Pretty damn strong. I dont do flat bench. Something like 90% of pec tears come from flat so ya... im scared... call me a pussy haha. Iv done 405x1 incline BB but usually its 315x8ish. I go really slow and controlled because im paranoid, im positive it hurts my strength. But id rather lift a little less, than end up with a nasty looking unrepairable debilitating pec tear.
there's a great deal to be learnt from p/lifters when it comes to benching heavy as obviously they bench press the heaviest weight (in real terms as opposed to fantasy claims by bbers like trey brewer).
imo, the main reason why you don't tend to get pec tears with dbs is because you are forced to use less total tension ie weight of dbs you use is total of 300, when you are capable of significantly more load in that rom (315 x
. in fact, if you actually bring the bar all the way down to the sternum in the bench you would be using a greater rom in that exercise.
my theory on the pec tears is: too heavy a weight (more than lifter is capable of) x too much rom = pec tear.
