Bench For The Wench, Or All You Need To Know About The King Exercise

What up homos?

Doth thy bosom heave with the weight of mine absence?

THEN FUCKING PRESS IT OFF YOUR CHEST!

That's why we're here today. I love it, you love it, and more importantly, girls love it. I'm talking about the Exercise King. It ain't squats, doll faces. It's BENCH PRESS!

Aight actually bench press is far from being a favourite and I don't always throw it on my routines, but this is Gimmick World yo

So yeah, bench press. Why bench press? Because even though it's ridiculous, everybody will ask your bench press mark as a measurement of your strength. Because girls will love its aftermaths on your body, and niggas will be 'mirin.

Summarising, we bench press to crush our enemies, to see them driven before us, and to hear the lamentations of their women.

If you don't recognise the quotation... Man. You got problems.

Kinesiology of the Bench Press

I'd like to add more technical information in these series on compound movements with a colleague's work, whose knowledge on kinesiology and body mechanics is far deeper.

Movement Axes: Coronal (0.55), Sagital (0.45)

Shoulder: Horizontal adduction (0.55) + Flexion (0.45)

Shoulderblade-Chest cavity joint: Lateral rotation

Elbow: Extension. Forearm: Isometric flexion

Movement Skeletal Joints: Gliding (0.15), Angular (0.25), Circumduction (0.4), Rotation (0.2)

Agonists: Pectoralis major (Sternal)

*Origin/Insertion: 

Pec O: (Sternocostal head) Anterior surface of the sternum, aponeurosis of obliques (E), the superior six costal cartilages, anterior surface of medial half of clavicle (Clavicular head)

Pec I: Lip of intertubercular groove of humerus (Lateral)

Synergists: Pectoralis major (Clavicle), anterior deltoidis, teres major, coracobrachialis, triceps brachii, trapezius (U+L) short head of biceps, serratus anterior (16 extra subset muscles involved)

Antagonists: Posterior deltoidis, infraspinatus, teres minor, levator scapulae, rhomboids, *coracobrachialis, *trapezius (Med) (See: Lombard's Paradox, section [1])

Stabilizers: Short head of biceps brachii

Explanation: Grip stance at user's discretion (Pending user's height), legs as well. Shoulderblades fully adducted beforehand, recommended head placement as eyes are directly below barbell. As the exercise begins, eccentric contraction is to occur in the medial cross section of both the coronal and sagital planes. The reason behind it is the interlocking of the scapulas which do not allow for full RoM and create a heavier load effect upon the anterior deltoidis, which may result in injury. Erector spinae curve is permitted as long as user's bottom does not detach from the bench. Such phenomenon is a biomechanical tendency of the body to elevate pressure off smaller muscles (Pectoralis) and enhance effectiveness by involving the latissimus dorsi, as user's body is then more aligned with shoulder adduction (Agonist: Latissimus dorsi) at the coronal phase. This is also the reason why decline bench press is significantly easier than flat and incline bench presses. Full RoM is required, end of eccentric phase is to be when barbell touches the tip of middle chest (At the nipples or 5cm lower). End of concetric phase is to be at full elbow compression element (Locked).

This gives a very profound view of the exercise to all those with at least a decent base in kinesiology, but shall we delve deeper into the bench press and its variations?

I swear I was looking for a caption showing good form, but then this looked so much better...

What to do and what to choose.

For any guy who goes to the gym at least on a weekly basis, recognizing at least a couple of the variations here should not be a problem. The problem arises when we don't know what to do and end up doing a bunch of different exercises instead of focusing on what we should.

• Flat Bench Press: Not a variation per se, this is the normal execution and should be a staple in your routine, whether for mass or strength.

• Incline Bench Press: One of the favourites in every gym, but why? Barnett et al. tested several variations in 1995 looking for the mV/s in EMG, and their results corroborated what most people usually think. Indeed, with more trunk inclination comes more activity in the clavicular head of the Pectoralis Major, and also in the Deltoidis Anterior. It also showed that activity in the Pectoralis, unlike in the decline bench press, augmented with a wider grip. Therefore, a wide grip incline bench press could well be another staple.

