How important is it to touch the bar down on your chest when benching?
Discussion
DownUnder. said:
I can't do it, I picked up a shoulder injury about 5 years ago and if the weight goes above 70 I just can't touch it down without tweaking it.
I still get DOMs so I'm assuming I'm working the muscle hard enough but os there any actual benefit to touching down?
Not really....I still get DOMs so I'm assuming I'm working the muscle hard enough but os there any actual benefit to touching down?
Stretched the muscle a little more than "hovering" but also allows the muscle to relax for a split second without load....keeping it a couple of inches off touching will work the muscles more as they cant rest.
If you're not coming down to the chest then it's an (invisible?!) board press, similar to squatting slightly above parallel. However, if you can't touch then just do what you can do- if you're not competing etc then it doesn't matter too much anyway, as long as you're puting the effort in it won't do any harm. 
DownUnder. said:
Damn I was hoping you wouldn't say that, come September I'm shifting the focus of training from BB to powerlifting with a view to competing within a few years.
The injury was rotator cuff, is the anything I can do to strengthen it?
You'll need to pause on the chest then. Heaps of stuff if you google 'rotator cuff rehab' on google to get you on track.The injury was rotator cuff, is the anything I can do to strengthen it?
Who said the bar should touch your chest? You could well be hyperextending your shoulder, which is not a great thing to do under heavy stress.
If it hurts just before touching the chest then it's probably Subscapularis damage/weakness. This will be at maximum eccentric length - so at it's weakest and more easily damaged position. I'd more more inclined to say it's not rotator at all. Sounds more like Serratus Anterior issues to me, which may well be weak due to a rotator injury or weak in this fully extended position (because you haven;t full extended to that position before). Could even be simple scar tissue on a tendon or ligament which is rubbing on a bone or joint, if pain is only on movement, no position.
Anyway rules are always as simple as they are obivous:-
1) If it hurts, stop. This is what pain exists for.
2) One or a group of muscles is weak. Find out which. Correct it/them.
3) You need to stop doing any bench pressing until you've repaired/strengthend your weakened muscles or you'll only injure youself more.
4) If you're already injured, see 1, 2, & 3 again.
If it hurts just before touching the chest then it's probably Subscapularis damage/weakness. This will be at maximum eccentric length - so at it's weakest and more easily damaged position. I'd more more inclined to say it's not rotator at all. Sounds more like Serratus Anterior issues to me, which may well be weak due to a rotator injury or weak in this fully extended position (because you haven;t full extended to that position before). Could even be simple scar tissue on a tendon or ligament which is rubbing on a bone or joint, if pain is only on movement, no position.
Anyway rules are always as simple as they are obivous:-
1) If it hurts, stop. This is what pain exists for.
2) One or a group of muscles is weak. Find out which. Correct it/them.
3) You need to stop doing any bench pressing until you've repaired/strengthend your weakened muscles or you'll only injure youself more.
4) If you're already injured, see 1, 2, & 3 again.
Don't bounce it off your chest. In fact, take it to just about 1" off your chest then raise it again.
Also, lower the bar nice and slowly. That'll hurt a lot more than a drop and bounce and push bench press as you will witness in gyms up and down the country.. You won't be able to press as much weight but you will work the muscles better IMHO as they strain to control the weight.
Also, lower the bar nice and slowly. That'll hurt a lot more than a drop and bounce and push bench press as you will witness in gyms up and down the country.. You won't be able to press as much weight but you will work the muscles better IMHO as they strain to control the weight.
Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff