Why do we bench press

[Jefferson]

and ironically, that small, fragile guy might drop you in one punch and make your size/strength irrelevant


it's clear that none have you have been in/around many street fights or around the MMA scene the way you think a bench press matters at all in a brawl

i have around a 350lb bench right now, and my friend who is about my same size probably has a bodyweight bench (MAYBE a little more)... yet, he hits significantly harder than i do

keep believing that a 400lb bench is going to save you in a fight, while i laugh when you open your mouth and some 145lb scrappy fucker lays you out

If they were right Rippetoe could have jumped ten feet in the air with his 600lb squat. Instead he barely cleared 20 inches.

Strength does not equal power.

Even when Manny Pacquiao boxed at under 100lbs he could still have given James L Sibicki permanent brain damage.

[jdjohnson50]

i would invite you over to my house so that i could fight you but a) i'm kind of scared of you and b) i'm not 50 years old like olsdlter and makr hurnling

I would invite you over to mu house for a beer but a) you might hit me and b) i am 50 years old like olsdlter and makr hurnling (whoever they are).

[hamburgerfan]

I don't think anyone is saying a big bench is the only thing that matters in a fight, but I will continue to avoid picking fights with people who are bigger and stronger than me, because being bigger and stronger is a significant advantage in a fight. Regardless of the guy's power production, a person who is bigger and stronger than me is more likely to be able to beat me up.

[Jefferson]

I don't think anyone is saying a big bench is the only thing that matters in a fight, but I will continue to avoid picking fights with people who are bigger and stronger than me, because being bigger and stronger is a significant advantage in a fight. Regardless of the guy's power production, a person who is bigger and stronger than me is more likely to be able to beat me up.

Not really, bigger and stronger often means slower with worse stamina.

[JM3]

The worst asswhippings Ive ever got have been from little guys.

[LudwigVan]

If you want increase ROM, use DBs

Hm, I can imagine how a DB a DB bench press could have more ROM than a BB bench press, but I feel like when the DBs get heavy the plates start getting big and the ROM ends up being shorter.

[Eric K]

If they were right Rippetoe could have jumped ten feet in the air with his 600lb squat. Instead he barely cleared 20 inches.

Strength does not equal power.

Even when Manny Pacquiao boxed at under 100lbs he could still have given James L Sibicki permanent brain damage.

You can't possibly be serious with this argument. This is what he said:

"i have around a 350lb bench right now, and my friend who is about my same size probably has a bodyweight bench (MAYBE a little more)... yet, he hits significantly harder than i do"

Not the point. How hard did you hit when you could bench 200 compared to now? How much harder would your friend hit if he increased his bench 50%?

Holy fuck, I'm not saying that a guy with a 405 bench will win the UFC, ADCC, Olympic medal in boxing, greco roman, freestyle or judo, nor will he win Sambo Championships. Read it in the context of the "bench press is not fucntional".

Try fighting a guy with a 405 bench. You will find this more difficult than a 225 lb bencher (all things be equal for those of you that are being obtuse).

Pacquiao could have beat Jamie in a boxing match? Really? How revolutionary. Not the point. If Pacquiao could have gotten stronger (for the novice this usually means increasing your lifts including the bench, for an advanced athlete it often means something more complicated), do you think that would have had no positive impact on his punching power, relative to himself (since that's the only reasonable way to measure it)?

And this:

Not really, bigger and stronger often means slower with worse stamina.

is obtuse, and pretty dumb.

[hamburgerfan]

Jefferson, what effect does morbid obesity have on fighting ability?

[Jefferson]

You can't possibly be serious with this argument. This is what he said:






Pacquiao could have beat Jamie in a boxing match? Really? How revolutionary. Not the point. If Pacquiao could have gotten stronger (for the novice this usually means increasing your lifts including the bench, for an advanced athlete it often means something more complicated), do you think that would have had no positive impact on his punching power, relative to himself (since that's the only reasonable way to measure it)?

And this:



is obtuse, and pretty dumb.

Truth hurts doesn't it? Squatting 500lbs won't turn you into Michael Jordan, and benching 405lbs won't give a weak puncher a big punch. It's something you're born with.

Jefferson, what effect does morbid obesity have on fighting ability?

Have you found it helpful Hamburgerfan?

[hamburgerfan]

You've always been strangely silent on the subject of morbid obesity and it's effects on athletic performance in general. Why is this?