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Thread: Why do we bench press

  1. #1
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    Default Why do we bench press

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    Hey
    Why did Rip opt for the bP instead of weighted push ups ??
    I can think of seven things that push ups have over the bp :
    -Shoulder friendly
    -High neuromuscular stimulation (since it is a bodyweight exercise)
    -Functional strength training (nothing is supporting our backs when pushing things in real life)
    -Easy to microload
    -Core training
    -Increased range of motion when using push up bars
    -Wrist friendly when using push up bars
    Last edited by exter; 07-21-2011 at 10:36 AM.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by exter View Post
    Hey
    Why did Rip opt for the bP instead of weighted push ups ??
    I can think of seven things that push ups have over the bp :
    -Shoulder friendly
    -High neuromuscular stimulation (since it is a bodyweight exercise)
    -Functional strength training (nothing is supporting our backs when pushing things in real life)
    -Easy to microload
    -Core training
    -Increased range of motion when using push up bars
    -Wrist friendly when using push up bars
    How are you going to simulate heavy bench presses with push ups? How do you easily add weight to pushups? How are you going to microload pushups? Which is one of the standard powerlifting lifts: weighted pushups or bench presses?

  3. #3

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    I agree with some points except say push-ups being easy to microload... BP is way easier in this aspect.
    Also why not dips then? Cause I hate BP (aswell?).
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  4. #4
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    Why not?

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by exter View Post
    Hey
    Why did Rip opt for the bP instead of weighted push ups ??
    I can think of seven things that push ups have over the bp :
    -Shoulder friendly
    -High neuromuscular stimulation (since it is a bodyweight exercise)
    -Functional strength training (nothing is supporting our backs when pushing things in real life)
    -Easy to microload
    -Core training
    -Increased range of motion when using push up bars
    -Wrist friendly when using push up bars
    Because weighted pushups quickly become awkward as shit to load, i.e. do not scale more or less infinitely as does a bench press. If there were some way to do this safely and easily, scaling indefinitely, a weighted pushup would be a great exercise, but I can't really imagine a setup that would allow it.

    Weighted dips, as a poster above implied, would probably be a reasonable alternative. Rip was asked this, what advantage bench had over dips, and his answer was that, eventually with enough weight added, dips become awkward to perform. This is kind of true, speaking from experience, but even at 4 plates added it's still pretty manageable. I actually think the bigger obstacle is the non-standardization of the lift - in terms of grip width (will vary from station to station) and what constitutes a "full" range of motion.
    Last edited by blowdpanis; 07-21-2011 at 10:52 AM.

  6. #6
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    I would rather throw up than not bench press.

  7. #7
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    "-Shoulder friendly
    -High neuromuscular stimulation (since it is a bodyweight exercise)
    -Functional strength training (nothing is supporting our backs when pushing things in real life)
    -Easy to microload
    -Core training
    -Increased range of motion when using push up bars
    :"

    What is shoulder unfriendly about benching?
    If you want increase ROM, use DBs
    What does being a BW excersize have to do neuromuscular stimulation?

    And I thought this functional bullshit stayed over on the fuck CF boards? You think the bench press isn't functional? Go find a guy that benches 405 strict and pick a fight. Let us know what happens. What the fuck is this "replicated in real life" BS? Where did this idiocy come from? I never go up and down with a weight on my back in real life but as my squat has gone up, so has my judo game. Getting better at something by replicating it is called skill work, getting more fit (stronger, faster, more enduring etc) comes from conditioning.

  8. #8
    stonerider Guest

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    functional training? oh please, how many times are you lying down on the ground and trying to push your upper body away from something while keeping your feet planted on the ground?


    as far as fighting someone who can bench 405, that doesn't mean shit.. they could have terrible power production, and generally they do

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by stonerider View Post
    functional training? oh please, how many times are you lying down on the ground and trying to push your upper body away from something while keeping your feet planted on the ground?
    lol

  10. #10
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    I used to do push ups and went from something like 5,5,5 to 12,12,12 with no mass gains. I have no respect for this exercise!

    Quote Originally Posted by blowdpanis View Post
    Because weighted pushups quickly become awkward as shit to load, i.e. do not scale more or less infinitely as does a bench press. If there were some way to do this safely and easily, scaling indefinitely, a weighted pushup would be a great exercise, but I can't really imagine a setup that would allow it.

    Weighted dips, as a poster above implied, would probably be a reasonable alternative. Rip was asked this, what advantage bench had over dips, and his answer was that, eventually with enough weight added, dips become awkward to perform. This is kind of true, speaking from experience, but even at 4 plates added it's still pretty manageable. I actually think the bigger obstacle is the non-standardization of the lift - in terms of grip width (will vary from station to station) and what constitutes a "full" range of motion.
    I don't think range of motion would be hard to determine. With squats its hip crease above knee, so I don't think it would be hard to come up with something similar for dips (in fact I remember a diagram on this in the SS book).

    Quote Originally Posted by Jamie J. Skibicki View Post
    "-Shoulder friendly
    -High neuromuscular stimulation (since it is a bodyweight exercise)
    -Functional strength training (nothing is supporting our backs when pushing things in real life)
    -Easy to microload
    -Core training
    -Increased range of motion when using push up bars
    :"

    What is shoulder unfriendly about benching?
    If you want increase ROM, use DBs
    What does being a BW excersize have to do neuromuscular stimulation?

    And I thought this functional bullshit stayed over on the fuck CF boards? You think the bench press isn't functional? Go find a guy that benches 405 strict and pick a fight. Let us know what happens. What the fuck is this "replicated in real life" BS? Where did this idiocy come from? I never go up and down with a weight on my back in real life but as my squat has gone up, so has my judo game. Getting better at something by replicating it is called skill work, getting more fit (stronger, faster, more enduring etc) comes from conditioning.
    I'm not disagreeing with what you're saying about bench pressing being useful outside of the gym, but what does it have to do with fighting ?

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