• Decline Bench Press: First bump on the road. Most people swear by the decline, but is I worth it? According to the aforementioned study, decline showed lower activity in the Pectoralis, Deltoidis, and Triceps, and it only showed more recruitment in the Latissimus Dorsi. Therefore, I'd advise against doing decline bench press, and invest that time and energy in more useful exercises.

• Reverse Grip Bench Press: Another problem. Once again, this is an exercise that's been claimed to work better the Clavicular head of the Pectoralis Major. However, changing the grip can only change the load in more distal muscles (like those in the arms) and not medial (like those in the trunk). When you supinate your forearm, the point of insertion of the Pectoralis has not moved at all, since the humerus has not changed position. HOWEVER, a reverse grip, depending on user's flexibility, will usually force us to make an external rotation, which along with the narrower grip can emphasize the Deltoidis Anterior and Clavicular head of Pectoralis. This you can do with a pronated grip, though. This variation retains some merit, though, as it can relieve some stress from the shoulders. All in all, I would not advise throwing it in the routine.

• Guillotine or Neck Bench Press: Very often advised by the Iron Guru, Gironda, the neck press is seldom seen at gyms. Bret Contreras found that the Guillotine press had noticeably higher EMG activity in both upper, middle, and lower chest in peak activation, although they were similar and even lower in mean activation. The claimed superiority is due to allowing the Pectoralis fibers to contract optimally along its line of axis. However, it comes at the cost of greater stress for the rotator cuffs and the glenohumeral joint. Therefore, I'd advise leaving it aside until we're at least decently experienced, and try it out then. It can be a great exercise, and everyone's different, so if you notice no discomfort, go at it and reap dem gainz.

• Epic Bench Press: According to the latest research it's likely the highest contending suitor for both mean and peak EMG levels. The IPF is debating whether they should drop the traditional Bench Press and use this in competitions. Strongly advised for all ages and experiences.

Now, what else may you have doubts about? Of course! More variants pls.

• Dumbbells or barbell: In the previous study by B. Contreras, dumbbells showed greater activation. In general, dumbbells usually allow a more natural path, and are therefore advisable for all those with joint problems. They usually allow for a greater stretch and contraction, too, and are therefore superior for hypertrophy, in my opinion. Of course, if you compete in powerlifting, barbell should be your main concern. That being said, I'd advise using both when in a split routine and IF POSSIBLE.

• Full RoM or stop a few cms shy of the chest: I normally only consider a rep valid when there's full RoM, and we know that with full RoM come greater benefits, both in hypertrophy and mobility (it'd be hard to assess in terms of strength). However, it all depends on the individual. If you reach the same angle of horizontal abduction without touching your chest, because you're not arching your back, or retracting your shoulder blades, for example, who's there to say you shouldn't? Everybody advocates full RoM, and then advocates execution changes that shorten this. Do whatever works for you. However, I'd like to point out that those who don't do it because of mobility problems would be better off, probably, working on gaining movement in a range that should be normal for the glenohumeral joint, so that they can perform with better technique instead of worsening the problem by using heavier loads. Not to mention you have to touch and pause there if you train for powerlifting, and it's the part that most heavily trains and activates the chest, so no matter your objective, YOU'RE BETTER OFF TOUCHING.

• Arch or no arch: This should be pretty obvious. Are you training for powerlifting? Nice, arch that back. Are you not? Then I can fucking well assume you want to train your Pectoralis and not look like a bent idiot straining his Latissimus in a fucked up position. Are you training your ego or your chest? That's what I wanted to hear.

If you look like this when you bench press and you're not a competing powerlifter...

you're likely to have one chromosome too many.

Hopefully that will have solved lots of doubts, homos. Now you know what you gotta do. Make papa proud eh?

Peace out,

J.

Sources:

-Gozlan, L. Kinesiological View Of The Compounds. 2012

-Bernett, C., V. Kippers, and P. Turner. Effects of Variations of the Bench Press variations on the EMG of five shoulder muscles. J. Strength and Cond. 1995.

-Contreras, B. Inside The Muscles, Best Chest And Triceps Exercises. T Nation. 2010.