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what is a good bench??

Jayhawkk said:
Just take it easy to start. I found myself straining the hell out of my forearms by having too much of a death grip. Gave me good definition though :)
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Good point, like anything else work it in slow. The only time my forearms are killing me from my grip is squats, I can see the bar in my palms after each set! Ouch.
 
That's only for you big boys with the big weights :) I found I had more problems when gripping dumbells for curls and shrugs more than anything. Still workin light weights in squats since i'm relatively new to em and want to get a nice wide stance going. Going pretty well though. Used to dread leg day and now I look forward to it. Love doing deadlifts the most now though.
 
Jayhawkk said:
That's only for you big boys with the big weights :) I found I had more problems when gripping dumbells for curls and shrugs more than anything. Still workin light weights in squats since i'm relatively new to em and want to get a nice wide stance going. Going pretty well though. Used to dread leg day and now I look forward to it. Love doing deadlifts the most now though.
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Hey J, next time you do DB Curls, use straps. You won't believe the difference that it makes. I only do use them on my 1 all-out set per exercise, but the difference is dramatic. They help on DB Lateral Raises too.
 
Mulletsoldier said:
I agree with Jay, and Rage. A nice bench impresses me as long as it's part of a well-rounded, complete routine and the guy isn't a strictly biceps and bench press kind of guy. If the person has never done Squats or Deads and they tell me they bench 315 I tell them to **** off, because I could care less.
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I agree with you as far as all body parts must be worked and a good bench is an overall sign of a complete body. However since I am on cycle and I need to keep a good track of strength increases I am using Flat Bench as my indicator. I am still working ALL bodyparts but both my knees are being scheduled to be MRI'd i might have torn ligaments or just pulled (Damn MMA lol) so Squatting is a no no right now for me.
 
Basso said:
Yeh, my question is how much can you DL, who cares about BP, to many variables!
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OH Basso forgot to mention one of the reasons I do keep track of flat bench so much in addittion to the knees being bad is that in my MMA training I find a use it alot for instance when I am on my back and someone is on top or in side mount position my first reaction is always to try and press them up to get room to move.
 
Basso said:
Good point, like anything else work it in slow. The only time my forearms are killing me from my grip is squats, I can see the bar in my palms after each set! Ouch.
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That means you're doing it right. :hammer: :D :squat:
 
I haven't maxed-out bench in about 6 or 7 years. Going by the "max-bench calculators," I bench 1.3x my weight. I workout alone for the most part, so it's tough to push-it-to-the-limits.
 
Mass_69 said:
I haven't maxed-out bench in about 6 or 7 years. Going by the "max-bench calculators," I bench 1.3x my weight. I workout alone for the most part, so it's tough to push-it-to-the-limits.
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Indeed. I feel that I am actually getting stronger as I see others maxxing at what I rep.
Simply because I have no spotter.
 
The smith machine can be good for alot of exercises, shoulder presses, close grip bench, incline bench, front squats etc. I wouldn't knock it look at Markus Ruhl's upper chest and he uses the smith machine for upper chest all the time! As long as i keep getting stronger i'm happy. I go for size and strength but i wouldn't call myself a powerlifter. I also agree with what was said about the deadlift, you see these 1000lb bench presses, but lets see you do that in the deadlift, and ya i know it's been done now, lol. But what i'm saying is you can't slap on bench shirts to make you a human slingshot to get the weight up. I"m not knocking powerlifters, to each his own, just wearing all the gear is not for me. I use what's best for muscle growth and for me that's the smith machine over regular incline barbell presses.
 
CHAPS said:
The smith machine can be good for alot of exercises,
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I don't want to get into this again, I started a thread in Feb and spurred some interesting ideas and thoughts on the Smith, so if you care to look

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I continue to appreciate you guys though, I only wish you could curl on the smith then the power rack would always be free LoL
 
Don't get me wrong i use free weights whenever possible but i like front squats and incline presses on the smith machine. I only do my incline presses on their when i'm not using dumbbells.
 
CHAPS said:
Don't get me wrong i use free weights whenever possible but i like front squats and incline presses on the smith machine. I only do my incline presses on their when i'm not using dumbbells.
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I understand, it's just that so much is lost in that contraption, especially with compound exercises like the ones you mentioned. I spent my time in the Smith, but you'll never, ever see me in one again (unless I'm stealing a bench from inside one).
 
Basso said:
I understand, it's just that so much is lost in that contraption, especially with compound exercises like the ones you mentioned. I spent my time in the Smith, but you'll never, ever see me in one again (unless I'm stealing a bench from inside one).
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HAHAHA.
It's always fun to wrack 8 plates on one and bench that. People really freak.
 
I personally hate using the smith machine, but at my college, we don't have any free BBs, and the DBs only are up to 100, so I have to include them in my workout especially for decline/DL/Squats, etc. But I hate having the limited range of motion.
 
