SubscribeSHOULD THE ARMS BE AT 90 IN THE BENCH PRESS?
Posted on Aug 04, 2008 under Bench press, Strength exercises |When doing the flat or incline bench press, many trainers advocate a wider than shoulder-width grip so that when you lower the bar, the forearms will be at a 90 angle to the upper arms in the bottom position (when the arms are in line with the shoulders). They recommend not going below this point but never explain why.
Perhaps what is not understood is that lowering the arms below the level of the chest is not dangerous, in fact, it can bring about greater development of the pectoralis major muscle. The only time bringing the arms below the level of the chest can be injurious is when you do the dumbbell flye exercise with straight arms. In this situation great stress is placed on the shoulder and can cause some tearing of the fibers or stretch marks.
Much research was done in this area by the Russians and they even had a specialized bar developed that allowed the arms to go well below the level of the chest. I had this bar reproduced and we used it with great success. However it never caught on and it was soon forgotten.
See Kinesiology of Exercise for more information on the bench press and its many variants. Brought out is how the muscles are involved and how the muscular involvement changes over the range of motion.
by nate, on January 14 2010 @ 3:28 pm
are there different ways to bench press for different types of bodies? (at least has it been researched?) I work with basketball players and they are definitely built a little differently than most other athletes…also for myself since i have a decent wingspan myspelf? Just curious if i should tweak technique to get a more beneficial training for my guys