Is the Bench Press Overrated?

The bench press. We all know it, and most of us love it. It is in every young mans weightlifting program, sometimes done everyday for ego boosting. However, is it really that beneficial? Well, it all comes down to what your body type is and what your goals are, like all other exercises.

So who should be benching? First of all, I must clarify, for this blog I am solely talking about the flat barbell bench press. As far as who should bench, there is no true answer. Like mentioned, it depends on several factors. If you have any type of shoulder injury, I would suggest not bench pressing. If you are looking for chest definition as a bodybuilder, I would suggest not bench pressing. There are several reasons that someone should not bench press, but it is all individual based.

Lets take a look at why we bench press. It a compound exercise requiring activation of the chest, shoulders, triceps, and more. You can add a lot of weight to the bar, and if done right it can help in strength and power development.

However, the bench press if easily the most over used exercise in the fitness field today. You have kids bench pressing every day to impress the girl on the treadmill, win a bet against their buddy, or simply thinking they will get stronger by doing so. What happens if you bench press to much is you become extremely "caved" forward. Your chest muscles are so tight and your back muscles are so stretched, you end up looking like Hunchback of Notre Dame. There should be an even split between horizontal pushing and horizontal pulling. Horizontal pushing includes any form of bench press whether it be dumbbell or barbell, push ups, etc. Horizontal pulling would be any type of seated row.

Another issue that comes into play with people who bench to much, is they cause deficiencies in vertical pushing and pulling. Vertical pushing would include overhead pressing. Vertical pulling would be a chin-up, pull-up, or lat pull down variation. Again, there should be a even split between vertical and horizontal pushing and pulling.

Think of the motion of the bench press. You are laying on your back pushing something off of you. Let's take a look at sports. Other then football and some field events what sport would you do that motion. So, baseball players, basketball players, tennis, etc might not see benefit to traditional barbell bench pressing. Of course they need to do some form of horizontal pushing so this may be a dumbbell press variation, a push-up variation, etc.

The bottom line is, bench pressing is over rated. Yes, it is an excellent compound exercise for developing strength and power. However, if not done properly it can cause a lot of injuries and deficiencies in the body.

If you have a question about your program design and if the bench press should be a part of it, let me know.

One last note, all programs should be individualized and periodized. So you should not be going to the gym every Monday and bench pressing. That may be fine for a couple weeks, but then it needs to change.

Any comments or suggestions let me know.

Best,

Doug Spurling
Spurling Stength & Speed
dspurling@une.edu

RANT...Gym Etiquette

Tonight I have to go on a little rant. I worked out for the first time in the evening, after always working out in the early morning. As a result, there were a lot more people in the gym tonight. Some of the things, I saw were unbelievable. People have no gym etiquette!



1. Don't stand two inches away from the mirror. Yeah, I know your biceps are huge, and you can curl 1000lbs, but I can't get to the dumbbells because your so damn close to the rack. Stand a few feet back!



2. Wipe your benches down-I know you like to wear cut-offs and leave a pool of sweat on the bench, but I don't feel like taking a shower every time I lay down on the bench. It takes two seconds to wipe your equipment down.

3. Speaking of cut-offs. I don't care what you wear at the gym, but don't stand in front of the mirror and flex your biceps, and shoe everyone how big your triceps is. Unless your a bodybuilder preparing for competition, you should not be flexing in front of the mirror. I have always wanted to go up to those fools and say, "Hey, flex your right latissimus for me." First of all, I would be lucky if they even knew what muscle I was talking about, and second, I HIGHLY doubt they know how to flex their lat.

4. Don't Curl in the Power/Squat Rack-There called a power and squat rack for a reason. It is designed for exercises that build power, or if your squatting. Sorry, you're not building power curling. Power and squat racks should be used for cleans, deadlifts, bench press, squats, and other olympic lifts.



5. Don't have your DROID out playing the latest hip-hop on speaker- Yeah, Lil' Wayne may be good, but they 45 year old mom next to you doing lunges does not need to hear it. Invest in some headphones please!



6. Put your shit back!-The worst is I go over to the rack to clean or deadlift and their is 400-500lbs on the bar from some clown doing half-ass, incorrect shrugs. Put the plates back on the stand. That goes for every piece of equipment, ropes, medicine balls, foam rollers, everything!



I speak this as both a gym member and a gym employee. I am on both ends, and it is frustrating for both parties. I don't want to clean up after your mess, your not 8, this isn't your house, and I'm not your mom!

Anyways, sorry for the harsh words, but please take my advice. Look forward to tomorrows blog on exercsing when on vacation.



Best,



Doug Spurling, CSCS, NSCA-CPT


dspurling@une.edu