Getbig Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness Forums

Getbig Main Boards => Gossip & Opinions => Topic started by: Meso_z on June 03, 2009, 09:22:48 AM

Title: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Meso_z on June 03, 2009, 09:22:48 AM
Why so many guys claim "I dont do flat bench anymore, i might tear my chest", "i do only inclines", "I prefer dumbells" and so on.....why avoiding the barbell bench press?

As if they are going to end their "bb career".  ::)

Anyway i did flat bench on Monday first exercise and it felt great.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: spinnis on June 03, 2009, 09:27:50 AM
Bench is probably the exercise that causes Monst injuries by far, Fucks up shoulders, tears chest etc.

very overrrated. But nice anyway.

But if it hurts even a little then don't.

Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Game Time on June 03, 2009, 09:30:23 AM
I avoid it becsue I never have a spotter...and I don't want to ask someone.

I know many other guys who aviod the BB press because of past shoulder injuries.  The BB restricts your shoulders and puts them through allot of stress, therefore they stick to DB's, cables, and machines
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Aquiles on June 03, 2009, 09:30:44 AM
Bench is probably the exercise that causes Monst injuries by far, Fucks up shoulders, tears chest etc.

very overrrated. But nice anyway.

But if it hurts even a little then don't.



If you dont do it correctly it can be a very dangerous exercise. I'd say that 60 to 70% of people dont know how 2 bench correctly (for their body type).
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Spike on June 03, 2009, 09:30:54 AM
Bench is probably the exercise that causes Monst injuries by far, Fucks up shoulders, tears chest etc.

very overrrated. But nice anyway.

But if it hurts even a little then don't.



yea cause dumb fcks are always posting 500lb bench youtube links cause they're 'hardcore' so everyone had to go repeat that to be a hardass

and there is the all time greatest question that the avg schmoe has for anyone over 225 rocked up

HOW MUCH CHA BENCH??
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Aquiles on June 03, 2009, 09:33:25 AM
If you are asking me how much I bench... well that depends... i go by feeling. the key is 2 put enough stress on the pecs 2 make the grow... like any other muscle.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Spike on June 03, 2009, 09:35:38 AM
If you are asking me how much I bench... well that depends... i go by feeling. the key is 2 put enough stress on the pecs 2 make the grow... like any other muscle.

thats what panzee's say when asked

you must give a number at least 2x's your bodyweight so Joe McFatass will stop bothering you in Wal-Mart and go buy more mullet clippers
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: tbombz on June 03, 2009, 09:36:52 AM
If you are asking me how much I bench... well that depends... i go by feeling. the key is 2 put enough stress on the pecs 2 make the grow... like any other muscle.
im with you aquiles
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: spinnis on June 03, 2009, 09:38:46 AM
thats what panzee's say when asked

a panzee that can actually move his arms above his head after hes 40 without crying out in pain.

count me in.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Van_Bilderass on June 03, 2009, 10:43:00 AM
1. Benching is dangerous

2. Lack of flat benching is the reason for the shallow chests seen in so many bodybuilders nowadays.

3. Flat benching is better for upper chest than inclines.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Stavios on June 03, 2009, 10:55:09 AM
I fucked my chest tendon 2 weeks ago with 335 lbs for 4 reps.

it isn't tore or anything but it hurts a lot so I didn't train chest since then cause I don't want to make it worst.

sucks  :-\

also fucked up something in my forearms during back training


conclusion: Don't go apeshit on the weights after a Keto diet cause you gain strenght back so fast that your body doesn't have time to adjust
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: rccs on June 03, 2009, 10:57:51 AM
1. Benching is dangerous

2. Lack of flat benching is the reason for the shallow chests seen in so many bodybuilders nowadays.

3. Flat benching is better for upper chest than inclines.

4. Afraid of benching = excuse for weak benchers!
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: polychronopolous on June 03, 2009, 10:59:08 AM
Coming up in 7th grade on throughout high school the bench press was the exercise that most guys(who lifted) wanted to get strong at.

