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  • Proper Bench Form

    Ok, I have been training for many years now. I see guys that bounce the weight off of their chests which I am positive is not right. I have seen guys lower the weight to where their upper arms aren't even parrallel to the floor. I personally like to control the weight, get a good negative, lower the bar to about an inch above my chest then a little quicker motion to the top.

    In your opinion what is proper bench form?

  • #2
    Re: Proper Bench Form

    Why wouldn't you want to touch your chest or am I reading it wrong? As far as proper form goes, it really depends on your goals. For powerlifting, you want to lower the bar quickly but under control, stop on the chest with a pause, then explode up. For hypertrophy you want to lower the bar relatively slow, no pause neccesarry. Your grip depends on you, whatever works best, some go index finger on the rings, some pinky on the rings. Pretty much same goes for your elbow position, IMO, it's best to keep your humorus at about a 45 degree angle from your body. Elbows too far out put your shoulders at an increased risk for injury and too far in brings your lats into play more than your chest which is not what your after I'm assuming.

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    • #3
      Re: Proper Bench Form

      [QUOTE=kite;797850]Why wouldn't you want to touch your chest or am I reading it wrong? QUOTE]


      The only reason I don't touch my chest is for control purposes. I don't want to run the risk of bouncing it so I just stop a little above my chest.

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      • #4
        Re: Proper Bench Form

        i give my chest more or less a little tap, just so i recognize that i did touch my chest. it's far from a bounce. i see those guys too and just laugh. the degree of tap that hit's my chest wouldn't hurt a 4 year old's chest. bar hits right at or slightly above nip level.
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        • #5
          Re: Proper Bench Form

          I too prefer not to touch the chest because it momentarily gives the pecs a rest, but that's me. Also, on inclines I never touch chest because my arms are beyond parallel to the floor at about 4 inches above my chest. Once your arms go past parallel to the floor, the stress on the shoulder joint increases tremendously. So, I go down, slowly, to just past parallel to the floor and back up. My entire focus is on 'feeling' the pec stretch and contract and when you drop to far past parallel you can feel more of your delts come in, which is not what I'm trying to do. Some guys have nice barrel chests and this is not a problem for them, I'm not one of those guys. I have a barrel stomach, but not upper chest. lol
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          • #6
            Re: Proper Bench Form

            I HAVE SLOW CONTROL MOVEMENT AND TOUCH MY CHEST. PLUS I HAVE A GRIP THAT IS A LITTLE MORE THAN SHOULDER LENGTH LIKE I'M DOING TRI'S.
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            • #7
              Re: Proper Bench Form

              i also stop just shy of the chest, just a little above nipple hieght...but, my bench sux, so dont take my word for it
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              • #8
                Re: Proper Bench Form

                I like tight, controlled movements on all my lifts. For bench, I don't think I go "slow" but compared to the guys that bounce, I do but then I'll push it up quickly. I go down to about an inch above my chest, I get shoulder pain if I go lower.

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                • #9
                  Re: Proper Bench Form

                  For all of you guys who don't touch due to pain, have you ever tried setting up really tight with your shoulder blades pinched tight? This has helped me out tremendously, it takes alot of the stress off the shoulders and helps you to keep very tight.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Proper Bench Form

                    Originally posted by FUZO View Post
                    I HAVE SLOW CONTROL MOVEMENT AND TOUCH MY CHEST. PLUS I HAVE A GRIP THAT IS A LITTLE MORE THAN SHOULDER LENGTH LIKE I'M DOING TRI'S.
                    Really? I met this dude last night who does that too and he said he can't bench for **** when he goes wide. He said he has stong triceps so why not untilize more. Mine are pretty strong but my strong point is deffinately my delts. My incline press is just about the same place as my flat bench and that's after doing flat bench. I wonder if I should bring my grip in some to see if my triceps could help it out more. I line my middle fingers up on that smooth ring just outside shoulder width.
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                    • #11
                      Re: Proper Bench Form

                      ^isnt the whole point of bench pressing is to work the chest...why bring the tricep in more? if i bring my grip in, i surely could go hevier (it might be enough NOT to be a joke) but i dont seem to feel it in my chest as much the next couple days...
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                      • #12
                        Re: Proper Bench Form

                        One of the main reasons I ask this is some dip spit came over to me yesterday and said I should only go to parrallel because it puts too much strain on my shoulders. My arguement is that if I only go to parallel then I am not getting a good stretch and I would feel it in my shoulders if the strain was too great (remember I am coming off of a shoulder surgery).

                        This dude loads up the same weight that I am using and doesn't even go to parallel. He does spuats the same way. He loads up too much weight for him then only bends slightly at the knee. I know that doesn't work his legs, wouldn't the same thing hold true for bench press? I would think that it doesn't incorporate all the muscle fibers.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Proper Bench Form

                          as far as touching the chest I wouldnt call it a bounce but a slightly accelerated tap! all the way down for me...slightly wider than shoulder width grip, touching the bar to nipple line or just lower than

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                          • #14
                            Re: Proper Bench Form

                            Originally posted by Scalleywag View Post
                            One of the main reasons I ask this is some dip spit came over to me yesterday and said I should only go to parrallel because it puts too much strain on my shoulders. My arguement is that if I only go to parallel then I am not getting a good stretch and I would feel it in my shoulders if the strain was too great (remember I am coming off of a shoulder surgery).

                            This dude loads up the same weight that I am using and doesn't even go to parallel. He does spuats the same way. He loads up too much weight for him then only bends slightly at the knee. I know that doesn't work his legs, wouldn't the same thing hold true for bench press? I would think that it doesn't incorporate all the muscle fibers.
                            yea...sounds the same to me...i go past parallel, just dont bounce.(i really dont touch much at all, maybe a 1/4 inch high or whatnot)
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                            • #15
                              Re: Proper Bench Form

                              AFTER MY LAST SHOULDER SURGERY I STARTED TO GO SLOW AND NOT BOUNCE. CONTROL IS BETTER IMO ANYWAY
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