# bench press for mma?



## parker (Sep 28, 2007)

iv been told its a waste of time for fighting as there are no benifits, any truth in this


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## marc (Jul 16, 2007)

nope, its not an exercise you would do *need* to do or purposly include it in your routine but it certainly wouldnt do any harm to build good upper body strength, do a search on some of marso70's posts he's put a lot of info about weight trainining and increasing strength for mma


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## parker (Sep 28, 2007)

ok thanks will do


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## marso70 (Oct 10, 2007)

Marc, the cheques in the post mate.................honestly.

Paul.


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## rabiddog (Jun 1, 2011)

Erm Bench press is one of the most important strength exercises there is out there alongside Squats and deadlifts.

After squats and deadlifts, bench press is the 3rd highest muscle activation exercise there is and it simulates striking and maintaining posture in grapple position when you place your hands on your opponents stomach let alone other things like pushing down in a sprawl.

Ignore them if you want to be rubbish otherwise train them.


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## PrideNeverDies (Sep 28, 2008)

I remember justin on here (s&c expert) offering great advice, and i tried it an it worked

He said .. The bench press although good for strengty, its not the best for sports, a bench press will rely on your core being stable and steady, which isnt how your body acts in a fight or most sports .. Which makes perfect sense

Therefore, the standing chest cables are much better as your core is at a realistic position, and thus makes it harder to lift as much weight, but in my opinion, ever since i stopped bench pressing, my strength has increased


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## ewrayzor (Jun 19, 2010)

If you're going to do them I would suggest doing them within a general strength programme prior perhaps to your power phase. If you're dead set on doing them try doing them with your feet off of the floor and knees bent. It will make your core work more effectively through the movement. Be careful though


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## ewrayzor (Jun 19, 2010)

this isn't a popcorn moment so lets not get ahead of ourselves but my post clearly states that the core is used more with legs up, which is true as the 'core' is the only contact point therefore erector spinae, external obliques and all abdominal groups have to work isometrically in order to stabilise the body through the movement. These are the 'core' muscles I refer to. If feet are placed on the floor then they become the main stabiliser's.

Go ed then, go get some pop corn hommies ! hahahah


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## rabiddog (Jun 1, 2011)

You know what. You're right.

I respect you guys at Braulio estima's place too much to argue with you. Like I said, I have nothing but respect and admiration for you guys. When i trained BJJ with you guys, you really helped me out.

Its all good man.


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## Justin (Aug 24, 2009)

I'm not fussed on the bench press in an MMA strength program.

Im not saying its not effective. Im saying that there are better exercises you can do instead of it.

I firmly beleive the best pushing exercise is the Single-Arm Dumbbell push press.

Double arm push presses are awesome, but with the single arm version you are using both legs to push the one dumbbell in the air - thereofre you can lift more weight with it.

Use that exercise with sets of 5-8 reps for some scary increases in triceps strength, as well as some great leg and core work. Bang for your buck.


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## Razorstorm (Aug 6, 2009)

I wouldn't rate the bench press at all to be honest, Better time could be spent working on olympic lifting for explosive power


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## CraigM (Jul 27, 2011)

how can working your upper body strength not be an advantage as that is what bench effectively gives you. ive been doing some wrestling at a place not far from me and as im realitvely new my technique isnt great and im getting by purely on strength


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## Justin (Aug 24, 2009)

CraigM - like myself and others have said on this thread, we're not saying the bench press doesn't build strength. of course it does. But there are other exercises that build more specific strength for MMA that are far more effective than a bench press. When you know and understand what these exercises are, using a bench press instead of them is like walking to work when you could easily catch a train! Why not use a better exercise to get to your goals quicker?


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## CraigM (Jul 27, 2011)

what excercises are you talking about? ide be sceptical if you said cable excercise aimed at chest such as cable fly's are any better. they are only isolation workouts that are for defination not size or strength

if you are looking to gain strength compound movements are better than isolation


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## Justin (Aug 24, 2009)

If you read my last post I've already outlined a better exercise than a bench press.

Cable flyes suck. What jeevan is referring too is cable presses. Standing with one or two cables in your hands, in a staggered foot stance, and pressing them out in front of you. It should look like your doing punches with the cables basically.

Lying on a bench doesn't require your core or stabilizer muscles to work effectively. And in MMA (or any sport), your core activation and stabilizer muscles are vital.