CHAPS said:
The smith machine can be good for alot of exercises, shoulder presses, close grip bench, incline bench, front squats etc. I wouldn't knock it look at Markus Ruhl's upper chest and he uses the smith machine for upper chest all the time! As long as i keep getting stronger i'm happy. I go for size and strength but i wouldn't call myself a powerlifter. I also agree with what was said about the deadlift, you see these 1000lb bench presses, but lets see you do that in the deadlift, and ya i know it's been done now, lol. But what i'm saying is you can't slap on bench shirts to make you a human slingshot to get the weight up. I"m not knocking powerlifters, to each his own, just wearing all the gear is not for me. I use what's best for muscle growth and for me that's the smith machine over regular incline barbell presses.
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using gear helps your raw strength like crazy, you hold heavier weights so it primes your cns better than anything. first time i put on a bench shirt i think i went up to like 425(didnt hit it but still), that next raw day the weight flew up like nothing, felt like 135. plus if your form is not 100% in a shirt 1 of 2 things will happen. 1. you're not touching and you will lose all your energy or air and either miss the lift or dump it and 2. you get out of the groove and it's dump city. either way if your form is not on you're missing the lift. shirts leave very little room for error. i'll bet 9 out of 10 guys on this board would throw on a shirt for the first time and miss every single weight they try.
 
guyfromkop2 said:
using gear helps your raw strength like crazy, you hold heavier weights so it primes your cns better than anything. first time i put on a bench shirt i think i went up to like 425(didnt hit it but still), that next raw day the weight flew up like nothing, felt like 135. plus if your form is not 100% in a shirt 1 of 2 things will happen. 1. you're not touching and you will lose all your energy or air and either miss the lift or dump it and 2. you get out of the groove and it's dump city. either way if your form is not on you're missing the lift. shirts leave very little room for error. i'll bet 9 out of 10 guys on this board would throw on a shirt for the first time and miss every single weight they try.
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what do you mean by shirt?
seriously this is the first time I've ever heard that.
 
gotripped said:
what do you mean by shirt?
seriously this is the first time I've ever heard that.
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a bench shirt, powerlifters use them to help them bench higher numbers, add a lot of support and helps prevent injuries
 
guyfromkop2 said:
a bench shirt, powerlifters use them to help them bench higher numbers, add a lot of support and helps prevent injuries
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So Maybe I should try one of those out?
What do you recommend?
 
guyfromkop2 said:
using gear helps your raw strength like crazy, you hold heavier weights so it primes your cns better than anything. first time i put on a bench shirt i think i went up to like 425(didnt hit it but still), that next raw day the weight flew up like nothing, felt like 135. plus if your form is not 100% in a shirt 1 of 2 things will happen. 1. you're not touching and you will lose all your energy or air and either miss the lift or dump it and 2. you get out of the groove and it's dump city. either way if your form is not on you're missing the lift. shirts leave very little room for error. i'll bet 9 out of 10 guys on this board would throw on a shirt for the first time and miss every single weight they try.
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So true, and each shirt is different, it could take 5-10 w/o's with a shirt just to learn it properly. The cool thing is with my titan I have to have 450 on the bar just to be able to touch! I tried to pull 425 down and could only get it a couple inches from my chest and that's a single ply I can't imagine using a denim or double ply!
 
Basso said:
So true, and each shirt is different, it could take 5-10 w/o's with a shirt just to learn it properly. The cool thing is with my titan I have to have 450 on the bar just to be able to touch! I tried to pull 425 down and could only get it a couple inches from my chest and that's a single ply I can't imagine using a denim or double ply!
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This is quite possibly the weirdest thing I have ever heard of in body building

Edit- How do these bench shirts work? I'm guessing they are more rigid than normal shirts and provide support for your back and chest keeping everything tight (as powerlifters generally like it tight) Right? How much does this actually assist you in bench? 10% 30%? And does it give you an actual strength or is it just an assist that is more of a crutch?
 
gotripped said:
This is quite possibly the weirdest thing I have ever heard of in body building

Edit- How do these bench shirts work? I'm guessing they are more rigid than normal shirts and provide support for your back and chest keeping everything tight (as powerlifters generally like it tight) Right? How much does this actually assist you in bench? 10% 30%? And does it give you an actual strength or is it just an assist that is more of a crutch?
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Well, that's because you havent' been in powerlifting forums.

Many people need 600+ lbs, and in some pros instances, like 800+ lbs even to make the barbell touch their chest. Even then, sometimes they have to force the bar to their chest often.
 
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kwyckemynd00 said:
Well, that's because you havent' been in powerlifting forums.

Many people need 600+ lbs, and in some pros instances, like 800+ lbs even to make the barbell touch their chest. Even then, they have to force the bar to their chest often.
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I will now be reading the powerlifting forum.
 
gotripped said:
This is quite possibly the weirdest thing I have ever heard of in body building
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it's not bodybuilding, it's powerlifting :D

and honestly unless you have someone to train that with that knows how to use it i would not suggest getting a shirt, you would most likely end up getting really frustrated or just hurting yourslef
 
guyfromkop2 said:
it's not bodybuilding, it's powerlifting :D

and honestly unless you have someone to train that with that knows how to use it i would not suggest getting a shirt, you would most likely end up getting really frustrated or just hurting yourslef
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Agreed, but it's always good to broaden your knowledge, and besides if you want to be big like a PLer you need to train like one. If the shirt really intrigues you and you are tempted to get one, get an inexpensive single ply and buy it big, it will make a nice training tool. Just know that even one that's big on you will require help to get it on.
 
Basso said:
Agreed, but it's always good to broaden your knowledge, and besides if you want to be big like a PLer you need to train like one. If the shirt really intrigues you and you are tempted to get one, get an inexpensive single ply and buy it big, it will make a nice training tool. Just know that even one that's big on you will require help to get it on.
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does it restrict your breathing? or is that a non factor?
 
somewhatgifted said:
does it restrict your breathing? or is that a non factor?
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They pull your shoulders forward and they are not normally tight around the gut etc, though some may be. Really it's a non-factor, although you may be out of breath by the time you get it on depending on how tight it is!
 
Basso said:
They pull your shoulders forward and they are not normally tight around the gut etc, though some may be. Really it's a non-factor, although you may be out of breath by the time you get it on depending on how tight it is!
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Peerfect thanks mang.
 
After you figure out what is a respectable "bench" is what are you going to do to keep it that is truly respectable. Best of luck.
PS keep your feet on the ground.
 
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