The Bench Press

[cwick0]

how?

i dont think i can lift more stopping short.

plus i think its pointless, dangerous and i laugh at guys who lift like that with any exercise.

Im not exactly sure why you think it is pointless.

If i touch my chest, it feels as if my pecs are no longer fully contracted. However, if i stop the weight just shy of my chest, my pecs are still fully contracted. I prefer to never take all of the contraction off of my muscles on any body part i train.

 

[TheOak84]

Im not exactly sure why you think it is pointless.

If i touch my chest, it feels as if my pecs are no longer fully contracted. However, if i stop the weight just shy of my chest, my pecs are still fully contracted. I prefer to never take all of the contraction off of my muscles on any body part i train.

its not like when u touch ur chest ur body goes totally limp. i touch my chest and still keep everything tight. i see people stop short and i think that its easier to pull something, especially if ur lifitng heavy. maybe im wrong, but ive been benching the same way for years and ive gained and keep gaining size and strenght. maybe its not totally pointless, but i dont think id like it. plus it just doesnt look right, i dunno..

 

[cwick0]

its not like when u touch ur chest ur body goes totally limp. i touch my chest and still keep everything tight. i see people stop short and i think that its easier to pull something, especially if ur lifitng heavy. maybe im wrong, but ive been benching the same way for years and ive gained and keep gaining size and strenght. maybe its not totally pointless, but i dont think id like it. plus it just doesnt look right, i dunno..

i understand exactly what you are saying, but i still feel that my pecs are stretched a little too much when i touch, thus causing me to lose some contration. I havent stopped gaining on chest for a couple of years now and love not touching my chest.

 

[TheOak84]

i understand exactly what you are saying, but i still feel that my pecs are stretched a little too much when i touch, thus causing me to lose some contration. I havent stopped gaining on chest for a couple of years now and love not touching my chest.

no probs on that, i just like to think flat bench to be for power, and with power comes mass, of course.

u get a full stretch with db's though, right?

come to think of it, i do stop a bit short on incline press, about an inch. but i also touch too, just depends on the reps. 3-5, ill most likely touch. if i have a work set of 8-12 i wont.

 

[cwick0]

no probs on that, i just like to think flat bench to be for power, and with power comes mass, of course.

u get a full stretch with db's though, right?

come to think of it, i do stop a bit short on incline press, about an inch. but i also touch too, just depends on the reps. 3-5, ill most likely touch. if i have a work set of 8-12 i wont.

I just like to go to 90 degrees, maybe a little more, with my elbows.

 

[Tweakle]

I can't touch my chest if I bench BBer style (elbows high and out) because it destroys my shoulders

I touch on the bottom of the pec line, wouldn't want to do partials unless I had a board or rack pins to hit to guage my depth otherwise there's no way to tell if every rep is to the same depth.

Only lock out on the last couple of reps for a second or 2

 

[wnt2bBeast]

I can't touch my chest if I bench BBer style (elbows high and out) because it destroys my shoulders

I touch on the bottom of the pec line, wouldn't want to do partials unless I had a board or rack pins to hit to guage my depth otherwise there's no way to tell if every rep is to the same depth.

Only lock out on the last couple of reps for a second or 2

how you hitting pecs these days?

 

[bignate73]

compound movements like a bench press are too commonly labeled as an exercise for this or that. its not just a pectoral exercise. and actually you guys have it backwards. read up on PL'ers and how they improve certain parts of their bench. "off the chest" "midrange" and "lockout". you would find that off the chest strength is attributed to.....pecs and lats. midrange on up is tris and shoulders. you might want to think about this and the "tension" you think is letting off when you get "in the hole" on bench. form does play a role, but from a PL'ing perspective, illegally wide grips tend to be the focus for chest as well, as well as cambered bar bench which allows you to get a greater ROM. The reason I bring up PL'ers and how they train, is that they have compound movements broken down to a "T". They know how to fix whats broken in a movement. since you guys are looking to isolate bodyparts, i feel this knowledge is relevant in your pursuit. since you guys choose compound movements to isolate muscle groups, why not do it right instead of speculating and going by "feel"?

 

[wnt2bBeast]

compound movements like a bench press are too commonly labeled as an exercise for this or that. its not just a pectoral exercise. and actually you guys have it backwards. read up on PL'ers and how they improve certain parts of their bench. "off the chest" "midrange" and "lockout". you would find that off the chest strength is attributed to.....pecs and lats. midrange on up is tris and shoulders. you might want to think about this and the "tension" you think is letting off when you get "in the hole" on bench. form does play a role, but from a PL'ing perspective, illegally wide grips tend to be the focus for chest as well, as well as cambered bar bench which allows you to get a greater ROM. The reason I bring up PL'ers and how they train, is that they have compound movements broken down to a "T". They know how to fix whats broken in a movement. since you guys are looking to isolate bodyparts, i feel this knowledge is relevant in your pursuit. since you guys choose compound movements to isolate muscle groups, why not do it right instead of speculating and going by "feel"?

so to really isolate the pecs the bottom third of the range is ideal? I agree with your post, but the debate of this thread is really about partials, and where the best range is for chest..granted the bench incorporates more than just the pec muscles but you wouldnt isolate ur pecs one day and bench on another?

 

[bodytemple75]

I bench with my back arched, shoulders and ass on the bench, and chest as far out as I can push it. I got this from powerlifting techniques I had seen, and some bodybuilders. It helps a lot I feel than just laying there flat on the bench like a log. I never go to a lockout pushing up,...just short. I alwaus do my movements slowish and controlled with negatives comming down. I like to touch my chest very lightly with the bar,...just a graze. This helps me "mentally" I feel that I went through the whole movement. Whether you go just shy, I guess does not affect it all that much, if at all. This is how I do....