Thread: What is your opinion of the BENCH PRESS exercise?

Now I avoid it. I used to look forward to it. It would give me a rush like nothing else (now legs are what give me a rush). It's frustrating I was getting close to respectable on dumbell bench and was up to 105's with no spot and getting 10 reps.

So far I'm the only one that voted currently avoiding it. Hopefully this will change in 3 months.

I said it was a great exercise. I was torn between that choice and one of the good basic compound movements. I do think it's overrated though, as I feel overhead pressing is just as important but highly neglected in comparison. Even so, you can't deny the fact that it does a lot for all the muscles involved in pressing. There are also a lot of great variations of the bench press that have been spawned to tackle the various needs of different lifters (Declines, inclines, DB, unilateral, partials, etc.).

good and basic compound...i like it... but i just feel it is a little over-rated..sometimes ill go a month without benching(flat) and i still maintain with the vertical press and dbs

I use db presses, they seem to be more challenging.

Originally Posted by Tier

I use db presses, they seem to be more challenging.

isnt it basically the DB Bench Press tho...? Same movement w/ weight = same exercise?

They didn't specify the poll to BB Benching

I voted that it was a good, basic exercise. I do feel it's overrated, but can be valuable in many ways to many routines, but I don't think it's necessary by any means. I also feel that DB benches are a better test of strength than the BB bench.

I voted "over-rated". I rarely flat bench. I do DB presses, incline and decline. Flat bench about once every 2 months. Yet, I still see improvements in my development. I often see guys in the gym only BENCHING. Never see them hit another excercise.

Originally Posted by goandykid

isnt it basically the DB Bench Press tho...? Same movement w/ weight = same exercise?

They didn't specify the poll to BB Benching

It is strange how people don't associate bench press=db bench press? Granted, DBs recruit more stabilizer muscles, but they still are, in fact, the same basic movement.

I voted a good compound exercise. It is defenitly a good press. It can be brutal on the shoulder joint (but anything can lead to injury). I don't do it anymore. haven't benched in a long long time. I usually just overhead press or, if I want to I will incline bench press but I have only done that once in the past 6 months also. Because you are lying down and your back is supported by the bench, taking away the reactive force being placed on the body I find it to be less athletically functional then other things like overhead pressing or even cable pressing which causes you to deal with force and balance more. However, it is excellent for building size and strength and should find itself in any program at some point or another (just not my own. ).

barbell bench pressing is fun.

Good compound movement, much overused, usually done with terrible form.

I read about the form constantly, but I can't get it down.

Originally Posted by TheCurse

barbell bench pressing is fun.

....................I must admit, the shit is fun

Originally Posted by goandykid

isnt it basically the DB Bench Press tho...? Same movement w/ weight = same exercise?

They didn't specify the poll to BB Benching

Yeah I thought about that before I posted that so I looked on the almighty internet and all the descriptions involved using a bar, I associate bench press with a bar too and when you talk about benching people think bar unless you specify DB.

Originally Posted by camarosuper6

Good compound movement, much overused, usually done with terrible form.

what he said.

sometimes its not what exercise you do, but how you do the exercise that's important.

flat bench is a big ego exercise so most people do them wrong, leave your ego at the door for better chest stimulation, your choice.

I like it, definitely overused by the "Frat boy, Chest/bis/abs 3 days a week crowd", and I would put it behind the bent over row and standing military press for upper body movements.

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

I like it, definitely overused by the "Frat boy, Chest/bis/abs 3 days a week crowd", and I would put it behind the bent over row and standing military press for upper body movements.

It's funny you mention those guys. We have several of them that come into the gym every morning, and work on bench, curls, and abs. It's hilarious. Not only that, but they just about throw their backs out doing BB curls. It's a damn shame. I'd offer constructive critisism, but they are always giving me dirty looks, so f**k it, let them hurt themsleves.

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

I like it, definitely overused by the "Frat boy, Chest/bis/abs 3 days a week crowd", and I would put it behind the bent over row and standing military press for upper body movements.

I agree with you there. Nonetheless, it is a staple in my routine. Another upper body movement I love is the pullup/chinup. Too many people go right to the cable stacks and start with the pulldowns. I never see enough people doing pullups as part of a heavy lifting routine.

