Bench press question

[Shinobi]

Hello everyone.

Which is the proper technique? When flat benching, are the arms supposed to only go as far as the parallel plane of the body, or are the arms supposed to go below to a point where the bar "touches" the chest?

The reason I ask, is that a few years ago I heard that benching below parallel is bad for the rotator cuff. Now, recently, I've heard from certified bio-keneticist that that was a big misconception that was doing rounds in the gyms a few years ago, and that the best way to bench was to "touch" the chest with the bar ?

thanks for your time.

[Overload]

Touch the chest, full range of motion. it should not bother your cuffs unless you have an existing injury or you are not flexible enough. i've never had a problem with flat bench bothering my shoulders.

 

[Always Sore]

i think it depends on your body type. for me i have long ape like arms but found if i come down to about 1/2 to 1 inch from my chest on each rep i feel it more in the chest and if i touch my chest i feel my front delts start to take over.could be just me, try it a few different ways till you get your sweet spot..and never take advice from someone in the gym..ever.

[JPM]

A lot of very big BB'ers stop an inch or so before touching the chest and press back up to just before (but never) lockout. Some will make the point of touching the bar to the chest every rep. And a very few will start each rep of the bench press from a dead stop/pause (me included) rather than rely on the rebounding affect of starting overhead, like most lifter's do. Take you pick as to which method suits your needs the best. If the grip is correct for you (surprised how many guy's select the wrong hand spacing for their leverage/muscle involvement..just because they read some where that's there is only one way you should space the grip), a proper warm-up/stretch is taken and starting with a comfortable weight (not to heavy..work up to that) than no danger of shoulder joint/muscle injury should occur.

If you are concerned about a better stretch than use DB's. A BB limits anything near a full stretch because that pesky bar keeps hitting the chest. This, and any of the above, will also apply to the incline press. In BB'ing you are your own test lab, see what works best for you and you alone. Good Luck.