Those who could lift solid poundages; I would say 225 and up, generally were the ones with the superior upper bodies.

Barbell bench press was the exercise I focused most on from the age of 15 until my early twenties and I would not go back and change it......Simple, effective compound exercise for developing a solid base at a young age.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Boost on June 03, 2009, 11:29:42 AM
I've seen guys literally torn limb from limb during 1 rep max attempts.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: evandatp on June 03, 2009, 11:39:43 AM
I've seen guys literally torn limb from limb during 1 rep max attempts.
That quote would make a magnificent t-shirt.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: mesmorph78 on June 03, 2009, 11:45:01 AM
im with you aquiles
I partly agree but for side natural size you have to lift heavy.. and just blast the muscle....
and lift heavy heavy but with decent form ...that is best for your bodytype...
all that squeeze stuff is for those huge pro bber types who are on stuff and eat 10 to 12 meals a day so.... no matter how they train they will be huge for the natural.. average guy i say lift heavy heavy heavy .. most pro's wll say you dont need to do so... but in their younger days i think the majority of them used to blast the weight ..which is what i believe greatly ..was the building blocks fo their size..
just my opinion
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Aquiles on June 03, 2009, 11:50:29 AM
The squeezing for me is to shape the muscle even more and not necessary make it bigger. Also helps you bring out those visible muscle fibbers your see when you diet down.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: mesmorph78 on June 03, 2009, 11:58:14 AM
i agree...
but i think there is a time for both.......
i squeeze when im doing isolation movements like flyes crossovers...
but fo  compount movements im moving that heavy ass weight from point a to b for size and density... without dieting...
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Aquiles on June 03, 2009, 12:02:45 PM
yes, you are right about that.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: ManBearPig... on June 03, 2009, 12:10:24 PM
i do squats for chest.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Aquiles on June 03, 2009, 12:15:11 PM
benchpress has been called the squats for upper body  by many pro's so...  ;D
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: funk51 on June 03, 2009, 12:46:06 PM
use this thingeeee to bench press with . thanks to the yoke design your rom. is actually greater than a barbell. if you don't use a spotter you won't die if you miss a lift.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: mesmorph78 on June 03, 2009, 01:01:01 PM
 ;D
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: thewickedtruth on June 03, 2009, 01:06:24 PM
learn to bench properly and you'll be fine..


benching properly is what everyone thinks they do but never actually know wtf they're doing..
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: lax on June 03, 2009, 01:08:31 PM
Why so many guys claim "I dont do flat bench anymore, i might tear my chest", "i do only inclines", "I prefer dumbells" and so on.....why avoiding the barbell bench press?

As if they are going to end their "bb career".  ::)

Anyway i did flat bench on Monday first exercise and it felt great.

unless your an NFL lineman....just as useless as you can get on an exercise....so many better, less injurious

Just try to get big and LOOK like you can bench alot...and then lie
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Method101 on June 03, 2009, 01:11:46 PM
if you do atleast 8 reps with good form there is no way you will  tear your chest if you are natural.

And theres no point ever going over 315 for reps, your chest won't get any bigger at that point anyway.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: liquid_c on June 03, 2009, 01:13:52 PM
Many people "not all, but many" bash the bench press not because it is a shitty exercise, but because they suck at it.  It's far from a worthless exercise.  However it is not a mandatory exercise to build a big chest just as free bar squats are not mandatory to build big legs nor are standard deadlifts mandatory to build a big back.  

Find what works for you.  If you find benefit from the flat bench, do it.  If you don't, then substitute something else.  Simple.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: heretostay13 on June 03, 2009, 01:17:48 PM
I don't feel like my chest gets thoroughly worked unless I do flat barbell work. I feel that it hits my entire chest thoroughly. I was one of those that got caught up in the weights rather than the true feel of my muscle fibers in my chest contracting in the movement. Just two weeks ago I changed my rest periods down to 60-90 seconds and really started focusing on the feel. Although the weights are down a little from this, the workouts are a lot better. But, yeah, no idea why a lot of bodybuilders these days shy away from it. A lot of my lifting friends do it just for that reason though (well..if so and so doesn't do flat bench, I don't need to either) and usually do barbell incline, flat db, incline db,etc. I still do these movements too, but I've honestly tried this (taking out the flat bench) and notice my chest losing thickness/full look over that time.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Mr Nobody on June 03, 2009, 02:45:53 PM
if you do atleast 8 reps with good form there is no way you will  tear your chest if you are natural.

