Bench Press Question?

[Ambros23]

hey i have heard when you bench its not always good to touch your chest because if you bend your shoulders more then 90 degrees its just all ligaments and tendons and thats bad for you? is that true because i have long arms and if i go down and touch my chest my elbows are way below 90 degrees and below my back? just wondering let me know. also if theres a website that talks about that let me know also. Thanks

[caturpilar]

I have heard the same but for different reasons. I have been told that bouncing the weight off your chest is bad for the Sternum. As far as extending your shoulders past 90 degrees, I'm not sure because if you do flyes aren't you extending past 90 degrees also? At least i do, I feel it stretches the chest more.

[scottninpo]

i think this goes along with the idea that you shouldn't squat to parallel because it hurts your knees, they're both excuses for people to look like they are handling more weight, people get hurt because they use bad form, i.e. lifting your butt off the bench, collapsing your elbows, leaning to one side, etc. if you do controlled reps and use proper form, there is no reason why you can't touch your chest, remember, it's supposed to be hard!

[rambo]

Many people have eliminated flat pressing all together, and rely soleley on dumbell presses and incline benching, and an array of other lifts to take its place. The rationale is that it places undue strain on the anterior deltoid, among other ligaments and tendons. The downside to removing it from a program is the loss of a holistic compound movement, which as we know is often times an antagonist for growth. I find that while my incline bench gets increasingly stronger, my flat bench has actually detiorated quite a bit, this is in part due to a severely bruised sternum a year ago, but mostly due to the pressure it places on my shoulders.

[Diesel]

I have heard the same thing. However, if you incorporate a proper effective daily stretching routine, you should be ok.

D

[Red Ketchup]

I won't flat bench because of a shoulder injury (ripped trap head), it's murder on my shoulder.

I include declines in the smith, incline dumbells, ISO flat chest Hammer machine and sometimes flat dumbells in my chest routine.

Red

[Russ616]

hey i have heard when you bench its not always good to touch your chest because if you bend your shoulders more then 90 degrees its just all ligaments and tendons and thats bad for you? is that true because i have long arms and if i go down and touch my chest my elbows are way below 90 degrees and below my back? just wondering let me know. also if theres a website that talks about that let me know also. Thanks

Use control and bring it down slow. Don't do is half ass . Going half way down is almost like doing a tricept workout to me. tuff it up.

TRAIN HARD

[Dude-Man]

Half reppers piss me off.

[Mr. Death]

Many people have eliminated flat pressing all together, and rely soleley on dumbell presses and incline benching, and an array of other lifts to take its place. The rationale is that it places undue strain on the anterior deltoid, among other ligaments and tendons. The downside to removing it from a program is the loss of a holistic compound movement, which as we know is often times an antagonist for growth. I find that while my incline bench gets increasingly stronger, my flat bench has actually detiorated quite a bit, this is in part due to a severely bruised sternum a year ago, but mostly due to the pressure it places on my shoulders.

Yeah. I only do flat bench presses every now and then because they give my shoulders hell. I've read that a few pro bodybuilders have now quit doing flat bench presses altogether.

[gdwygd]

Put simply: You can easily crack your ribs when your weight gets high if you bounce the bar

[ItalianMuscle]

No half reps.. Do full reps.. Along you stretch properly befor you workout..

[murph]

Yeah. I only do flat bench presses every now and then because they give my shoulders hell. I've read that a few pro bodybuilders have now quit doing flat bench presses altogether.

.yep i agree 100% i read the same things from pros and they say if you do flat bench you are just waiting for injury because it will come,......
Murph

[bornbad71]

Years ago I was one of those bounce the bar off the chest aholics(more of an ego thing).......messed a shoulder up(not bad enough for surgery).......did DB's for almost a year........now I know my limitations on flat bench......what I do is control the neg. portion for a 4 count, coming ever so close to the chest(about 1/2" above) then blowing the weight up.......in my experiance form is key to all lifts to stay injury free and grow.

[LostUp]

I don't bounce the weight off my chest but I do bring the bar down pretty quick and BLAST the weight up as close to the time it touches my chest as humanly possible. The ony thing I don't do this is with reps 5 or less, because I want to make sure I'm in control and heavy stuff is hard to move quickly on the neg and control it. What do you guys think of that?

[David22]

I don't bounce the weight off my chest but I do bring the bar down pretty quick and BLAST the weight up as close to the time it touches my chest as humanly possible. The ony thing I don't do this is with reps 5 or less, because I want to make sure I'm in control and heavy stuff is hard to move quickly on the neg and control it. What do you guys think of that?

I do exactly the same thing than you brother...

If you wanna become a monster on bench press you've got to touch your chest, either with heavy weights.

[scottninpo]

even with heavy weight, i use this rep cadence, 4 down, as fast as i can going up, and hold for a second on top, as long as you control the weight on the way down in a slow, controlled fashion, there's no reason you can't go heavy for doubles or triples

[Breetai]

i have control of the weight down (doing it slowly) and then push the weight up fast. never stoping, just up and down with full control

[Mu'min]

Bismillah
I was reading in MD a while back about a bodybuilder discussing this issue. I forget who. Sorry. He said that he stops when he feels the emphasis on the exercise change from his chest to a pulling in the delts. Once I read this and gave it a try I found it to work great. Some days I am loose and touch my chest. Some times I feel the stretch in my delts too much and don't quite hit bottom. I have learned over the years that listening to what my body tells me is key to preventing injury and to getting the most from my workouts.
Peace.