i was doing chest yesterday when...

[fitguy22]

so i was in the gym yesterday doing chest, flat bench press to be exact. i lower the bar all the way down to my sternum and push it back up, apparently i was doing it wrong because one HUGE guy comes unto me and tells me how this is the wrong form, i shouldn't be bringing the bar all the way down but rather i should keep my elbows at 90 degree angle and push it back up (which is 5-6 inches above your sternum). i just wanted to ask which way do u guys workout and what do u think of the 90 degree angle theory the guy presented to me?

 

[halfwit]

Causing external rotation of the shoulders will cause you problems in the future; this happens when the elbows drop below 90,and the shoulders have to compensate. I totally agree with what he told you, unless you're prepping for a PL meet.

My .02c

 

[Mrrippedzilla]

Impossible to say without considering your arm length, chest width, shoulder mobility, etc.

IME, everyone has slightly different bench press form depending on their biomechanics - there is no "one way" of doing the bench

 

[Havasu]

How close you lower the bar to your sternum will depend on arm length, and the width of your grip, and how thick you are. I do agree with only dropping your elbows to slightly below 90. I have long arms, so the bar will not touch my chest. Guys with stubby arms can lower to their chest and be just below 90.

 

[Dirkmcgirk]

I am 6'3 with 37.5-38" arms and go completely down on bench. Are you saying i have been doing it all wrong the last 15 years

 

[Havasu]

I am 6'3 with 37.5-38" arms and go completely down on bench. Are you saying i have been doing it all wrong the last 15 years

"Wrong" is subjective. All anyone is saying is that you could be causing yourself shoulder issues. If not, you probably have superior shoulder joints and supporting cast. When questioning range of motion I started looking at exercises from a perspective of "What exactly am I trying to train with this movement". If the answer is chest with bench press, then you probably don't need to go too far below 90, because you start removing the chest from the movement, and put the load directly on your shoulders until you are at 90.

 

[fitguy22]

thanks for ur reply guys.

Dirk: thats what i wanna know as well but seems like it all depends on u if u r getting the stretch and benfit then keep doing it lol

 

[Southernfish]

I think as long as the tension remains on the pecs themselves go down as far as you can.

 

[DarkCurse]

if you can go all the way down you should.

 

[Harnold]

so i was in the gym yesterday doing chest, flat bench press to be exact. i lower the bar all the way down to my sternum and push it back up, apparently i was doing it wrong because one HUGE guy comes unto me and tells me how this is the wrong form, i shouldn't be bringing the bar all the way down but rather i should keep my elbows at 90 degree angle and push it back up (which is 5-6 inches above your sternum). i just wanted to ask which way do u guys workout and what do u think of the 90 degree angle theory the guy presented to me?

I believe we just had a fairly lengthy discussion on this same topic not long ago. it was very informative and somewhat conflicting with this one. guessing about a month ago.

 

[prank]

so i was in the gym yesterday doing chest, flat bench press to be exact. i lower the bar all the way down to my sternum and push it back up, apparently i was doing it wrong because one HUGE guy comes unto me and tells me how this is the wrong form, i shouldn't be bringing the bar all the way down but rather i should keep my elbows at 90 degree angle and push it back up (which is 5-6 inches above your sternum). i just wanted to ask which way do u guys workout and what do u think of the 90 degree angle theory the guy presented to me?

I believe (well I once heard) the bodybuilding arms/elbows out & the weight lifter style elbows slightly in to get more tri involved I guess it depends on what your trying to achieve.

What The F*#k do I know? Just my 2 cents

 

[Fullgoldcrown]

say he was doing barbell guillotine presses.. you wouldn't want to go past 90 degrees correct?

I go a little past 90 on regular flat bench but it feels much more comfortable.

 

[tury694]

if you can go all the way down you should.

I go all the way down, but I lift for strength. I don't think that people lifting solely for aesthetics need to. I always feel that it is better to go all the way down, but I have seen guys like Cutler and Kai stop short of their chest and surely they know what they are doing.