And theres no point ever going over 315 for reps, your chest won't get any bigger at that point anyway.
Nice Point.....
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: tbombz on June 03, 2009, 02:59:21 PM
if you do atleast 8 reps with good form there is no way you will  tear your chest if you are natural.

And theres no point ever going over 315 for reps, your chest won't get any bigger at that point anyway.
if your able to bench 315 for 12, then its time to use more weight.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Stark on June 03, 2009, 03:00:19 PM
I love benching never used the smith machine and never will - the problem is that a lot of people bench with their ego
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Jeffro on June 03, 2009, 04:24:42 PM
For all of you saying that flat bench sucks and that it involves high risk of injury, what other exercises are you using instead to build your big beefy chests?
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Overload on June 03, 2009, 04:33:20 PM
benchpress has been called the squats for upper body  by many pro's so...  ;D

Dips.

Any exercise is dangerous when done incorrectly.

I've had more shoulder issues from incline.


8)
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Neptune100 on June 03, 2009, 04:33:52 PM
I love benching never used the smith machine and never will - the problem is that a lot of people bench with their ego

Very true. Some people see results from bench pressing, others dont. It depends on your build.  Individuals with long arms get much better pectoral stretching when using dumbbells rather than barbells.  Some people use way too much weight and hurt themselves, and steroid users who use heavy weights tend to tear their pec muscles because their ligaments cant hold up. Usually you cant use as much weight during inclines, plus inclines work the upper pecs which is a normally a lagging body part for most individuals.  This kind of tearing also occurs during other exercises with heavy weight.  Personally I've experienced great results form both dumbbell and barbell usage, if you use on or the other you cant go wrong in building a quality chest.

BTW I bench pressed 300 pounds 7 times today, not bad for 4 weeks back into it using a push pull routine.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: suckmymuscle on June 03, 2009, 10:35:10 PM
Why so many guys claim "I dont do flat bench anymore, i might tear my chest", "i do only inclines", "I prefer dumbells" and so on.....why avoiding the barbell bench press?

As if they are going to end their "bb career". 

Anyway i did flat bench on Monday first exercise and it felt great.

  The bench press is the best exercise for neuromuscular efficiency and overall strengh, but it takes a lot longer to pack on mass on the chest than machine movements and smith machine. It takes months for your nervous system to "learn" how to perform the exercise in a way that recruits the most muscle fibers. It gives you a strengh increase in your tris, delts, abs and forearms that no other exercise gives, but the gains in size are slower than with isolation exercises. You can't have a great chest with only the bench press, but you can't have one without it! Even though it takes longer, only the bench press with a free barbell gives the chest thickness. The other exericises makes your chest wider, but only the bench(or dips) with a free barbell or dumbbells hit the deep fibers responsible for thickness. You can't look good in the side chest mandatory if you don't bench with either barbells or dumbbells!

SUCKMYMUSCLE
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: nzmusclemonster on June 03, 2009, 11:09:03 PM
The thought of doing a bench press makes my cock hard.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: vic86 on June 04, 2009, 12:28:32 AM
its not about the excercise, Its about EMBARASMENT,some of them fail to perform the excercise correctly,regardless of weight
Truth :)
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: webcake on June 04, 2009, 01:33:42 AM
I like Bench Press.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: nzmusclemonster on June 04, 2009, 02:07:31 AM
I like Bench Press.

How much you bench stud.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: webcake on June 04, 2009, 02:11:20 AM
How much you bench stud.

1 R.M = 150kg. Did it about a month ago.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: nzmusclemonster on June 04, 2009, 02:14:19 AM
1 R.M = 150kg. Did it about a month ago.

