IS bench pressing worth it??

[WanTtoBeDeisel]

just thought id take a survey of how many people do barbell bench presses. My chest has always been my lagging body part. I've tried EVERYTHING, and trust me EVERYTHING to get it to grow. i have to say that I've made improvements over the years...less then i'd hoped but improvements nonetheless. but I've stayed away from barbell bench pressing because it used to do nothing for my chest, I've always felt it in my shoulders more than anything.

do you guys who just lift for bodybuilding purposes like benching? i know that it is a must if you are a power lifter, but that i am not. I'm wondering what some of you armor plated chest guys do for chest exercises, and if you are fans of the almighty bench press.

 

[Big Anaconda]

Well i think bench pressing is essential, not only is it a great mass building exercise but it remains the ultimate test of strenght.

 

[Canuck4]

I agree.
Its a very important upper body exercise.

 

[humanoid]

I agree that the bench press is essential to upper body development, however it doesn't always need to be with a barbell. Try switching things up a bit. Sometimes I use a barbell, and sometimes I use dumbbells. My current routine is incline dumbbell presses, flat bench barbell presses, and incline flyes. The use of dumbbells allows me to incorporate slight variations that really hammer my chest......such as twisting the dumbbells to be parallel with my torso when lowering, and then twisting them back to perpendicular with my torso on the upward movement. When I keep my muscles guessing, I keep growing.

 

[gimp]

I don't concentrate too much on Barbell flat bench or dumbell flat bench, for that matter. It's usually last in my routine, I start with incline barbell, decline, shaping movements and then burn out my chest with flat bench maybe once/ month. I think it's over-rated.

 

[Sergeant]

I have done both bodybuilding and Power lifting and the flat bench is not nessecary for chest size. With some body styles as those with long arms the flat bench will do little for chest size.

 

[CrazyD]

long arms here...

I hear you on the no pump from bench press. I have long arms and I hate looking at those short-armed guys putting up the big bench and curling a ton of weight. On the other hand I walk away from them on powercleans and hang cleans!

I agree, switch up the chest lifts and you will see some changes in your chest.

 

[Nelson Montana]

The bench press is a worthless exercise.

Sorry, but I can't disagree more that it's a true test of strength. The military press, squat, deadlift, power cleans and even pushups to failure are all better baraometers of strength.

The BP is a glamour move. It feels good. It's also the reason for more blown out shoulders than any other exercise.

Think Greg Titus as a good chest? He doesn't bench. How about Vince Girondas sweeping pecs that look like a gladiators steel suit? Never benched.

The pecs are usually easy to develop because they're made up of mostly white fibers. If you 're having trouble building it, you probably always will. Consider yourself lucky. Most bodybuidlers over develop the chest to the point where they have bulbous hanging tits.

The absolute best exercise for the chest is the forward dip. (Dips hunched forwad with the feet in front) Anyone can build a good chest with enough of those.

 

[fl8meplz]

Rock on Nelson! I agree with you 100% on this. I know a former IFBB guy and the dude never benches as he says it's terrible for the shoulders. Yeah, I have long ass arms too and I hate seeing those short fuckers benching heavy.

I ripped my rotator cuff last year and have to be extra careful not to mess up the doc's good work, so I rarely bench. But, I have a good chest. I guess it's from pushups to failure, light flys to failure and beyond, and some dips hit it too.

 

[JP@Ironology]

Bench Presses are great if you don't have shoulder problems. I have been doing them for years with no problems. I think they are a great overall builder, along with squat and deadlift.

I have met many people who have injured themselves though. Almost every person who hurt themselves, that I know, was trying to do a 1 rep max.

I would say if you feel shoulder pain there are other ways to build chest. No pain then why not do them.

IMO, unless one has inherent shoulder issues, one should not get injured using moderate weight.