Why are we getting sidetracked by the lats? I specifically said tris, lats, and shoulders. You aren't the only one around here sporting an ACSM, so I don't need to remind you that there isn't enough physics on that exam.
Keep in mind that "scientific studies" like Barnet, 1995, regarding IGF recruitment are not going to be applicable in terms of lat/tri use as the subjects tested were not engaging those muscles...they were benching "like body builders."
Bfold has a point...I'm a 170 pounds female, and I'm benching about 200. Clean (natural) and raw (no lifting gear). I'm also recovering from shoulder injuries from benching at 90 degrees. My goal is 315 by December. I never train my chest.
Shoulder injuries are the NUMBER ONE reason to learn how to engage your lats and use your traps. For starters, the lats hold the bar in the "groove" to ensure proper bar placement. For me that's sternum, not chest. It may land too high or too low. If it is too low, the delts are involved too much. If the bar lands too high, the triceps are involved too much. Strong lats will ensure the bar is placed in the correct position, that is, with the forearms vertical. In this position, an equal amount of delt, pec, and triceps are used in pressing. If you don’t place the bar in the correct position, delt and pec injuries are more likely to occur. The path of the bar in the concentric phase should be a straight line. This requires the correct use of muscles. When the Clemson University coaching staff wanted to know which are the most important muscle groups for benching, George Halbert told them triceps are first, lats second, upper back third, and delts last. George holds the world record in the 220’s at 657, a world record of 688 in the 242s and a 683 at 227, the heaviest triple bodyweight bench of all time (457 pounds over bodyweight).
In case you want a non-Louie opinion...
ASSISTANCE MOVEMENTS FOR THE BENCH PRESS
By David Geistlinger, Nebraska USAPL Athlete Rep
There is no doubt about it. If you want to increase the amount of weight you can handle on the bench, you need to spend a substantial amount of time doing the bench press, or a variation of the bench movement. But if you want to reach your maximum potential and stay injury free, you must also do assistance exercises for the muscles utilized while bench pressing.
Often times, a lifter will have a dominantly strong prime mover. Your prime movers in the bench press are the lats, pecs, front delts, and the triceps. Many times the lifter will rely on their dominantly strong muscles to overcome for their weak points. This usually results in bad form. One example would be when the bar drifts back over the face in an arched pathway. People bench with an arched bar pathway because they have weak lats and triceps. They overcompensate by putting extra load on the front delts. They can do all the sets of the bench press exercise that they can, but their form will never improve. They will continue to let the bar drift back over the face. The more sets that they let this happen, the worse their muscle imbalance becomes, because more time is spent using the delts, and less time is used stressing the triceps and lats. This means that if we want to improve form, we need to do so by strengthening the muscles utilized in the bench press in the right proportions. As time goes by, the amount of assistance that we do for a particular muscle will change. Over time, muscles that were a weak point may become a strong point and vice versa. The amount of assistance for each muscle needs to be adjusted on a constant basis so that the weaker muscles are getting the majority of time spent doing extra exercises.
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Recruitment is just as important as strength, IMO. Very few lifters utilize the strength of the lats in their bench press and when they are able to incorporate lat contraction into their exercises, immediate increase is always achieved. Here is how you incorporate the lats into your bench press: Take an empty bar or even a wooden rod and assume the bench press position. Lower the bar to the chest and pause. Instead of driving the weight up with the arms, contract or “flare” the lats in an outward direction. If you have decent lat development, you should see the bar move several inches off the chest. This takes practice to utilize the lats in this manner, but be persistent and practice over and over with an empty bar, gradually adding weight as you get used to the movement. The eventual goal is to use the lats as sort of a cushion or coiled spring when lowering the bar and then contracting them strongly on the initial drive at the same time you are pressing with the arms. Athletes who have increased their maximum bench press anywhere from 20-50lbs within 2 weeks as a result of using this technique.
In addition to recruitment is conditioning. Muscles can be stronger in one plane than another. For this reason, lats should be trained in the same plane as the bench, ie bb rows.
Perhaps you'd like to take a stab at how power lifters are able to press more than 500 pounds with torn pecs?
I read your posts regularly, and I know you know your stuff. I've been on both sides of this. 16 weeks ago I was benching 95 pounds...I started benching with my lats/tris/shoulders, and have added over 100 pounds, and my shoudler is finally rehabbing successfully. Give it an honest try before you knock it. However, be warned that benching like this won't train your chest to failure, so you have to use other movements to do this, such as db flies (yes, I said it again), db presses and bb presses all at less than 30 degrees (to not engage anterior delts). If you have a "good" shoulder, then do all that dipping stuff if you want. I wouldn't recommend those movements for someone with weak, or otherwise compromised, shoulders.
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