Hahahaha get the fuck outa here! Those twigs you call arms couldnt even get 150 off the rack.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: webcake on June 04, 2009, 02:19:01 AM
Hahahaha get the fuck outa here! Those twigs you call arms couldnt even get 150 off the rack.

I am a level 1 strength and conditioning coach. Part of getting said qualification was obviously learning/teaching 1 Rep Max training. As said, when putting theory into practice, i got 150kg for 1 rep. I had help with the lift off and had 2 spotters each side, but they didn't touch it during the eccentric/concentric phase.

Obviously during my normal training i do not go that heavy. I train chest tomorrow and will probably go up to 120kg.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: nzmusclemonster on June 04, 2009, 02:23:38 AM
I am a level 1 strength and conditioning coach. Part of getting said qualification was obviously learning/teaching 1 Rep Max training. As said, when putting theory into practice, i got 150kg for 1 rep. I had help with the lift off and had 2 spotters each side, but they didn't touch it during the eccentric/concentric phase.

Obviously during my normal training i do not go that heavy. I train chest tomorrow and will probably go up to 120kg.

Hahahahaha absolute bull shit! post a video!

The only way you could bench press 150kg is if you did 15kg 10 times.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: io856 on June 04, 2009, 02:25:30 AM
webcke is natural right?


no way he is putting up 150kgs  unless he has arm length that goes to hips i.e. midget arms

if true WTF??
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: webcake on June 04, 2009, 02:29:01 AM
Hahahahaha absolute bull shit! post a video!

The only way you could bench press 150kg is if you did 15kg 10 times.

Why would i have filmed it  ???

I was being assessed by a national level olympic weight lifting coach, so it was quite a serious ordeal.

I never claimed i could do it again. In fact i doubt i could. Nor do i have any desire to do it again. I had 3 attempts before i got 150. I thought my 150 wouldn't count, but the teacher said "just". I could give a fuck whether you believe me or not, Jamie.  ::)

I was 102kg when i did it. If you think that is so impressive then you really need to see what some guys are capable of lifting.......
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: webcake on June 04, 2009, 02:30:29 AM
webcke is natural right?


no way he is putting up 150kgs  unless he has arm length that goes to hips i.e. midget arms

if true WTF??

Hardly putting up. Once. Got help with the lift off, lowered it myself, pushed it up, they helped me re rack it. I was 102kg when i did it. Assessed by a national level olympic weight lifting coach when i did it. It wasn't mucking around in the gym with my mates.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: io856 on June 04, 2009, 02:30:45 AM
Why would i have filmed it  ???

I was being assessed by a national level olympic weight lifting coach, so it was quite a serious ordeal.

I never claimed i could do it again. In fact i doubt i could. Nor do i have any desire to do it again. I had 3 attempts before i got 150. I thought my 150 wouldn't count, but the teacher said "just". I could give a fuck whether you believe me or not, Jamie.  ::)

I was 102kg when i did it. If you think that is so impressive then you really need to see what some guys are capable of lifting.......
Its impressive no matter what other people are doing
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: webcake on June 04, 2009, 02:32:33 AM
This is 150kg including the bar........just so you know. 3 20's and a 5 each side.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: io856 on June 04, 2009, 02:33:14 AM
This is 150kg including the bar........just so you know. 3 20's and a 5 each side.
lol I have been to a gym before
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: nzmusclemonster on June 04, 2009, 02:34:06 AM
Why would i have filmed it  ???

I was being assessed by a national level olympic weight lifting coach, so it was quite a serious ordeal.

I never claimed i could do it again. In fact i doubt i could. Nor do i have any desire to do it again. I had 3 attempts before i got 150. I thought my 150 wouldn't count, but the teacher said "just". I could give a fuck whether you believe me or not, Jamie.  ::)

I was 102kg when i did it. If you think that is so impressive then you really need to see what some guys are capable of lifting.......

Even by your standards, these lies are pathetic.

