Thread: Yes,hell Yes!!!!

yes today i tried again and i got 215lbs!!!!!

no more maxing out for me for awhile 2-3months

good luck on your next max and keep it up!

You should max KEFE-style. You could add 50+ lbs to your bench overnight.

Originally Posted by Squaggleboggin

the only chest work I have is the DB bench. I'm considering dropping even that because it's not a weightlifting-related exercise.

WHAT?!?!? How in holy HELL could anybody consider DB bench NOT a weightlifting exercise???

Due to genetics the standard barbell benchpress hits my front delts way more than my pecs. For that reason I dumped the barbell bench and substituted DB bench so I can rotate my palms inward and isolate my pecs. Since doing that about 10 years ago I've added a huge amount of weight I'm able to use and an incredible amount of size to my chest. To say the DB bench isn't a weightlifting exercise is absurd. It's an absolutely fantastic exercise for hitting the pecs. It's also very good for building the stabilizer muscles in the arms and shoulders since you have to balance the bells moreso than a regular straight bar.

Originally Posted by ALBOB

WHAT?!?!? How in holy HELL could anybody consider DB bench NOT a weightlifting exercise???

Due to genetics the standard barbell

Weightlifting means olympic lifting. Bench is powerlifting.

Originally Posted by kenwood

yes today i tried again and i got 215lbs!!!!!

is your bench form better then KEFE's or comparable?

Originally Posted by P-funk

is your bench form better then KEFE's or comparable?

That's what I was thinking.

Originally Posted by Triple Threat

You should max KEFE-style. You could add 50+ lbs to your bench overnight.

Originally Posted by ALBOB

For that reason I dumped the barbell bench and substituted DB bench so I can rotate my palms inward and isolate my pecs.

Originally Posted by ihateschoolmt

Weightlifting means olympic lifting. Bench is powerlifting.

I stand by my original contention, DB bench is a fantastic exercise and will do wonders for the entire upper body. That, in turn, will increase the lifters olympic lifts.

Originally Posted by BigDyl

Something I can help you with?

Originally Posted by ALBOB

I stand by my original contention, DB bench is a fantastic exercise and will do wonders for the entire upper body. That, in turn, will increase the lifters olympic lifts.

Benching tightens the chest, that is bad for snatching. Upper body strength in that ROM wont help much with olympic lifting anyway. There are better movements to do for weightlifting. You're right though, it is a great exercise overall.

Originally Posted by ALBOB

I stand by my original contention, DB bench is a fantastic exercise and will do wonders for the entire upper body. That, in turn, will increase the lifters olympic lifts.

Explain to me how bench pressing is beneficial to an olympic lifter? They do not need to be strong at horizontal pressing movements.

Originally Posted by CowPimp

Explain to me how bench pressing is beneficial to an olympic lifter? They do not need to be strong at horizontal pressing movements.

Not just bench pressing, but DB bench pressing. By using the bells you strengthen the stabilizer muscles in your arms and shoulders required to hold the weight steady over your head. This would help greatly in the overhead lifts required in Olympic lifting.

Originally Posted by ALBOB

Not just bench pressing, but DB bench pressing. By using the bells you strengthen the stabilizer muscles in your arms and shoulders required to hold the weight steady over your head. This would help greatly in the overhead lifts required in Olympic lifting.

I agree with you about the shoulder strength and stability.

It really depends on the person. If you look at some of the top olympic coaches in the US they have their lifters bench....guys like Pendelay and Jim Schmitz I have seen with programs that have lifters bench to increase shoulder strength and stability. Even if they are doing it in the offseason. they are still doing it. In the 60s Paul Anderson showed the bench press to the Russians and they loved it! Some of the Russian lifters bench and the Polish team benches in the offseason also. Ofcourse there are a lot of teams that don't bench either so to each his own.


Does it tighten up your shoulder (since I always say that and have taken the bench out of my program)? Yes, it does. Before olympic lifting I had been benching for 10 years so I was really tight. Since I have dropped it I have loosed up and while flat bench doesn't feel that great on my shoulders I may go back and do some CG bench presses for my triceps in the near future just to increase my tricep and shoulder strength. Also, you can just keep overhead pressing. It is a lot of strain on the shoulder to do the same things everytime. If/when I do put the CG bench presses in I will decrease the volume of my snatches though so that I am not killing my shoulder. But, in general once you are stretched out to a decent amount you can help to increase anterior stability be doing a little benching.

Originally Posted by ALBOB

Not just bench pressing, but DB bench pressing. By using the bells you strengthen the stabilizer muscles in your arms and shoulders required to hold the weight steady over your head. This would help greatly in the overhead lifts required in Olympic lifting.

Okay, fair enough. Even so, you could probably get similar results by directly working muscles around the shoulder complex (Supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, teres major, and subscapularis) through more direct means or by using unstable implements (Sandbags, kegs, etc.) to balance overhead without the tightness associated with the bench press.

Of course, Patrick says that some coaches implement it into their routines, of which I had no idea, so it is certainly a matter of opinion. Mine is that there are better ways to improve shoulder stability and integrity outside of the bench press for this application.

Good job Lad

kenwood. i see you finally realised you are gay. Im glad to have you on the list.