Oh snap! Did I just say everyone should bench press? Yes, I did.
All the true bros out there just threw their hats up in the air because someone finally validated their reason to bench press every Monday. When I was at Ball State, it was quite astonishing how Monday was always National Bench Press day, because all of the bench presses were always taken.
While the bros are out there throwing a party because I said you need to bench press, most strength athletes think they are too cool for school and don’t need to bench press because they snatch and put things over head.
Ok, let me elaborate before every relatively strong person gets their panties in a bunch.
What Is The Bench Press Good For
Strength
If you are trying to gain any sort of upper body strength whatsoever you should probably be bench pressing. If done properly, the large amount of recruitment of the upper body to bench press will yield some serious strength and growth. The only other upper body exercise I would compare it with in that sense would be probably be the strict press. With that being said, you’re always going to be able to bench press more than you can strict press, so the bench press would overall give you more stimulus for growth and yield more results. This isn’t a novel concept.
Shoulder Health
“But I do all my rotator cuff banded external and internal rotations, my shoulders are plenty healthy.” While there is some validity in that, at Force we very very rarely program any sort of isolated rotator cuff exercises. We prefer to train the shoulder as a whole, in multiple planes of motion. Let me explain. Why would you train one small chain of muscles at a time when it takes a large chain of muscles to pretty much do anything. When a baseball player is about to let go of a 100mph heater, are only the external rotator cuff muscles working? Or is it a large chain of muscles working to stabilize the shoulder? If you’re reaching up to pick berries off of a tree would you only externally rotate at the shoulder? Or, would you externally rotate, upwardly rotate, and horizontally abduct? To properly stabilize the shoulder, it takes a chain of muscles to lock the humeral head into the shoulder capsule. So, if we don’t live that way, WHY WOULD WE TRAIN THAT WAY? Exactly, so let’s not also bench press that way.
So, when done the right way (good scapulohumeral rhythm), bench pressing can be a GREAT way to develop some very healthy shoulders. With that being said, it can also be a great way to tear your shoulders apart if not done efficiently. Elbows wide is a great way to tear a pec, squeezing the shoulder blades back with little movement of the humeral head is a great way to create a ton of anterior shoulder pain, and over extension of the wrist can also be a great way to create some elbow pain. So, if we know those are positions not to get into, we know the efficient positions to strive to achieve. Stacked wrists, elbows directly under the bar, and shoulder blades retracted while limiting anterior humeral glide. This is where we reap the benefits of healthy, stable shoulders that know how to move. It may seem like I just made it impossible to bench press right, but it’s really not that way at all. If your shoulders are in pain when bench pressing see a professional, and if they’re not then you are probably doing it right, and should keep reaping the benefits. Again, keep in mind that doing anything well over moderation can result in some adverse effects. Powerlifters, who need to keep bench pressing often, might experience the situation differently than your average bro who doesn’t need to bench press heavy consistently.
Below is a good example of solid bench press technique, especially on the way up. Notice how Max drives his elbows up underneath the bar when he slightly loses position and lets them fall out.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJl5ZMkgDE6/?taken-by=mcclainfinnegan
Transfer to Other Sports
If you are a Powerlifter you can probably go ahead and not read this article all together because it’s obvious you have to bench press. In addition to that, the bench press can serve as a great movement to improve areas that are important in other sports.
At Force, we have all of our baseball players continuously bench press. As mentioned previously, there is no better way to learn how to properly stabilize the shoulder girdle if done the right way. If a baseball player can learn how to properly stabilize the shoulder in a bench press and gain strength in that movement, then he is going to have a much stronger arm slot position. A strong, stable shoulder girdle means a lot more transfer of energy through that limb, and a healthy shoulder to continuously throw 100mph flames.
A solid bench press can also help the jerk in the sport of Weightlifting. The movements of the jerk and bench press are different, but bench pressing can be a great way to keep those shoulders healthy if jerking heavy consistently. The range of motion on the bench press puts the shoulder at a much more mechanical advantage than a jerk overhead. Shoulders starting to throb after consistently putting heavy weight overhead? Take a day or two out of your week to bench press and I’m sure your shoulders will thank you, and you might develop a stronger overhead position because of it.
I just mentioned specific sports like baseball and Weightlifting, but the bench press is a good developmental tool for pretty much any sport. Athletes competing in a sport that requires transfer of energy through the shoulder and through the arm could benefit by bench pressing. Learning how to press weight properly through the kinetic chain is good for anyone living on this Earth.
Conclusion
The bench press gets a bad reputation. Mostly, in part due to lack of efficiency, and minimum attention to detail when performing the lift. Just as all lifts should be done, the bench press should be done with a high attention to detail. It is commonly known just as a tool to build upper body strength and tell other people how much stronger their bench press is than the other’s. However, with the attention of actually moving through the motion correctly, the bench press can be very beneficial. Getting a massively strong upper body WHILE keeping the shoulders healthy and the transfer the lift has to sport is very beneficial. No, you’re not going to lay down on the field and bench press a player off of you, but that is very lazy thinking in terms of strength and conditioning. Lets think a little bit more critical than that. Movements of sports aren’t always replicated in the weight room, but moving through movements correctly is universal and should be replicated everywhere to improve performance.
So, let’s not be so quick to dismiss the bench press and saying, “it’s not sport specific.” Use the bench press for what it is truly worth. A tool for developing strength, which is needed in all sports. Including LIFE.