Video or bullshit.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: webcake on June 04, 2009, 02:36:07 AM
Even by your standards, these lies are pathetic.

Video or bullshit.

Fine Jamie, it's bullshit. Like i said, i seriously could not give a flying fuck whether or not "Jamie from getbig" believes me.  :)
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: io856 on June 04, 2009, 02:36:47 AM
Fine Jamie, it's bullshit. Like i said, i seriously could not give a flying fuck whether or not "Jamie from getbig" believes me.  :)
BACK OFF
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: webcake on June 04, 2009, 02:37:16 AM
BACK OFF

Post up a pic...
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: lovemonkey on June 04, 2009, 02:41:21 AM
Post up a pic...

Haaauuuuuuhahahauuu
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: webcake on June 04, 2009, 02:42:28 AM
Haaauuuuuuhahahauuu

That man looks familiar.......
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Tapeworm on June 04, 2009, 02:48:53 AM
Good lift web. 
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: lovemonkey on June 04, 2009, 02:49:52 AM
Good Monumental lift web. 

Fixed.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Immortal_Technique on June 04, 2009, 03:30:31 AM
Why so many guys claim "I dont do flat bench anymore, i might tear my chest", "i do only inclines", "I prefer dumbells" and so on.....why avoiding the barbell bench press?

As if they are going to end their "bb career".  ::)

Anyway i did flat bench on Monday first exercise and it felt great.

For me it tends to do more lower chest than anything, and upper chest is harder to build so I start with that, it does wreck some people's shoulders though, not everyone though. Ronnie still does them.

The look for chest has changed also. Iron age guys seemed to have massive bottom heavy pecs and less massive shoulders. Like Lou Ferrigno has an awesome chest but looks relatively narrow by today's standards, as does Arnie, although he was wide for his day. Nower days everyone's got huge delts and little, evenly-developed chests, like Dexter, Jay, Wolf etc. Compare to Bertil Arnold Franco and you can see how flat bench has lost importance over the years. I would agree old school chests look better though. I personally find it hurts and inclines make my chest look better as my chest is angled slightly upward anyway, so inclines hit the whole of it better.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Tre on June 04, 2009, 08:43:49 AM
Bench is probably the exercise that causes Monst injuries by far, Fucks up shoulders, tears chest etc.

very overrrated. But nice anyway.

But if it hurts even a little then don't.



Flat bench is awesome.  It should be a part of every 2nd or 3rd chest workout.  If you're training each bodypart once per week, you'll bench only twice per month.  That's not much at all, but is certainly worth doing.

As with anything in the gym, the keys to are warm up, stretching, and good form.  If you do not stretch properly, you run the serious risk of injury.  I was in a hurry the other day and cut my stretching short and ended up paying the price (a small one, as I should be ok now, but still). 

Don't fear the bench.  I know it can be a little scary to look up and see that big, heavy weight above you, but just man up and handle your business.  You'll be glad you did.


Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Tapeworm on June 04, 2009, 08:50:13 AM
Flat bench is awesome.  It should be a part of every 2nd or 3rd chest workout.  If you're training each bodypart once per week, you'll bench only twice per month.  That's not much at all, but is certainly worth doing.

As with anything in the gym, the keys to are warm up, stretching, and good form.  If you do not stretch properly, you run the serious risk of injury.  I was in a hurry the other day and cut my stretching short and ended up paying the price (a small one, as I should be ok now, but still). 

Don't fear the bench.  I know it can be a little scary to look up and see that big, heavy weight above you, but just man up and handle your business.  You'll be glad you did.




Opposite.  If bench fucks your shoulders, listen to your body.  Go lighter or do something else.  I prefer the hand position that dumbells allow.  Same for shoulder press.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Tre on June 04, 2009, 09:00:09 AM
Opposite.  If bench fucks your shoulders, listen to your body.  Go lighter or do something else.  I prefer the hand position that dumbells allow.  Same for shoulder press.

