Bench Press?
thefly119 asked:
Why do muscle-heads spend so much time and effort on the bench press? Why is that the main indicator of strength for some people? Personally, I do about 40 different strength training exercises for my entire body. I do dumbell press for my chest among many other chest exercises – I don’t even do bench press. I also run 10km, swim, cycle, play basketball and golf regularily. I guarantee I am in better shape and am a better athlete than 90% of these gym dudes.
But if you ask some of these fat guys with big arms (hardly physically fit athletes) how their training is going they will give you bench press numbers. Why? Is the strength of you upper and mid-chest the number one goal in your physical fitness and athletic career?
Teresa
Filed Under: Cardio
Soreness bro it happens…..
the bench press is a good measure of upper body power. if you’re so happy with your physical conditioning, why do you get so upset at others? you should be glad. are you upset that they can bench press more than you? noone wants to read about your statistics, its like you’re trying to prove that your limited bench press abilities are ok. for some athletes, bench pressing is highly important…ie, football players (especially linemen) shotputters, etc…. those fat guys with huge arms could probably toss your physically fit ass around like a rag doll.
I agree, I would rather be in all around great shape then be able to bench 300 any day. How often do you think that will come in handy in a life time? Never!
i completly agree with you. i can bench press about average. but when it comes to leg press, squats and such. i manage to do twice as much as most in the weightroom.
when they give u bench press numbers, simply reply back with something u excell greatly in that they most likely dont at all
I share your thoughts regarding what a true athelete is made of. I think physical fitness is an ideal balance of cardiovascular and muscular strength (Not to forget mental conditioning.).
Many gym rats will quote their maximum bench presses for the reason that this figure represents absolute strength. Since the bench press is the definition of anaerobic exertion for most people, the person quoting their bench press figure is really saying I am *this* strong. As you likely know a bench press can consist of multiple reps or a single all-out rep. Fairly, the benchpress is an exhausting exercise but it measures only the upperbody strength of the individual. It does not reliably indicate what the person’s overall physical prowess is.
If I had to indentify the ideal athlete , I would pick a decathete champion, or an Iron Man winner. Then there’s that Armstrong guy….
Personally.. dumb bell presses are better than bench press.. Better stretch at the bottom. I used to spend hrs. in the gym. Now I circuit train and it kicks my butt and I get good results too. Add to your exercise list.. Hiking. I do a lot of hiking in the hills not far from our house.. best cardio for me. better than cycling. Hills are steep.
your right if u do all of that,you are in better shape than 90% of those guys……these people are just being lazy the bench press is one of the easiest workouts to learn …and burns the least caloires of just about all workouts….but but but
(there is always a but)
you may or may not know that there are about four muscles that group together to create the pecs .the pecs are one of the easiest sections of the body to develope
And it just so happens that things as simple as the American hand shake is affect by how much someone bench presses .
what the bench press strengthens:
Abs
pecs,
forearms
hands…
Examples
steps of a hand shake) chest lifts arm,tricep extends arm, forearm closes hand
once arm is extended the stabilization muscles do most of the work to keep the arm straight when you push forward and apply force against the arm ,the tricep flexes to keep the arm forward the tricep will stay flexed untill the arm is straight or force is no longer applied against arm
In basketball when the ball is held to the chest , It will be easier to slap the ball out of the hands of a person with big arms and a small chest then if the chest was large and arms were small
o,o,o a bear huge is 90 percent chest 10 percent arms
let me no if you don’t undersand
Because. There’s your answer.
Bragging about doing 10 plates on leg curl sounds ridiculous.
Whataya Bench??? It’s the age old question. Just live with it…
I bench 450.
Oh yeah, well I swim and play golf
Who sounds cooler???