Read the book.
I'm just wondering whether the bench press really is necessary for overall strength development or it's only included in the program for the sole purpose of making it more appealing to the general population who think strong bench=strong bro.
Why is the bench press important? Is there another exercise which you'd rather have included in the routine, Mr Rippetoe?
Read the book.
It is.
It's attractiveness to the GP may be an artifact of its existence and being included in the program, but it's not the reason why it's in the program.or it's only included in the program for the sole purpose of making it more appealing to the general population who think strong bench=strong bro.
It's very effective for developing upper body strength because it allows you to move a lot of weight. Moving a lot of weight = strength = moving a lot of weight. Read the book. Search for "art of manliness bench press" on the google.Why is the bench press important?
If there was another exercise he'd rather have included in the routine, it'd have been included in the routine.Is there another exercise which you'd rather have included in the routine, Mr Rippetoe?
Last edited by Chris Lippke; 08-23-2017 at 08:59 AM. Reason: conjunction junction
I suspect the loaded dip is a very close second and would make a fine substitute as long as depth was full and consistent. You can press a hell of a lot of weight using the dip.
If I were writing a novice program and publishing it for the world to attempt w/o a coach, I'd include bench over dips.
1) I think the number of injured shoulders from bad form or bad luck would be lower for bench.
2) Many, many beginners cannot do an unassisted bodyweight dip at first. Assisted dip machines are expensive and not present in garage/basement gyms.
3) Consistent depth is harder to achieve w/o a coach on dip.
4) Tricky to microload, as bodyweight fluctuates several pounds from day to day.
But I agree that weighted dips are an excellent lift for those whose shoulders tolerate them.
And they can be very much trained like a primary lift, as opposed to just an accessory exercise.
Last edited by Charlie Davies; 01-10-2018 at 09:34 AM.
Very well said.
Weighted dips used to be my strongest upper body movement, now I can no longer do a proper ROM with the movement due to the vagaries of age / injury and had to drop them from my routines. Totally agree that they are a great movement for those that can (still) do them properly with a full (no cheating) ROM.
The bench / dumbbell bench is much kinder to my shoulders these days.
I've had some severe shoulder problems, with gradual onset, of unknown cause.
But during the time they developed, I was doing weighted dips. They are on my "suspect list" along with weighted chins, bench, and LB squat.
I'm actually planning to try dips again tomorrow, as an assistance exercise, after a really good year of gradual shoulder recovery. But I'll be paranoid about them.
I will *not* ever try ring dips again. Screw that exercise. Unless you are a competing gymnast, doing dips on an unstable base is just insanely risky for shoulder health.