Oh, you absolutely should listen to your body, but most of those tiny - or not-so-tiny - shoulder tears that people suffer are more likely the result of improper warm-up than simply lifting too heavy.  If the muscle is ready and it's strong enough, why not lift the weight?

Yes, there are exceptions and personal preference should certainly play a role in determining how people train, but it's just an urban legend that 'flat bench is bad'. 
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: lovemonkey on June 04, 2009, 09:28:15 AM
Oh, you absolutely should listen to your body, but most of those tiny - or not-so-tiny - shoulder tears that people suffer are more likely the result of improper warm-up than simply lifting too heavy.  If the muscle is ready and it's strong enough, why not lift the weight?

Yes, there are exceptions and personal preference should certainly play a role in determining how people train, but it's just an urban legend that 'flat bench is bad'. 

Oh rly? I'd be hard pressed to find any other exercise responsible for so many injuries and tears.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: GreatFinn on June 06, 2009, 02:20:11 AM
Why so many guys claim "I dont do flat bench anymore, i might tear my chest", "i do only inclines", "I prefer dumbells" and so on.....why avoiding the barbell bench press?

As if they are going to end their "bb career".  ::)

Anyway i did flat bench on Monday first exercise and it felt great.

Because they are too simple to do it right. It isn't all about the weight you can hang on the barbell, it is all about a form and patience to do it right and give the chest time to grow. On the other hand, that is just about impossible thing to accomplish if you are average amateur male BB:er, because no one want to look sissy. So we load all the plates what we can get our hands on to the barbell and usually use the weights so heavy, that we don't have any fucking way to move with good form. 

Guy with the one of the best chest I have ever seen, ex Finnish pro Fathi Krishi, teach me the principle. He pointed out that even he was using quite moderate weights at the bench, he did have a best chest at the gym, which was crowded with the all the finnish pro's and national champions in every weight class you can think of. How is that possible? It is all about the form and using weight what you really can handle. He never do sets under the 6 reps and he always use a weight which allows him to feel the muscle all the way through the set. He was from Lebanon and a good friend with late Momo Benaziza who was also his mentor in this sport, and he was training with him in finland and scandinavia in those GP tours in that era.
 
What you do is stretch your chest completely before and after every workout, and do your set to the complete failure. You should warm up your chest before heavy sets with at least two sets of 20-30 reps, with the weight that allows you do just that, not 50 or 100 reps.That is called a pre- exhaustion, which is good and hardly used way of fool the muscle. You see, muscle doesn't have understanding, it is just a piece of meat, so it is quite easy to fool. It doesn't know if you are training with dumbbell's or incline bench, all it knows is exhaustion and stress. That's why, when you start with good worm up, you can beat the shit out of it without lifting so heavy. All you need is warm up, then you start with 75% of your one rep max and do set to the failure, at least 6 reps (use the spotter who really knows how to help with forced reps). Then another set with 85%, just like that one before, to the failure. If you need third set, you are complete asshole and you haven't done first two sets to the failure. With Fathi, his one rep max at the time was 280kg(617lb) which is quite a lot for a short guy(1,68m tall) You should test your one rep max every now and then, but that isn't the most important thing in your life. It is just a figure which you use to calculate your training weights. It will go up, if you do your sets in right manner, but most of all, you gain a full and thick pecks, with a lot of strength.

For the spotter, it is important to him to know how to do it: you don't grab the bar and yank it to the rack, but you use your fingertips under the bar and feel how much help you must provide to the last reps, if any, and you have to be fast if bencher reach his failure point. Then and just then you have to rack the bar, not sooner. Rule is that when bencher press upwards, the bar never moves downwards even a bit, but the spotter provides those drops of strenght through his fingers, feel if there is one more rep to come, and keep up the attitude of the bencher by asking for bencher one more rep if you feel it is coming, racking the bar if it isn't. For the bencher, you must have a trust for your spotter, and you must be willing to meet your failure point without any fear.

Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Meso_z on June 06, 2009, 02:54:56 AM
Because they are too simple to do it right. It isn't all about the weight you can hang on the barbell, it is all about a form and patience to do it right and let the chest time to grow. On the other hand, that is just about impossible thing to accomplish if you are average amateur male BB:er, because no one want to look sissy. So we load all the plates what we can get our hands on to the barbell and usually use the weights so heavy, that we don't have any fucking way to move with good form. 

Guy with the one of the best chest I have ever seen, ex Finnish pro Fathi Krishi, teach me the principle. He pointed out that even he was using quite moderate weights at the bench, he did have a best chest at the gym, which was crowded with the all the finnish pro's and national champions in every weight class you can think of. How is that possible? It is all about the form and using weight what you really can handle. He never do sets under the 6 reps and he always use a weight which allows him to feel the muscle all the way through the set. He was from Lebanon and a good friend with late Momo Benaziza who was also his mentor in this sport, and he was training with him in finland and scandinavia in those GP tours in that era.
 
What you do is stretch your chest completely before and after every workout, and do your set to the complete failure. You should warm up your chest before heavy sets with at least two sets of 20-30 reps, with the weight that allows you do just that, not 50 or 100 reps.That is called a pre- exhaustion, which is good and hardly used way of fool the muscle. You see, muscle doesn't have understanding, it is just a piece of meat, so it is quite easy to fool. It doesn't know if you are training with dumbbell's or incline bench, all it knows is exhaustion and stress. That's why, when you start with good worm up, you can beat the shit out of it without lifting so heavy. All you need is warm up, then you start with 75% of your one rep max and do set to the failure, at least 6 reps (use the spotter who really knows how to help with forced reps). Then another set with 85%, just like that one before, to the failure. If you need third set, you are complete asshole and you haven't done first two sets to the failure. With Fathi, his one rep max at the time was 280kg(617lb) which is quite a lot for a short guy(1,68m tall) You should test your one rep max every now and then, but that isn't the most important thing in your life. It is just a figure which you use to calculate your training weights. It will go up, if you do your sets in right manner, but most of all, you gain a full and thick pecks, with a lot of strength.

For the spotter, it is important to him to know how to do it: you don't grab the bar and yank it to the rack, but you use your fingertips under the bar and feel how much help you must provide to the last reps, if any, and you have to be fast if bencher reach his failure point. Then and just then you have to rack the bar, not sooner. Rule is that when bencher press upwards, the bar never moves downwards even a bit, but the spotter provides those drops of strenght through his fingers, feel if there is one more rep to come, and keep up the attitude of the bencher by asking for bencher one more rep if you feel it is coming, racking the bar if it isn't. For the bencher, you must have a trust for your spotter, and you must be willing to meet your failure point without any fear.



Great advices in here, thanks!  8)

I will try to warm up better this time, today i have chest.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Tre on June 06, 2009, 06:29:25 AM
Because they are too simple to do it right. It isn't all about the weight you can hang on the barbell, it is all about a form and patience to do it right and give the chest time to grow. On the other hand, that is just about impossible thing to accomplish if you are average amateur male BB:er, because no one want to look sissy. So we load all the plates what we can get our hands on to the barbell and usually use the weights so heavy, that we don't have any fucking way to move with good form. 

Guy with the one of the best chest I have ever seen, ex Finnish pro Fathi Krishi, teach me the principle. He pointed out that even he was using quite moderate weights at the bench, he did have a best chest at the gym, which was crowded with the all the finnish pro's and national champions in every weight class you can think of. How is that possible? It is all about the form and using weight what you really can handle. He never do sets under the 6 reps and he always use a weight which allows him to feel the muscle all the way through the set. He was from Lebanon and a good friend with late Momo Benaziza who was also his mentor in this sport, and he was training with him in finland and scandinavia in those GP tours in that era.
 
