Dave Turpin

Go into any gym anywhere in the world and you’ll find men doing bench presses.  It’s as if the bench press is the most important measure of machismo.  In actuality, it is one of the most overrated and least scrutinized exercises out there.  Why is the bench press so popular?  What precautions should we understand about the bench press to better understand its impact on our physiques?

The bench press is popular, particularly with men, because of my Rule of Obsessive Strength:  People tend to gravitate toward exercises that challenge body parts that are already strong.  (The corollary to that rule is the rule of Strength Avoidance:  People tend to avoid exercises that challenge muscle groups that are naturally weak.)

As a group, men tend to have strong upper bodies.  Based on the Rule of Obsessive Strength, men tend to want to exercise their upper bodies.  While other exercises that challenge the upper body are also favorites, such as the lat pulldown, dumbbell row, and dead lift, the bench press still wins the popularity contest hands down.  Why aren’t back exercises, also upper body parts, as popular as the bench press?  One reason might be that it’s difficult to see one’s own back in a mirror.

The bench press is “positioned first” in our minds as a primary exercise.  We’ve been conditioned to believe the bench press is the king of all exercises.  If two men are discussing for the first time their adventures in the gym one of the first questions to be asked is “How much can you bench?”.   How often do you hear “How much can you squat with perfect form?”?

Essentially, the bench press is just the opposite of the squat exercise.  The squat is an “A” exercise that is under utilized; the bench press is a “B” exercise that is over utilized.

What muscles does the bench press challenge?  The bench press is though of first and foremost as a chest exercise.  The flat bench press hits the center fibers of the pectoralis major (pecs).  The decline bench press hits the lower pec fibers; the incline bench press isolates the upper pec fibers.

But that’s not the end of the story!  As the weight is being moved up and lowed near the top apex of the exercise, the triceps are firing concentrically and eccentrically respectively as the elbow is near or at full extension.  The forward fibers of the deltoids, the muscle that encapsulates the upper arm and should joint, are also called upon to move the upper arm when extending and flexing the shoulder joint at the bottom of the exercise.

Functionally the bench press has little or no carry over to real life.  It’s already been proven time and again that the biggest bench pressers are not necessarily the best on-field athletes.  For desk jockeys, how often do you need to be able to push your hands away from your body while your back is fully supported?  If you’re having a bad day when you’re car is slipping off its jacks and you’re working under it.  Other than that, I can’t think of any.

What are potential drawbacks to the bench press exercise? 

1. The bench press can damage the shoulder joint.  Most people believe the proper form for the bench press is to lower the bar all the way to the chest.  This belief is not solely based on folk lore…  It’s published in books and popular media all over the place.  If performing the bench press with either dumbbells or a cambered bar (whoever invented the cambered bar should be publicly flogged with it) the hands can be lowered even further.

The basic premise here is that the further you lower your hands, the greater the range of motion, which makes the exercise more difficult, which must make the exercise better.  Right?  Lowering the weights less than the full range of motion is cheating.  Right?

Wrong on both counts.  The fact is that as the weight is lowered towards the chest, the shoulder joint starts to bear the load of the exercise.  Not the chest muscles.  The further the weight is lowered, the greater the “stretch effect” on the shoulder capsule.  Essentially, the shoulder is being stretched out of its natural position. 

 For the most part the should capsule is very elastic.  A few bench presses alone will not permanently malign the shoulder joint.  But after several hundred if not thousands of reps over the years, especially for athletes 40+ years old, the shoulder joint may not be quite as quick to realign itself after being thrashed with the bench press.

Eventually, bursitis, impingement syndrome, rotator cuff problems, etc. will set in.  These chronic shoulder problems are common and often ignored until it’s too late.  How can you tell if you’re having any of these problems?  You’ll experience pain when raising your hand above your head.  Think you can avoid this movement pattern?  Try doing avoiding it when you change a ceiling light bulb or close the top window in a double hung.  More advanced conditions will be painful just holding your hand on the steering wheel of the car.

The problem is exasperated further in men because they tend to have tight shoulder joints in the first place.  As a group women are more flexible than men in the first place and may be able to get away with hyper extending the shoulder under the load of a bench press longer before chronic problems are manifested.

2. The bench press can have an adverse effect on your posture.  You’ve already seen it yourself.  Have you ever seen a really strong looking man at the beach?  One that obviously works out.  Only there’s something different going on…  Like his shoulders are rolled forward.  His head leads his body.  His shoulders are rounded.  His arms droop in front of his body.  He looks like he may have a little gorilla in his ancestry.

This is a classic description of a postural problem called forward head position.  A person with FHP will have muscle imbalances all over the place that can lead to chronic headaches, breathing difficulties, a loss of overall height, and a host of other chronic and unsavory health conditions.

Does this mean you should toss out the bench press?  No, not necessarily.  If you’re already experiencing shoulder problems the bench press would be a good candidate to take off your preferred exercise list.  It might just help.

If you currently are not having any shoulder problems and still want to perform a bench press there are a few things you can do to mitigate the potentially damaging effects.

• Perform the press on a Swiss Ball.  Before putting any weight in your hands you can establish a range of motion by dropping your elbows until the back of your arms rest up against the ball.  Keep a mental note of the position.  When you perform the motion under load do not go beyond the established set point.  This will limit your range of motion, avoiding injury to the shoulder, but still provide you with a range of motion that fully challenges the muscles targeted by the bench press exercise.

Other bonuses for performing the bench press on a Swiss ball:

1. Your shoulder blades (scapula) will have a greater range of motion because it will not be pinned against an in-movable, non-plaint object, the bench.
2. You’re body will need to recruit additional stabilizer muscles in order to maintain your position laterally.

• If you’re experiencing some pain in the shoulders…  Let some air out of the ball and reset the resting position of your arms.  By letting air out of the ball your torso will “sink” into the ball further and your arms will not be able to travel as far down.
• If you’re still feeling pain in your shoulders than perform all bench presses lying on a mat on the floor.  This will guarantee that your elbows do not drop too far below your shoulder.
• If you’ve descended the exercise to the floor and you’re still feeling pain in your shoulder than it’s time to STOP doing the bench press and visit your friendly C.H.E.K practitioner (Level III or IV), a good neuromuscular therapist (NMT), physical therapist of orthopedic physician.  Chances are the problem will not go away on its own.

The popularity of specific exercises such as the bench press is often unwarranted and unfounded.  A little critical thinking and second guessing is good advice when considering the exercises to be included in your next program design.  Don’t assume all exercises are good for you.  The best exercises challenge your weakest muscles, not the strongest.  Look for balanced strength gain and always protect your joints from injury.

References:

Chek, Paul. Big Bench – Bad Shoulders.  CHEK Institute. Online. http://www.chekinstitute.comarticles.cfm?select=26. Internet.

Chek, Paul.  Scientific Back Training, correspondence course and video cassette series.  Vista, CA: A CHEK Institute publication and production, 2000.

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