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Thread: What is the value of bench

  1. #1
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    Default What is the value of bench

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    Rip,
    What is the value/importance of the bench?
    In getting up to speed on SS via the books, articles, and podcast, I thought I had heard that bench was added to the program somewhat reluctantly because it is so popular in modern times due to guys wanting to build pecs, any program without it would be non starter
    But that it wasn’t a true traditional/original strength lift in the way the others are
    Or am I way off on this and bench really should be done?

    I am 6 months into NLP doing squat, press, deadlift, and chins (I know - YNDTP)
    I do have a history of a pec rupture that was repaired but that isn’t my main concern

    So, is bench critical to building a strength foundation?

  2. #2
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  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by DCM36 View Post
    Rip,
    What is the value/importance of the bench?
    In getting up to speed on SS via the books, articles, and podcast, I thought I had heard that bench was added to the program somewhat reluctantly because it is so popular in modern times due to guys wanting to build pecs, any program without it would be non starter
    This is not what the book says. The bench is absolutely critical for building strength. All the lifts are. Rip will however look away if you substitute the power clean with barbell rows, but you gotta do the rows in a hypertrophy way, high rep sets with minimal rest.

  4. #4
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    Or you could just accept the fact that "the hypertrophy way" is bullshit and do the program.

    Bodybuilding Mythology | Mark Rippetoe

  5. #5
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    As someone far more interested in the press, I tend to think of the bench press as sort of like the rack pull for the press. It's an altered range of motion to allow moving more weight, and it helps drive up the primary lift.

    Now, lest I be guilty of oversimplification, this isn't to say that the bench press is not a basic lift in its own right. The rack pull is not, in that it's an abbreviated ROM, while the bench press is an altered one that brings in different muscle mass to different effect. My thought process is more oriented toward the training effect, specifically based on a press emphasis.

    Even with an emphasis on bench or press, they're both integral. The press helps keep a bench specialist's shoulders healthy, and the bench helps the press specialist drive up press numbers. These facts should shed light on why they're both in the program, from general principles onward.

  6. #6
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    I will start benching
    Thanks
    Makes sense
    Given my press is stalled at 120 3x5 past few workouts, maybe adding bench will help keep that moving up

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by DCM36 View Post
    I will start benching
    Make it so.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jason Donaldson View Post
    As someone far more interested in the press, I tend to think of the bench press as sort of like the rack pull for the press. It's an altered range of motion to allow moving more weight, and it helps drive up the primary lift.
    I was trying to find a way to say exactly this but couldn't articulate it properly. Thank you.

    I dislike the bench and find it boring AF but have come to realize that it does wonders for my press. At first I was a being too conservative in adding weight to my bench, but once I got more aggressive about it, my press started to respond much better to the program. There is zero chance that my press would be where it's at if it weren't for the bench.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by DCM36 View Post
    I will start benching
    Thanks
    Makes sense
    Given my press is stalled at 120 3x5 past few workouts, maybe adding bench will help keep that moving up
    I read your log. I suggest you simply start doing the actual Starting Strength program before questioning it. And I mean doing it exactly as it is written. You said you live close to an SS gym, you should probably go there to learn the lifts and get some more advice. You're 46, no need to waste anymore time playing around, if you ask me.

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    Good to know
    My press is stalled at 120 so this might help

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