What you do is stretch your chest completely before and after every workout, and do your set to the complete failure. You should warm up your chest before heavy sets with at least two sets of 20-30 reps, with the weight that allows you do just that, not 50 or 100 reps.That is called a pre- exhaustion, which is good and hardly used way of fool the muscle. You see, muscle doesn't have understanding, it is just a piece of meat, so it is quite easy to fool. It doesn't know if you are training with dumbbell's or incline bench, all it knows is exhaustion and stress. That's why, when you start with good worm up, you can beat the shit out of it without lifting so heavy. All you need is warm up, then you start with 75% of your one rep max and do set to the failure, at least 6 reps (use the spotter who really knows how to help with forced reps). Then another set with 85%, just like that one before, to the failure. If you need third set, you are complete asshole and you haven't done first two sets to the failure. With Fathi, his one rep max at the time was 280kg(617lb) which is quite a lot for a short guy(1,68m tall) You should test your one rep max every now and then, but that isn't the most important thing in your life. It is just a figure which you use to calculate your training weights. It will go up, if you do your sets in right manner, but most of all, you gain a full and thick pecks, with a lot of strength.

For the spotter, it is important to him to know how to do it: you don't grab the bar and yank it to the rack, but you use your fingertips under the bar and feel how much help you must provide to the last reps, if any, and you have to be fast if bencher reach his failure point. Then and just then you have to rack the bar, not sooner. Rule is that when bencher press upwards, the bar never moves downwards even a bit, but the spotter provides those drops of strenght through his fingers, feel if there is one more rep to come, and keep up the attitude of the bencher by asking for bencher one more rep if you feel it is coming, racking the bar if it isn't. For the bencher, you must have a trust for your spotter, and you must be willing to meet your failure point without any fear.

Excellent post!  You explained it better than I could. 

I'm just a little guy, but what you outlined has always worked for me.  The only thing I could possibly add is that guys don't have to use the bench to pre-exhaust the muscle.  Crossovers, flyes, pec deck, etc. could all be used to achieve this.  Because my tiny triceps are prone to fatigue, I'll generally use a non-pressing exercise for my pre-exhaust. 
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: tbombz on June 06, 2009, 08:10:53 AM
You see, muscle doesn't have understanding, it is just a piece of meat, so it is quite easy to fool. It doesn't know if you are training with dumbbell's or incline bench, all it knows is exhaustion and stress.

i agree with this

but i also agree that heavy lifting does have its place too
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: andreisdaman on June 06, 2009, 10:07:26 AM
The thought of doing a bench press makes my cock hard.



I guess that's the only way it can get hard, huh?
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: andreisdaman on June 06, 2009, 10:11:14 AM
Vince Gironda suggested that when you bench you should bring the weight down to the throat area in order to build enormous size in the chest...I did that and wow, he was right....chest swole up big time...but that type of bench really tore up my shoulder blades big time...I was always sore all the time from that
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Meso_z on June 06, 2009, 10:15:44 AM
like other bodyparts chest is mostly genetic, a guy in my gym does only hammer flat machine press, the same for incline and peck deck. and leaves the gym. No stretching whatsoever. He does like 5 plates a side in the machines and full stack on peck deck and he does have an ENORMOUS chest, looks deformed or something, the fucker cant even see his nipple.

I always wonder what the fuck am going to do with my chest. lol.

Im like Lee, narrow chest and bif amr s and shoulders.
Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: MCWAY on June 06, 2009, 10:40:41 AM
Bench is probably the exercise that causes Monst injuries by far, Fucks up shoulders, tears chest etc.

very overrrated. But nice anyway.

But if it hurts even a little then don't.



It causes the most injuries, because it's the most ABUSED exercise done in the gym.

The bench press is like any other exercise. Used properly, it can put you on the fast track to pec size and strength.

Used improperly, it can put you in the hospital.


The thought of doing a bench press makes my cock hard.

Perhaps, this phenomenon explains why so many, who use the bench press, keep trying to fornicate with the gym's roof (I believe MuscleMag once referred to them as "ceiling-sexuals").


Title: Re: In the fear of bench press...
Post by: Earl1972 on June 06, 2009, 04:25:06 PM
if you don't have a chest, it's genetics

pros today appear to have smaller chests because their waistlines are too big

tighter waistline makes the chest look bigger

E