posted Sat, 08/24/2019 - 00:37
1655
Touch your chest or not?
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Hey All,
I am hoping to settle a dispute. I have a buddy that swears that proper for on a bench is to not touch the bar to your chest. I however, have had full range of motion drilled into my head for my entire life. Now I am not talking rest the bar on your chest think about the world's problems and then put it back up. I'm talking down and right back up. I understand where he is coming from, as if you just about touch say and inch above and back up would maintain more load on your muscle throughout the movement......... What are everyone's thoughts? Can't think of any better group to ask then here!
Thanks
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Steveblol , it is a very short way of answering
Lmao
One other thing. And the main reason I say you should be touching your chest if you’re going to be calling it a bench press.
Everyone is chiming in about not touching your chest if your goal is building muscle. If your goal is building muscle I don’t see the point in doing flat bench anyway. Incline barbell, flat dumbbell and weighted dips are much better overloading muscle builders than flat bench. If I was just trying to build muscle I’d prolly never flat bench.
At least not for chest. I’d do close grip for tris. And touch my chest (well, upper stomach really) or pause 1” above it.
This is great info. I already do these with the flat. So would you say that I should axe the flat bench altogether? Summer is over and it's time to eat and hit it hard. Time to chase some new goals.
jayiskSmart move. Should always have goal/program to follow with training. See way too many people do the same shit in the gym yr after yr. And they just look the same, never make any improvements and also never get any stronger.
Yes, nutrition and rest is where the growth take place but you need to breakdown those muscle fibers training hard in the gym.
Agreed
Agreed I rarely do flat barbell bench anymore, incline barbell is much more effective at building my chest. However I use the same principal on incline keeping the bar an inch or two from touching top of my chest
When I was young I had Gyno and was touching my chest all the time.
...I was lonely then, so very lonely.
If you're looking to maximize hypertrophy, keeping the muscle under constant tension during the exercise is key. I keep the bar about 2 inches from touching my chest during bench to maintain the tension on the pecs and avoid any overuse of the anterior delts. I kill my shoulders on another day no need to on chest day.
IMO it is really depends on how you been training and what’s your goal is
If you let the bar touch your chest your shoulders will take over and your engaging more muscle not focusing completely on your chest I’m one of the guys who let the bar hit the chest 2 inches to 3 inches before the bar hit your chest is good
This is just my opinion
The answer to this depends on where your elbows are. If you can hit your chest without your elbows going below your shoulder, great. If you can’t and elbows go below shoulder, great risk of tearing pecs based on the pecs origin.
Jay gave you the best answer you’re gonna get.
But don’t walk around saying you rep 315 if you’re not touching your chest. That’s you repping 315 on the spotto press, not bench press.
Full way down to touch the chest and back up. If I go for a max and failed to touch I simply will not count it and don't kid myself in anyway that I got it. The hardest part in the lift is at the chest as this is where you are in terms of leverages your weakest, so creating as much speed and power from this point takes skill and timing to then be able to drive the bar through the midway sticking point between your shoulders and triceps.
It depends on your instincts, clearly you don't have to download the weight on your chest. However, you can use a small shot in the last repetitions if you don't have a spotter.
Do yourself a favor & look up videos of top pro bodybuilders doing chest. You will be hard pressed to find anyone that does full range barbell bench where the bar touches the chest before being pressed up. Most if not all stop the bar right before touching before driving it up. While bodybuilders attempting to build maximum muscles while still remaining relatively safe (as pec , tri, & bi tears are all too common) keeping constant tension on the muscle keeps the body in the safest position while still getting quality range of motion.
I don’t touch my focus is to keep all the work on the chest. But for each it on.
jayiskfor PL you need to do a paused bench press..the bar has to come to a complete stop on your chest.
there is touch and go. you touch you chest with the bar and continue to lock out.
there is bounce and go. this is when someone has too much weight on the bar and doesnt know what the fawk they are doing. they let the momentum of the bar bounce off their chest to try and make the lift. usually they stall and the mid way point then their ass comes off the bench and they try to turn it into a decline press or the spotter helps them and tells them "its all you bro"
Spoto press- this maybe what you are referring to. you purposely stop the bar short from touching your chest at all to keep constant tension on the lift. it is a specific exercise. google it...
I do all my reps controlled and methodically. I like to "feel the movement", so I know I'm hitting the muscle groups. From reading your reply and the others it seems that that there are 2 schools of thought on this. Now I'm wondering if I could squeeze out a few more lbs on my max if I don't touch.......hmmm.
jayiskit depends on if you are trying to bench as an exercise or a movement. BB's do it more as an exercise with constant tension and usually stop short of chest and full lockout.
PL's do it as a movement and touch chest and lockout.
Stopping short as in the Spoto Press will help to increase your strength. But if you are going for a max bench i would touch and go to lift more weight.
Also dont know how you set up to do the bench press. PL get their bodies very tight, use leg drive, tuck shoulder blades together, utilize their back and tri's and tuck their elbows.
You never want to bench completely flat backed with your elbows strength out to the sides and they go to far down when the weight comes down. Easy way to injury your shoulder or tear a pec.
if you are not familiar with any of this check out videos on youtube on how to set up for the bench press for BB and PL.
Lol jay nailed it.
Now in bodybuilding the point is hypertrophy by any means necessary. If that means half repping gets you the results you need then that’s what you do. I personally go down close to touching but I stop when I see my elbows hit 90 degrees (maybe a touch further but that’s it) because I’m paranoid about tearing my chest. Then on the drive up I only go up maybe 50-75% then back down to minimize triceps involvement and maximize pectoral stress.
yep^^ spot on
I'm a fan of gently touching the chest, but not letting the bar rest on it or get a bounce off it! Good technique is important for maximum results!
I think in competition the bar has to touch your chest.
But proper depends on what your going for as far chest development is concerned, personally I don't let the bar touch my chest
Like you said not letting the bar touch maintains more load on your chest, My personal opinion is if you need to bounce the bar off your chest your not really lifting the weight. Now a simple down and up no pause and no bounce while still touching your chest is I think the proper form at competitions that maybe your technical answer.