Tucking elbows on the bench

[250orBust]

I started mimicking KK's style a few months back and will never turn back. whichever style you use I would go with the one that allows you to move the most weight without risking injury. lay under the bar and push.

[MazdaMatt]

I don't agree. ROM is more important, in my opinion than weight moved. Otherwise we'd all be doing arch-backed 4-board bench. Also, a balance of muscles used is important or else you end up with a weak link as I did and blow something out.

Edit: I'm talking about training for novices, not competing.

[250orBust]

I don't agree. ROM is more important, in my opinion than weight moved. Otherwise we'd all be doing arch-backed 4-board bench. Also, a balance of muscles used is important or else you end up with a weak link as I did and blow something out.

Edit: I'm talking about training for novices, not competing.

I think your arch-backed 4-board bench example is a little extreme, You think a strict bench with a maximal ROM will produce better strength gains then consistently benching heavier poundage with a competition form?

Im not saying your wrong by any means Im just interested in your opinion.

[simonsky]

^ yeah and how come most bench cycles involve more heavy board work than heavy full rom work? i'm no expert, i'm just askin about your opinion mazda.

[250orBust]

^ yeah and how come most bench cycles involve more heavy board work than heavy full rom work? i'm no expert, i'm just askin about your opinion mazda.

Ill field this one, your more then likely looking at geared bench cycles. The bench shirts assist hugely in the first part of the lift so most benchers stick on the second half of the lift, hence the heavy board work. Most of us here are training raw I believe.

[simonsky]

oh yeah i forgot, scrap that! haha. another question, does the short help in giving a higher arch? also i would like to defend the arched,tucked bench, IMO the extra ROM when not arching enough is useless because what sport needs you to lie flat on your back. plus i am assuming that you would press and do dips anway so any muscular imbalances would be fixed. oh and you would also be chinning right?

[250orBust]

Yep I chin or pullup every other workout. I have no experience with bench shirts so Ive got nothing for you there. Ill toss a video of my bench form on here one of these days so you can see what i mean.

[MazdaMatt]

Okay, my opinion comes not from studying anthopometry or coaching a hundred trainees to bench 400, only from my own experience. I am a bit of a freak of nature in that I can arch my back to a rediculous extent. I mean the term "rediculous" literally. I have been rediculed for being such a freak. You could fit your head under my back if I arched fully. I can shorten my bench rom immensely when I go all-out back-arch. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting you lie flat, just a good strong back arch without trying to be rediculous - basically as I have understood Rip to teach the bench.

Because of that high arch I was basically bench pressing down, not forward, when I was using Tate's style. The injury that I had was in the anterior-most portion of my lateral delt. It basically just never got worked when I was either overhead or high-arch pressing.

I trust Tate to tell me how to put upt he best number in competition. I trust Rip to tell me how to best develop my musculature as a novice.

[allyn703]

http://articles.elitefts.com/article...-bigger-bench/

Here’s another important aspect of pressing in this style. By keeping your shoulder blades together and your chin and elbows tucked, you’ll have less shoulder rotation when compared to the J-line method of pressing. This is easy to see by watching how low the elbows drop in the bottom part of the press when the barbell is on the chest. With the elbows out, most everyone’s elbows are far lower than the bench. This creates a tremendous amount of shoulder rotation and strain.

Maybe this is how you hurt your shoulder? I'm no expert either but I say find what works for you, and do it. It is difficult for me to keep tight with the bar perfectly over my wrists and elbows when I flare my elbows. But thats just me.

Also I think the point is to lift the most weight possible, that is why we low bar squat.

Just a thought..

[gzt]

http://articles.elitefts.com/article...-bigger-bench/
Also I think the point is to lift the most weight possible, that is why we low bar squat. If a long ROM was the most important thing to consider, wouldn't we all be doing decline bench?

That's not the only consideration, otherwise we'd do a competitive PL-style squat as well. This is covered in the book, but the basic idea is that Rippetoe chose these exercises with this form to maximize strength, which isn't necessarily the same thing as most weight lifted, which is why he did not teach wide-stance squats, the PL bench, or the sumo deadlift in the book. Sure, this is all debatable, and one doesn't need to be a nutswinger about it all.