SPEED BENCH do you need it?

[Little Wing]

been doing it for awhile but it's hell on my elbow. sometimes i wonder if it's worth the pain afterwards.

i'm afraid to drop it because i get comments on having very good bar speed.
i notice MM guys don't do it.

who's does?
who doesn't?

by the why i've learned a gang load of info from you strong sum-vu-a-bitches
on this forum

 

[dzuljas]

i also have a question on speed bench.. do you lower the bar slowly on a speed bench, pause then explode?? or do you just bounce it off your chest as fast as u can?

 

[spatts]

Little Wing, here's my take:

If you're going to bench in a straight line you can benefit from speed.

If you're going to bench in an arc (MM style) you don't need speed...just timing.

I have always done speed work, but I do it differently than the rest of my crew. I do it like I would a box squat. In competition, I have to pause and explode, right? So that's how I speed bench. I bring it down with control, pause, and FIRE! I use bands and chains, but because there's not herky-jerky eccentric phase, I don't have any elbow/forearm/bicep issues.

For my next meet, I will probably lay off the speed training all together to give the MM Style a fair shot.

 

[rjl296]

spatts, do you still do the 3 reps / set when you pause ??

 

[Screwball]

Specific speedwork is not needed in my opinion. I concentrate on lifting weight with speed at all times (including warm-ups). My speed has never been better.

 

[Devastation]

no speed bench. i concentrate on form

 

[slobberknocker]

I feel like speed bench is definitely helping my max bench.

 

[mikea]

yes i agree on that doing speed work has helped me get past sticking points!

 

[BigWh1tey]

nah ..you don't need it. Its not a bad thing when you start ( at least you get your practice in on set ups), but you should always be pressing the weight explosively if your a powerlifter. It can help with coordination, but most people never master the concepts of driving the bar with max force or catching the reversal.

I think alot of the elbow pain that comes with speed work is do to a kind of hyperextension at the top of the ROM.

 

[IronLion]

I think alot of the elbow pain that comes with speed work is do to a kind of hyperextension at the top of the ROM.

exactly, my take on speed bench has been that it is a good tool but it has serious limitations. First of all it doesn't allow you to accelerate through the rom, the last 30-40 percent you must deccelerate the bar. This leads to either a crappy power movement or a nasty hyperextension. So speed bench at best can only work on speed from the first third of the bench and at worst can cause the elbow problems most of us have to flare up.

I however do not think that power should be ignored, I am just more inclined to use a plyometric type bench press, or better yet if the facilities are available, drop recoils with the bench press. Either way I belive that plyo bench techniques will give you more carryover than speed bench because of the fuller rom with less or no decceleration.

 

[sk*]

What are the plyo bench techniques?

Thanks.

-sk

 

[IronLion]

There are a lot of variations but here are some I use:

Box Pushups - Push up to increasingly higher boxes

Box Drop Push Ups - Drop from the box to the floor in pushup position and do a push up to get bck onto the box as fast as possible, think the ground is on fire.

Medicine Ball recoils- MEd Ball is dropped from chest or head height onto you who is laying on the ground with your arms extended, the ball is caught with your arms extended and returned as fast as possible, think the ball is on fire. Also you can let the ball come down and touch your chest as well.

Bench Recoils, if you have access to equipment that will make it possible, you can do the med ball recoils with the bench press, this is about the best power development movement for the bench plane. You are forced to absorb the shock and create a force as fast as possible, with no eccentric tension or hyperextension from the bar deccelerating.

 

[JLA]

push ups - throwing your body weight off the ground...could be one

 

[Little Wing]

hmm....maybe i'll drop speed bench see what happens. or do paused speed like Spatts.

plyo bench? i knew you guys would talk about some sh*t i never heard of. that's why i hang around here.

 

[Liftbig]

I think alot of the elbow pain that comes with speed work is do to a kind of hyperextension at the top of the ROM.

thats a good point. but i think thats also the reason why you would want to use bands and chains for speed benches. slows down the top just enough. and imo if your hyperextending at the top, you should at more weight.

 

[wlhosch]

For DE upper I sometimes use a Smith machine in order to throw the bar up and catch it as it comes back. I don't know how much good it really does, but people look at me like I'm strange when I do it. Wait...they do that anyway.