close grip bench

[Eric3237]

Good, I'm glad because having the bar hit the pins makes a different exercise. It's one of the reasons, imo, that pin presses and floor presses aren't as good as board presses (not to mention the added versatility of boards). But of course pins and floor presses are good in the absence of boards.

[Riddick2112]

i guess if one trains alone like me board presses arent really a viable option.
i assume pin presses are done with the safety pins set at varying heights to work on specific areas of the ROM that are giving you trouble, yes?
what about floor presses though, I've never heard of those.

[Eric3237]

I do board presses. Just try to know I'm not going to fail! They are just so much better than pin presses or floor presses IMO, both of which are uncomfortable on my shoulders and create a movement that is not as close to the real thing as board presses are. BUT they are a very good option in the absence of boards or if you are worried about safety. I don't do max weights with board presses is all.

Floor presses are exactly what they sound like. You lie on the floor (in your rack of course) and you upper arms/elbows are what stops the weight. There are articles, btw, on all this stuff in the Powerlifting section.

To tell the truth close grip presses are no good for me because my regular grip is close (maybe unusually so) that anything that would be considered "close" by me is too tough on my wrists.

[IronKitten]

When trying floor presses for the first time, be sure to go light on the weight and get a good feel for the movement before trying anything more taxing. People get so used to having a more free ROM from bench work that they tend to come down too hard and fast. I've seen some pretty gnarly injuries from that. Ouchie.

[Riddick2112]

Originally Posted by IronKitten

When trying floor presses for the first time, be sure to go light on the weight and get a good feel for the movement before trying anything more taxing. People get so used to having a more free ROM from bench work that they tend to come down too hard and fast. I've seen some pretty gnarly injuries from that. Ouchie.

OUCHIE is right!!! my elbows are bad enough as it is, lol!
but seriously that's good advice when trying any new lift.

btw, i am assuming that is you in the pic, and if so . . . nice!


actually its a nice pic even if it isnt you!

[IronKitten]

Originally Posted by Riddick2112

OUCHIE is right!!! my elbows are bad enough as it is, lol!
but seriously that's good advice when trying any new lift.

btw, i am assuming that is you in the pic, and if so . . . nice!


actually its a nice pic even if it isnt you!

Yeah, last thing you wanna do is hit your elbows first into the ground. I don't care now squishy the gym mats are, it's still gonna be bad for ya ;)

And yeah, that's me in the pic. About 6 weeks out from the last competition

[Darkhorse]

Originally Posted by Riddick2112

i guess if one trains alone like me board presses arent really a viable option.
i assume pin presses are done with the safety pins set at varying heights to work on specific areas of the ROM that are giving you trouble, yes?
what about floor presses though, I've never heard of those.

Board presses are awesome.. I do them alone all the time. It's really the same concept as regular bench if you're lifting by yourself. Go as heavy as you're able to go, and stop if you feel like you may or may not get another rep.

If I go really heavy and don't think I can make it, I have a spotter watch me. If I fail, I can comfortably rest the bar on my boards and wait for some help.

I just loathe pin presses. Boards make no noise, and have that inch or two of give to really power that bitch up. Very closely mimicks regular bench vs. pin presses. IME, having tried both, boards have much more carryover.

[Darkhorse]

Originally Posted by Eric

To tell the truth close grip presses are no good for me because my regular grip is close

Pretty much the same here. My pinkey's are on the rings for my regular bench since my triceps power is stellar. Back when I was doing conjugate, I never felt any carryover to my flat bench. My CGB had my pointer fingers on the smooth part of the bar. That said, the ONLY close gripped exercise that rocked for me was doing floor pressing with a close(er) grip. And again, I didn't like regular grip floor pressing at all due to shoulder pain.

[Eric3237]

Riddick, you jinxed me on board presses, lol. Here I was saying I do it alone and just make sure to stop when in doubt (like 0311 was saying) and guess what I went and did? I got stupid on a very doubtful rep and ended up stuck under the bar! I gave it a valiant effort though. It felt like I had that thing suspended close to lockout for a minute . Moral of the story? "I think I can I think I can" is a bad idea with a heavy barbell and no spotter .

Oh well, I strained my back a bit rolling the bar off of me but thanks to all my injury proofing it was fine in no time.

[Riddick2112]

you dont know the POWAAAAH of the dark side!!!!!!!!



but seriously, hope ya didnt hurt yourself too bad! If its any consolation i messed up my left knee a couple of weeks ago while squatting. The injury itself wasnt too serious BUT after seeing the x-rays of what 40 years of abuse has done to my knee, I may not ever squat again