# Benching - how low should the bar go?



## NB89 (Aug 1, 2006)

Hi,

When I bench I take the bar down to about 4 inches off my chest, as I feel comfortable with this. However at the gym I see lots of guys taking the bar all the way to their chest , many so the bar touches. When I do this I feel that the strain is to great on my lats and pecs. Should I lower the weight so that I can take the bar all the way to my chest, or stick with what I'm doing, because I don't feel comfortable taking 100kg so that it touches my chest, especially when I don't have a spotter.

Thanks for any help.


----------



## big (Sep 14, 2004)

If the bar doesn't touch your chest, it doesn't count as a rep.


----------



## DB (Oct 31, 2003)

big said:


> If the bar doesn't touch your chest, it doesn't count as a rep.


bump!!!


----------



## trickymicky69 (Oct 1, 2004)

I would say do whatever feels comfortable but dont think that taking the bar four inches above your chest will be as good as doing it all the way down. i would say the speed of your reps (i.e not bouncing the bar) is just as important as distance the bar travels


----------



## donnyboy (Dec 29, 2008)

big said:


> If the bar doesn't touch your chest, it doesn't count as a rep.


Totally agree!

4 inches above - don't know why you bother :tongue10:


----------



## Truewarrior1 (Jan 27, 2005)

totally up to you,sometimes i bench to chest sometimes not. i prob bench 2" above chest.


----------



## Magic Torch (May 30, 2005)

On my chest!

If it doesn't feel comfortable are your hands the correct width apart? perhaps you are too narrow?


----------



## invisiblekid (Jun 18, 2006)

Touch your chest then back up.

There are two guys at my gym - at first I thought they were doing lock outs - turns out, that is their bench press!


----------



## AussieMarc (Jun 13, 2004)

How's this for an idea - DB bench instead.. If you can't get the weight back up from a deep position you can just drop the DB's on the floor no harm done.. Not only that, for someone who isn't used to going deep with barbells, you can go deeper with DB's because the bar restricts what angles your arms are at.. DB means your fore-arms are 90 degrees from the floor the whole time...


----------



## chrisj22 (Mar 22, 2006)

Touch the chest everytime. Anything else is a sissy rep.


----------



## Guest (Nov 24, 2006)

Heres a more scientific look at your problem:

If you cant lower the bar to your chest due to tight pecs or more specifically limited range of movement then dont. Go as low as you can without over stretching the muscle. It'll grow better that way. If you go too low for your individual range of movement you'll only be stretching tendon and they wont like it much. More injury, less growth.

BUT you do need to address the cause of your tight pecs. So various stretches are needed to increase your range of movement. Big priority IMO.

On a personal note, it aint a rep unless you pause when you hit the chest


----------



## NB89 (Aug 1, 2006)

mb250, I can bench to my chest, it just aint as comfortable, sounds pretty pussy i know lol. I think its more my fear of locking without a spotter etc.

When i'm with a amte I'll bench to chest, so I'll only bench on days when I've got a mate with me.


----------



## SD (Sep 3, 2004)

Okay now to upset everyone....

We are all built differently of course so I am not trying to make any blanket statements here ok.

People with well developed chests, or natural barrel chests, will easily touch there chest when benching, but pigeon chested people or people with underdeveloped chests may find this difficult, why?

The reason is that the bar has less far to travel to hit the chest in the first place, this has a major advantage to a bench presser as the deeper you go, the further the pecs are stretched, and the more your anterior deltoid is brought into play.

Question there is why would anyone want to use there bench weight on there anterior delts?

Deep benching can and will lead to injury (weight dependant), if your chest is underdeveloped, or is naturally small, or both. It is made worse by weak anterior delts, which if torn will spell the end of your upper body weight lifting.

The 'Safest' way to bench at this early stage is to lower the bar until your elbows are just parallel with your body, if your chest is large the bar may touch at this point. Remember as a noob to weight lifting you have to lower the weight further than these guys, with bigger chests, putting your anterior rotator at grave risk, please avoid it and follow my advice.

Don't forget to inhale deeply as the bar comes down too, and if you need to check your elbow depth, get your spotter to do it, or using only a bar (no weight) use a mirror and watch yourself lower the bar until you get the feel of it.

HTH

SD


----------



## big (Sep 14, 2004)

SD, if I lower my elbows to parallel, not only would I be about a foot above my chest (long arms), but I'd be able to put another 40-50kg on the bar (meaning 200kg) at least and probably kill my joints. I'd rather bench comfortably with the full range and focus on making the entire movement stronger.

I would rather see someone using an extremely light weight for them and doing the full movement than using a heavier weight and trying to isolate the chest with a compound movement like a bench press. If you just want to isolate your chest (for whatever reason), do some flys. If you're worried about a weakness in your detoids, work the weakness - don't just ignore it and try to compensate by neglecting that part of the bench press.

Just IMO


----------



## SD (Sep 3, 2004)

big said:


> SD, if I lower my elbows to parallel, not only would I be about a foot above my chest (long arms), but I'd be able to put another 40-50kg on the bar (meaning 200kg) at least and probably kill my joints. I'd rather bench comfortably with the full range and focus on making the entire movement stronger.
> 
> I would rather see someone using an extremely light weight for them and doing the full movement than using a heavier weight and trying to isolate the chest with a compound movement like a bench press. If you just want to isolate your chest (for whatever reason), do some flys. If you're worried about a weakness in your detoids, work the weakness - don't just ignore it and try to compensate by neglecting that part of the bench press.
> 
> Just IMO


If that works for you Big then thats cool! Though it sounds like you have knuckle dragger arms  I went to a conference (FITPRO) which had physios and fitness leaders from all over the world, last year. I attended a really interesting seminar on benching and other potentially harmful exercises where I learn't this.

Your way to approach the bench is to use a lighter weight to attain a full range of movement. Thats ok, but how long is he going to use a comfortable weight until he trys for bigger numbers and puts his rotator cuff at risk?

My way is to use the appropriate weight for his pectoral muscles only and reduce the range of movement to isolate his pecs see? Its only the first (or last) two thirds of the press which involve the pecs, the other portion is virtually all anterior deltoid.

He is doing bench to develop his chest, anterior delts can be trained with shoulders doing front raises, far safer, a rotator cuff injury is final and almost unfixable, why risk it when he has only just started?

I can see what you are getting at and it would appear that there is an advantage to benching lower as you can feel the pec stretched across your chest and get a really good eccentric movement. When you are already well developed thats great, but noobs should go for the safest exercises until they have the foundational strength to safely perform more risky exercises. As you know limiting his chest weight to accomodate his delts, isn't going to build his chest or develop a foundational strength.

I know it goes against current doctrine, but sometimes a new angle on things is needed and bench pressing accounts for a lot of injured shoulders, deltoids, subscapularis and rotator cuffs, all of which are a bitch to heal, so they just arent worth risking.

and don't get me started on squats.....



SD


----------



## big (Sep 14, 2004)

IMO he stays at a comfortable weight, putting it up as he gets stronger all over (including his rotator cuff) and is able to increase the weight with full range of movement without a high risk of injury/pain.

IMO flat bench is most definitely NOT a chest isolation movement and shouldn't be used as such.

And yes, not only do my knuckles drag along the ground... I have a sloping forehead and drool a lot too


----------