Originally Posted by CowPimp

I agree with you there. Nonetheless, it is a staple in my routine. Another upper body movement I love is the pullup/chinup. Too many people go right to the cable stacks and start with the pulldowns. I never see enough people doing pullups as part of a heavy lifting routine.

Pullups are way more effective, and do you ever notice how no one does pulldowns the correct way?

Originally Posted by min0 lee

Pullups are way more effective, and do you ever notice how no one does pulldowns the correct way?

Indeed. Some people swing back so far that it turns into a movement along the sagittal plane instead of the frontal plane. Go do some rowing if you are going to lean back like that!

Originally Posted by CowPimp

I agree with you there. Nonetheless, it is a staple in my routine. Another upper body movement I love is the pullup/chinup. Too many people go right to the cable stacks and start with the pulldowns. I never see enough people doing pullups as part of a heavy lifting routine.

Yep, alot of people seem to think that a pull down is a good substitute for a pull up when in reality the mechanics of each exercise are quite different.

How many of you agree or disagree with this....

The best approach is to perform a rep from a position of "ALMOST" full stretch to a position of full muscle contraction (while "not" holding the lockout) and back to a position of "ALMOST" full stretch. One should always stop just shy of a full stretch. For instance 90% of all shoulder injuries occurs in pressing movements for the chest during the transition phase between the negative and positive portions of the movement where (CONSTANT TENSION) is taken off the shoulders when the bar hits the chest. Then the weight lowered must be quicky reversed by the shoulder musculature before the bar can be raised. What happens next is the rapid pressing of the bar combined with not having constant tension on the musculature exceeds the strength of the joint mechanism causing a tear in some part of the shoulder girdle or pec

Originally Posted by Tough Old Man

The best approach is to perform a rep from a position of "ALMOST" full stretch to a position of full muscle contraction (while "not" holding the lockout) and back to a position of "ALMOST" full stretch. One should always stop just shy of a full stretch. For instance 90% of all shoulder injuries occurs in pressing movements for the chest during the transition phase between the negative and positive portions of the movement where (CONSTANT TENSION) is taken off the shoulders when the bar hits the chest. Then the weight lowered must be quicky reversed by the shoulder musculature before the bar can be raised. What happens next is the rapid pressing of the bar combined with not having constant tension on the musculature exceeds the strength of the joint mechanism causing a tear in some part of the shoulder girdle or pec

I see what you're getting at here. However, as long as you are actually supporting the weight when it touches your chest it shouldn't be an issue. Touching your chest should not be synonymous with resting on your chest.

Originally Posted by CowPimp

I see what you're getting at here. However, as long as you are actually supporting the weight when it touches your chest it shouldn't be an issue. Touching your chest should not be synonymous with resting on your chest.

Ok the old man has to be truthfull here. Most of you know I have a slight tear of the left rotator cuff. I'm not sure whether Military presses or flat bench presses caused the problem. Prior to doing military presses last year I noticed the left cuff started hurting. It really got worst when I started the mil's. Since I have place a folded towel on my chest while benching, it has taken away a lot of the pain from benching. Now as of the beginning of this month, I stopped doing flat benches. I now only do decline or incline at a 15 degree for both.


Tough

Does that tear greatly immobilize the flexibilty of your shoulder? I too have had this dull pain in my right shoulder for quite sometime (a year or so), but it only gets a little sore if I do military press, or I try to pull my arm behind my head and stretch it... almost the same position you sould do a seated dumbell extension in the full extended position, with the dumbell behind your head.

Originally Posted by CowPimp

I agree with you there. Nonetheless, it is a staple in my routine. Another upper body movement I love is the pullup/chinup. Too many people go right to the cable stacks and start with the pulldowns. I never see enough people doing pullups as part of a heavy lifting routine.

It is a staple of my routines as well, 3rd place is pretty damn good. In my current routine it is 1st on my strength day.

Originally Posted by Tough Old Man

Ok the old man has to be truthfull here. Most of you know I have a slight tear of the left rotator cuff. I'm not sure whether Military presses or flat bench presses caused the problem. Prior to doing military presses last year I noticed the left cuff started hurting. It really got worst when I started the mil's. Since I have place a folded towel on my chest while benching, it has taken away a lot of the pain from benching. Now as of the beginning of this month, I stopped doing flat benches. I now only do decline or incline at a 15 degree for both.


Tough

Once again, if you have an existing injury, then that is a different story. A torn rotator cuff is certainly going to limit your functional range of motion on the bench press.