Bodybuilding.net - Bodybuilding Forum - View Single Post - Guide to Novice Barbell Training, aka the Official Rippetoe-Starting Strength FAQ

_Wolf_ · 01-14-2007, 09:11 PM

II. The Exercises
** A. The Main Exercises
*****1. The Squat
*****2. The Bench Press, Part 2
*****3. The Deadlift
*****4. The Power Clean
*****5. The Press
*****6. The Row
**B. Accessory Exercises
**C. Other Questions
**D. Exercise Substitution Questions

2. The Bench Press, Part 2

Question - Should I do inclines instead of flat bench? I don't want to overdevelop my lower pecs or injure my shoulder

The overdevelopment of the lower pectoral and the possibly for shoulder injury are not 2 things that a novice need concern himself with as long as their technique is proper.

Your lower pecs aren't presently overdeveloped when compared to your upper pecs. You don't have either upper or lower pecs, so neither could possibly be overdeveloped relative to the other. Both, however, are definitely UNDERDEVELOPED. With the tools at your disposal, the flat barbell bench press is the preferred introductory exercise for upper body chest pressing strength when compared to the incline press. The incline press is an outstanding exercise, and its use is encouraged as training and conditioning progresses, but the potential pectoral and strength development of the flat barbell bench press is simply higher than the incline press, and as such, use of the flat press should be thoroughly explored before making the decision to refocus your supine pressing efforts elsewhere.

As for the shoulder injury issue, the vast vast vast majority of pectoral tears occur in one of the following scenarios

1) The injured party uses steroids, and has developed his strength faster than his connective tissues can safely support.
2) The injured party uses weights that are far too heavy for him, and he uses them far too often.
3) The injured party uses poor technique, frequently bouncing the weight off his chest
4) The injured party has poorly developed upper back musculature, which makes all supine pressing a relatively precarious event.

Assuming you do what you're supposed to do in this program, it will be years before you would ever need to even worry about a potential pectoral or shoulder injury arising from bench pressing.

Question - Can I do hammer strength or machine or smith rack bench presses?

No.

Machines of any sort are not used in this program. The basic fundamentals of balance are not learned on machines, the overall neural response is lesser, and the muscular stimulation is ultimately less.

More advanced trainees can and probably should incorporate useful machines into their training for various reasons. Machines have no place in the training of a novice, however.

If you've already been defeated by the barbells, then don't bother with this program. If you want to use machines as a novice, then go get a membership at Curves or Bally's and do whatever the trainer there tells you to do.

Question - Should I pause while benching?

Pausing at the chest during a bench press is the primary technique adjustment of the powerlifter. In order to get "3 whites", the powerlifter must lower the bar to the chest and hold it there briefly until the official signals him to press. For a powerlifter, it is a necessity to pause their bench press during a contest.

During training, there are advantages and disadvantages to pausing (or not pausing). For now, those advantages and disadvantages are irrelevant. Lower the bar to your lower pectoral region, and "touch your shirt" without touching your chest. In other words, touch very lightly without bouncing. Don't worry about pausing. That is beyond the scope of this discussion.

Question - What are the most common errors in benching, and why do they occur?

1) Hip hop bench press - see the video of the schmuck above. This occurs because you shorten the ROM by several inches when you pop your hips off the bench, and also allows for hip drive to actually assist. You won't see too many people doing a "hip hop" without doing a bounce off their chest.

This results in the joyously humorous movement known as the "Hip Hop Bounce press". Don't correct people that do this. You simply can't fix "retarded".

2) Bouncing - This occurs because people want to be able to use stretch reflex as well as the flexibility and rebound properties of the sternum and ribcage to help get the bar up. The alternative, "using their pectorals, delts and lats", just obviously isn't their preferred method.

3) Lifting one leg while benching - this usually occurs in the novice who has asymmetrical strength/coordination/flexibility. The stronger side arm presses the bar too fast, and the bar tips toward the weaker side. In an attempt to "rebalance" themselves, they lift the opposite leg, which, of course, doesn't work.

4) Lowering the bar/pressing the bar unevenly - happens for the same reasons as the "lift one leg". One side will be stronger or more flexible, so the bar will typically be lowered farther on this side than the weak/tight side. While pressing, one side will shoot up and the other side (the weak side) gets stuck. This is a shoulder joint wreck waiting to happen. If you have issues with this, and you have been working on your barbell bench press technique for a few months, then IMMEDIATELY get rid of the bar and do 2 exercises: DB presses and dips. If you're crooked on these, you will be forced to correct the asymmetry.

5) Not tucking your shoulder blades properly - this leads to a whole host of problems:

** If one shoulder blade is tucked and the other isn't, then one shoulder joint is stable and the other is loose. Again, this is a shoulder-joint train wreck waiting to happen.

** If your shoulder blades aren't tucked, then your base will NOT be stable, and you will be pressing from a big pile of mush. Imagine standing on a row boat in a calm pond. If you are balanced properly on the rowboat (stable), you can jump straight up into the air without too much issue. Now imagine standing on the rowboat, but you are offbalance. One side is lower than the other side. Try and jump...you can't generate any type of pressure or force when you press off of an unstable base. Your shoulder blades are the same way. If they are loose, then they can wobble around, and you cannot press properly or with any power, not to mention the rotator cuff injuries you open yourself up to with this kind of unstable position.

Question - I have a sticking point in my bench press, how do I fix it?

In a normal person who is doing a standard grip bench press, the lifter will get usually stuck a few inches off of their chest. At the very lowest point in the lift, the lats and anterior delts are going to be strong relative to the pecs and triceps, which will be weaker at this point in the motion. As you press the bar from your chest, the pectorals begin to take over the motion, and eventually "hand it off" to the triceps.

People make the mistake of assuming that they can automatically determine the weak point just by knowing where in the motion the sticking point occurs. Professional powerlifters who use bench press shirts know that a poor lockout is caused by triceps that aren't strong enough (relative to the spring in the shirt and the strength in their pecs). However, in a non-assisted athlete, this determination can NOT be made without examing the technique across a full range of motion, as well as examining strength in the various muscle-specific strength benchmarks.

In other words, if someone tells you what your weak muscles are just by reading where in the bench press motion you get stuck, then they are full of shite. There is a lot more than meets the eye. Something can look like a pork chop, but smell and taste like chicken.

Regardless, your sticking point exists not because one muscle is weaker than another, but simply because you are untrained. Spend at least 4-6 months of steady, consistent pressing, both supine (Bench press) and overhead, and then we can worry about where your sticking point is.