoulder because it forces you to tuck your elbows in.I am with you on the hand placement and keeping elbows tucked in but I still don't think you receive any benefit from locking out.

Anyway the whole point was that not everything is best for everyone and it isn't fair to assume someones reason for doing a lift a certain way.

Btw, not trying to argue or anything so if I come off as a dick I apologize.

 

[IrishHandGrenade]

Also, from the looks of your pic you're pretty big and obviously know what your doing and it's working well for you. I just think that there are many different means to the same end.

 

[Elementality]

Seems to me that your back and chest are fully exhausted by the time you hit 90 degrees. From there it seems to me that on up to lockout its mainly triceps and some shoulders.

What are you trying to work? if just chest with some minor back recruitment don't go all the way up. Thats what I've been doing for the last month and my chest has been more sore than ever in my life while my triceps/shoulders not so much <but i work them seperately bodybuilder style on a different day>

I tested my full 1rm bench max the other day and it had significantly gone up so I know doing it this way has made my chest stronger, although I will admit that from 90 degrees n up I had some trouble pushing. But, I like what I see in the mirror and that is my dominant benchmark for my personal weightlifting progress report.

 

[IrishHandGrenade]

Seems to me that your back and chest are fully exhausted by the time you hit 90 degrees. From there it seems to me that on up to lockout its mainly triceps and some shoulders.

What are you trying to work? if just chest with some minor back recruitment don't go all the way up. Thats what I've been doing for the last month and my chest has been more sore than ever in my life while my triceps/shoulders not so much <but i work them seperately bodybuilder style on a different day>

I tested my full 1rm bench max the other day and it had significantly gone up so I know doing it this way has made my chest stronger, although I will admit that from 90 degrees n up I had some trouble pushing. But, I like what I see in the mirror and that is my dominant benchmark for my personal weightlifting progress report.

+1

 

[enigma4dub]

Anyway the whole point was that not everything is best for everyone and it isn't fair to assume someones reason for doing a lift a certain way.

Btw, not trying to argue or anything so if I come off as a dick I apologize.

its all good man, debate is good... my thought process is stronger = bigger. now i train exercises not bodyparts so for me, my "chest" work consists of close grip bench, weighted dips, incline press and behind the neck push press (i split these presses up into two days paired with squats). i try to get as strong as possible at these exercises and the chest will figure itself out.

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

I pretty much have to agree that full range ofmotion is the way to go except in certain cases.

If you have an existing injury or range limitation do to previous injury then you go through as much range as you can.

Certain exercises can be done with a partial rom for specific goals though.

Squats stopped above parallel with a medium to close stance really do fry your quads. If the motion is smooth and controlled and you push your butt back, the stress on the knees is not bad.

Arnold used to squat like this because A. he actually does have a somewhat thick waist and B. he did not want his ass to get bigger because it would ruin the look he wanted.

Now I know Arnold is not widely regarded for having good legs, but in peak shape they were still very good. In the 73 or 74 olympia his quads looked fuckin awesome.

Actually that's about the only reason I could see doing a partial movement.

I personally squat atg, but there are "some" reasons one might do a partial exercise.

I'm pretty sure "some" people think I'm a dumbass when I do 2 hands anyhow, or turkish getup and especially bent press because they are uncommon exercises even though they existed before the bench press or squat as we know it came to be.

But, that does not stop them from being excellent strength building exercises throughout the whole body and especially core strength and shoulder power and stability.

 

[enigma4dub]

Arnold used to squat like this because A. he actually does have a somewhat thick waist and B. he did not want his ass to get bigger because it would ruin the look he wanted.

Now I know Arnold is not widely regarded for having good legs, but in peak shape they were still very good. In the 73 or 74 olympia his quads looked fuckin awesome.

Actually that's about the only reason I could see doing a partial movement.

this is the only thing that i disagree with. arnold was a pin cushion with the amount of aas/gh in his body his legs were gonna develop regardless of doing an exercise correctly.

and partial rep squats are definately stressfull on the knee. the load stays at the knee instead of transfering to the hips.

but glad to hear your an atg man!

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

Arnold didn't use gh. None of the bodybuilders did back then. And noone can definitively say just how much aas he used, but incomparison to today's bodybuilder it was like a drop in the ocean and compared to his peers in competition he was not anymore advanced due to sky high amounts of aas use. He just has amazing genetics and a very appealing and unique aesthetic to his build.

Men like Serge Nubret, Franco Columbo, Robby Robinson etc were equally as muscular if not more so for their frame size, but noone carried the weight like arnold did. Not to mention charisma.

Squatting like that does place stress on the knees, but like I said, if you push your ass back rather than trying to squat straight up and down, it is not bad. The range of motion on this is like maybe 15-20 degrees above parallel at bottom position and this is how arnold squatted.

Also arnold's leg's were his worst body part and the hardest for him to develope.

He spent countless hours developing his calves which became fantastic later in his bodybuilding career from experimentation and tips he learned from training with Reg Park, his idol.

 

[enigma4dub]

Arnold didn't use gh. None of the bodybuilders did back then. And noone can definitively say just how much aas he used, but incomparison to today's bodybuilder it was like a drop in the ocean and compared to his peers in competition he was not anymore advanced due to sky high amounts of aas use. He just has amazing genetics and a very appealing and unique aesthetic to his build.

Men like Serge Nubret, Franco Columbo, Robby Robinson etc were equally as muscular if not more so for their frame size, but noone carried the weight like arnold did. Not to mention charisma.

Squatting like that does place stress on the knees, but like I said, if you push your ass back rather than trying to squat straight up and down, it is not bad. The range of motion on this is like maybe 15-20 degrees above parallel at bottom position and this is how arnold squatted.

Also arnold's leg's were his worst body part and the hardest for him to develope.

He spent countless hours developing his calves which became fantastic later in his bodybuilding career from experimentation and tips he learned from training with Reg Park, his idol.

i agree about all the genetics and positives about arnold you stated. its hard to say if his method of squatating induced the best results though.

i am ignorant as shit when it comes to aas an gh. but im pretty sure they were gettin gh from cadivers back then someone else could chime in. but i do know he was greatly aided by aas from a very young age. great genetics and all. he was weiders pet project.

arnold had poor leverages and quad genetics. tom platz did a full range of motion. mostly free weight fronts and oly backs. but of course he was built to squat. and his legs were ridiculous.

oh and the idea wasnt to discount some of the physiques that you referenced
above, they are some of my favorites. serge is my idol. and i know its nothing compared to todays obscene usage. but it did a lot.

yes i have read his encyclopedia as well. i know his calve routine. that book imho is for entertainment purpouses only. i really like the pictures though.

 

[Lambster]

There is a guy in my gym I know quite well who uses a block of wood on his chest. This after getting frustrated with his poor performance at full range.

He benched 250 for the first time last Spring...with the board on his chest. He was so happy that he told everyone of his new max...never mentioned a thing about the block of wood on his chest. Sad!