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## rodgerMG (Feb 22, 2010)

I know justin knows his stuff

This is for the people not rating bench press at all, Martin Rooney author of TRAINING FOR WARRIORS and possibly the best MMA S&C

coach, training the likes of Rodger Gracie and Frankie Edgar and many more swears by bench press using it in every work out program.


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## CraigM (Jul 27, 2011)

training for strength requires you to go heavy. if you tried to put an adequate weight on to cable press to train for strength you would be pulled back and it would not allow for proper form. thats even if the machine goes high enough. proper bench (and not the f*cking smith machine) does involve the core to a lesser degree and a crap load of stabilising muscles. db's probably even more so.


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## Justin (Aug 24, 2009)

What you need to be aware of is that there is maximal strength, and then there is usable strength.

If you can bench press 100kg we can say that you can produce 100kg of force in that movement.

But just because you can produce 100kg of force lying down pushing a barbell uoff your chest DOES NOT mean that you have the ability to produce 100kg of force when you go into a match and throw a punch. Thats because when you throw a punch your core stabilizers, hips, rotational muscles and shoulders all work together.

In fact, most of the power for a punch is produced in the hips. The core produces the next lot of power. The chest and arms actually don't contribute that much power to your punch. So there's no need to obsess over a bench press anyway.

When you use a standing cable press then yes you'll need to use less maximal weight. But a higher percentage of that weight will be useable when you fight, because you work your core and hips in the right pattern with that exercise.

Still, if you are just concerned with getting some maximal strength (and training your functional strnegth at some other point) then I'd still go with the Single-Arm DB Push Press.

If you can dumbbell bench press with 30kg dbs in each hand, you should be able to SA Push Press at least 35kg dumbbells in each hand. If you wanna go heavy (like you mentioned) then this exercise beats the bench press, hands down. Plus you'll be training explosive force with your core and legs at the same time.

The only reason most people still use bench presses is because they're fun, and its what people have always done due to tradition. I've never said not to use a bench press, Im just saying that if you want to get stronger FOR MMA then the exercises I've outlined work better, and faster. Any coach will tell you the same thing.


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## CraigM (Jul 27, 2011)

i am aware thanks

i am also aware of the mechanics of throwing a punch

that then is not a reason to do a cable press.

why not do hip rotations or weighted golf swings for your hips and specific core workouts for your core.

slightly altering the cable press movement to involve your hips and core arnt going to be as effective as taking the time to do these movements seperately. certainly couldnt replace these excercises. increasing your maximal strength will in turn increase your useable strength.

if you tried to involve your core and legs whilst lifting a 35kg dumbells the likely hood is you will fall of the bench.

so you as strength and conditioning coach are saying the bench is for fun?

my main background is bodybuilding ive had 3 years in thai and a year in mma and i disagree. could be due to my main sport but its my experiences im not here to argue or hit you with capital letters


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## Justin (Aug 24, 2009)

Im not here to argue with anyone either. Im here to give the best advice I have based on what I kno works from working with athletes every day and from my mentoring and education from some of the best coaches in the world.

And yes, many people who bench press do it because they enjoy it. Hell, I enjoy bench pressing. Its the traditional go-to exercise.

Again what Im saying is that an exercise such as a standing press is more functional for sports, and will have more direct carryover, as you need to use your core strength simultaneously. I don't see whats to argue about that?

Either way, we can agree to disagree. Thats the great thing about forums - no ones opinion matters anyway right? =)


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## Razorstorm (Aug 6, 2009)

girls bench press, men do olympic lifting


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## YourMMA (Aug 20, 2009)

Razorstorm said:


> girls bench press, men do olympic lifting


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## SanshouMatt (Jul 1, 2008)

I'm with Tom 

Oh and if you don't do dips then you're a wrongun.


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## YourMMA (Aug 20, 2009)

Gonna put it out there, strict Olympic lifting isn't the best for MMA. Too complicated if you're learning to do it right. The watered down versions for power are good, but I doubt you'll see many (if any) top level fighters doing full Oly snatches etc.

A combo of powerlifting and olympic 'style' lifting to go with your S&C programme depending on the phase you're in is best.


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## SanshouMatt (Jul 1, 2008)

Tell that to Couture, GSP, Rampage and many more!


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## YourMMA (Aug 20, 2009)

OK, show me a video where you've got any of those guys doing a proper full olympic snatch.

I'll show you videos of them doing the simpler variations of these lifts though if you want? Starting from hang positions etc.

Time learning proper technique fo Olympic lifts eats into time that these athletes could be spending learning other things, so it stands to reason that not many will be strictly 'olympic lifting'.


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