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Do you touch the bar to your chest when you bench?
- Thread starter nimbus
- Start date
i stay about 1inch from chest........if i touch my shoulders kill me for a couple days. all from that 1inch or so extra
Having long arms makes it harder, one inch less for guys like us makes it safer with the same benefits. What about those bastards with short arms doing "half" presses
Having long arms makes it harder, one inch less for guys like us makes it safer with the same benefits. What about those bastards with short arms doing "half" presses
Yeah, for real. I'm 6'2" and when I do a to-the-chest press and all the way up, I move the bar twice as far as shorter guys. It's a lot more work.
machine316
New member
Yep i touch the chest every time on flat bench, but not incline that's where you can hurt your shoulders.
lockdownd7
New member
Quick experiment: simulate the bench press motion, and see at what point your hand stops moving towards your chest. Most people will find that it does not come all the way there. Does that extra 1-2" make that big of a difference in strength or hypertrophy? Not really. It could make a difference in shoulder health, though, especially for someone who is already at risk for problems.
On the flip side, though, as many have mentioned, some people will take a recommendation such as "go through your natural ROM", and use it as an excuse to only move the bar about 3". The best advice is just, use some common sense. If you've never had any problems, I don't think there's anything fundamentally wrong with touching the chest (unless she's fat/old
) but if you've got a history of shoulder problems, or start to develop pain, it'd probably be a wise change to make.
On the flip side, though, as many have mentioned, some people will take a recommendation such as "go through your natural ROM", and use it as an excuse to only move the bar about 3". The best advice is just, use some common sense. If you've never had any problems, I don't think there's anything fundamentally wrong with touching the chest (unless she's fat/old
) but if you've got a history of shoulder problems, or start to develop pain, it'd probably be a wise change to make.Not if you bring your elbows in towards your side. At a 45° angle it is quite comfortable and natural for the bar to touch the chest.
i stopped touching years ago and FINALLY the pain went away. i read an article before i decided to stop touching that said when you get close to touching your chest your pecs stop expanding and its your shoulders that roll back which makes you able to touch. when your shoulders roll back it is a very unnatural movement that will cause injuries especially with heavy weight. take notice of what your shoulders do when the bar goes from about 2 inches from your chest to touching your chest. when powerlifters use heavy weights they use a bench shirt which gives maximum support when touching your chest thus avoiding shoulder injuries. most powerlifters use a shirt most of the time even when training when they get to there heaviest weights. now for those powerlifters reading this who are gonna say "i dont use a shirt when training only in a meet", remember i said most lifters NOT ALL lifters. anyway, for me, i would much rather stop about 1-2 inches from my chest and avoid injuries than be immune to on lookers saying 'he didnt touch his chest so that doesnt really count'. plus, give it a try, and im sure you will find that it mat be harder to have to completely stop 1-2 inches from touching than having the momentum of touch and go benches. just my 2 cc's.............
lockdownd7
New member
Adduction does increase ROM, yes, and perhaps at 45 degrees, your ROM coincides with the point at which the bar touches the chest, but I wouldn't use that as a blanket rule for everyone. Also realize that comfort is not always a good indicator. I can "comfortably" touch the bar to my chest even though it is beyond my natural, relaxed range of motion.
