benching to your chest.

fullypaully

New member
People say that when you bench press you should bring the bar all the way down to your chest....then i see body builders and some guys at the gym only going half way down....i use to only go half way down a long time ago when i was jsut getting into lifting and didnt know much and i did get strength gains...but anyways whats with only going down half way down??
 
i'm not sure..but I think it's like doing board-presses ...or they're just cheating and saying that they can bench that certain amount of weight....
 
If I don't go all the way down it is better on my shoulders.

Don't think you get much more out of it for your chest if you go all the way down anyway
 
AngryMuscles said:
i'm not sure..but I think it's like doing board-presses ...or they're just cheating and saying that they can bench that certain amount of weight....

its nothing like a board press..when you hit a board the bar sinks and you are supposed to become totally lose on the board adn then press up..you are eliminating te stretch reflex..

if you dont go all the way u are just cheating yourself..BB'ing or PL'ing grow some balls and take some weight of the bar and do it correctly
 
My buddies bench way more than me, even though we do same weight for other stuff like inclines,flys,etc.

I go all the way down to my chest and they go about half.
 
blackbeard said:
if you dont go all the way u are just cheating yourself..BB'ing or PL'ing grow some balls and take some weight of the bar and do it correctly
Shit I guess my chest would be absolutely enormous if i bring my upper arms way past horizontal and screw up my shoulders.

Your chest really doesn't kick in much that low..
 
if it doesn't hurt your shoulder then go all the way down.... I think that people who dont go all the way down just have shoulder issues, but dont want to exclude bench out of their routine.... IMO
 
I have shoulder problems and I still drop the bar down to my chest. A wider grip and slower movements really helped in alleviating pain. I take the time to warm up the joints and get things moving freely before I start.

Think about it, when you train bi's do you do half arm curl movements?
 
hannan420 said:
If I don't go all the way down it is better on my shoulders.

Don't think you get much more out of it for your chest if you go all the way down anyway

a trainer i have worked with in the past has me doing the same thing. he says that by stopping just short of your chest you keep full tension on your chest and i have to say that it works for me
 
I got to my chest. Of course making sure I wamr up properly. But the guys that don't go to their chest are missing out and are typically weaker and smaller in the chest area. They'll tell you it makes no difference but ask them to take a weight to their chest and they have NO STRENGTH IN THAT RANGE. It collapses on them and crushes them like a bug.

THe farther you go up off your chest in bench the more tries are involved. I do bench to work my chest.
 
cuse8778 said:
a trainer i have worked with in the past has me doing the same thing. he says that by stopping just short of your chest you keep full tension on your chest and i have to say that it works for me
Someone who knows what they are talking about.
 
fullypaully said:
People say that when you bench press you should bring the bar all the way down to your chest....then i see body builders and some guys at the gym only going half way down....i use to only go half way down a long time ago when i was jsut getting into lifting and didnt know much and i did get strength gains...but anyways whats with only going down half way down??

your atavar is very distracting.
 
A couple more things to consider. Board benching is clearly easier than full range benching. If it was just as hard to stop short of your chest they would allow it in competition, which they don't. Both of the guys I work out with stop early and if they go below that stopping point whichis say at least 3" from their chest the weight squashes them. They both have small chests. THe one guy started doing some sets to the chest and quickly experienced mopre chest growth and more strength. THe other one refuses to do full range. He should as blackbeard said tkae some weight off the bar and do it right.

THeir going to read this, so, sorry guys but you both know it's true.
 
if your shoulder is messed up then you can stop short, but still try to go as deep as possible.

BB- can't you eliminate the stretch reflex without a board also? bring bar to chest, rest it, then push it up.
 
getfitdoc said:
BB- can't you eliminate the stretch reflex without a board also? bring bar to chest, rest it, then push it up.

I suppose you could but I can't imagine laying 400+ pounds on my chest and resting it there and then pushing again.

Also the object of boards os to handle more weight than you normally can, work sticky points and simulate a bench shirt.
 
getfitdoc said:
if your shoulder is messed up then you can stop short, but still try to go as deep as possible.

BB- can't you eliminate the stretch reflex without a board also? bring bar to chest, rest it, then push it up.

no but you can doing a pin press ( res the bar on the pins at a desired level and then press it off them)

boards are boards they dont correlate to anything!!!!! they are not easy i hit my boards kinda hard and everyone has there own style ie "catch and throw" or just down/up etc..i lawsy get the dumb question when im doing a 6brd with whatever weight someone will ask ca u do that without the boards?? instead of asking what im doing...most people dont wanna or cannot comprehend the answer i give anyway and they usually walk away
 
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