half rep bench for strength?

[Venum]

hello all.....i have a friend who does his bench press much different than me....i go down to about 2 inches from my chest to get that stretch, but he only goes down to about 8 inches off the chest like a 1/3 of the way down..does this build strength??? because he was always much smaller than me, has absolutley no diet at all, but is stronger on bench...we are about equal in strenght in most excersizes, he has an edge on chest and bi's....i dont understand how a guy so much smaller that doesnt eat barely 3 crap meals a day can have so much strength....he only goes half down for bench like i said, so does that mean i should try that go gain some lbs on the bench press? do half/1/3 reps get strength up?

[notorious_mem]

i personally touch my chest with the bar,but 8 inches seems like towel bench with 2 towels.i worked out with a guy who was strong as hell on his workout but never grew cus he did the same half way down on everything. half the work half the results from what ive seen.

[doby48]

I come down to about 2 inches from my chest... If I came down to only about 8 inches then I could bench more too. Have your friend try to bench comming to to the 2 inch range and see if he can bench as much, my guess would be no. Those last few inches towards the chest are the hardest ones IMHO.

[zodiac666]

Those last few inches towards the chest are the hardest ones IMHO.

definitely agree, the bottom part of the bench press is without question the hardest part. i always try to utilize a full range of motion, i believe it was milos sarcev who said "partial movement = partial muscle development"

that being said this is really a question for a power lifter to answer. i know they train completely different than bodybuilders so i couldnt say if that would increase your bench or not.

when you say he is stronger on benching than you, do you mean that he can bench more than you doing a full range of motion or he can bench more than you stopping 8" away from his chest? i mean if he is stopping 8" away from his chest, of course he will do a shitload more weight.

[spywizard]

it's the same concept as static training...

measuring of strength is subjective, i beat guys alot bigger than me at arm wrestling all the time.. seems to be a measure most people will respect.

Bench is s measurement.. if someone does a bench at 525lbs would you be impressed??? if it were done on a hammer machine would you still be impressed?? no?? try it..

static training can both protect joints and increase strength..

[WidowMaker]

This is a movement that is performed for stength. In powerlifting we use a lot of different variations to build bench strength. We use boards, bands, chains, and lot of the rack work also to develop bench strength. As well as a ton of accessory work. To get the final product:to bench stronger, lowering the bar all the way to the chest, pause, then raising the bar straight up not in a curve towards the rack.

What you friend is primarily doing is building his overall tricep strength in the type of benching he is doing. If he isn't already he will have to do some chest and shoulder work to complement this b/c sooner or later he will stall on his benching.

There are many variations to beching as well as opinions and accessory work to build up your bench so choose wisely.

[Mobligator]

This is a movement that is performed for stength. In powerlifting we use a lot of different variations to build bench strength. We use boards, bands, chains, and lot of the rack work also to develop bench strength. As well as a ton of accessory work. To get the final product:to bench stronger, lowering the bar all the way to the chest, pause, then raising the bar straight up not in a curve towards the rack.

What you friend is primarily doing is building his overall tricep strength in the type of benching he is doing. If he isn't already he will have to do some chest and shoulder work to complement this b/c sooner or later he will stall on his benching.

There are many variations to beching as well as opinions and accessory work to build up your bench so choose wisely.

There's a truckload of wisdom in this posting! Your best benchers will do it all as mentioned above plus some static work. There have been some studies showing that partial reps and static work will extrapoplate into strength for the full range but it's best to try them all. Also, if you have any intentions of competing in a contest you'll need to practice that pause when the bar touches your chest.

[Doc.Sust]

This is a movement that is performed for stength. In powerlifting we use a lot of different variations to build bench strength. We use boards, bands, chains, and lot of the rack work also to develop bench strength. As well as a ton of accessory work. To get the final product:to bench stronger, lowering the bar all the way to the chest, pause, then raising the bar straight up not in a curve towards the rack.

What you friend is primarily doing is building his overall tricep strength in the type of benching he is doing. If he isn't already he will have to do some chest and shoulder work to complement this b/c sooner or later he will stall on his benching.

There are many variations to beching as well as opinions and accessory work to build up your bench so choose wisely.

exactly. take it form 2powerlifters, partial lifts are how to raise you overall press, rack lockouts and board presses are great auxillary lifts.