Proper Benchpress: Save Your Shoulders

by Scott Shetler
July 1, 2008

Hey there Scott. I see guys stopping about 4-5 inches short of touching their chest with the bar while doing regular benching. What is the advantage and/or what other key muscles does this work, as opposed to going down all the way to your chest in a controlled movement?

Thanks,
Craig Szemes

Craig, most of the time you witness someone stop that short of touching their chest in the gym I'd say it's due to misinformation. I have heard many trainers claim that taking the bar all the way down to the chest is not a good idea as it may be hard on the shoulder joint. These same trainers will tell you that squatting past a 90† angle is bad for your knees, when we know the opposite is true. That being said there are some instances in which benching to your chest is not desirable. Please keep in mind that the advice of your physical therapist, doctor, etc. will always trump my recommendations as these areas of expertise are outside the scope of my practice.

If you have experienced a shoulder injury or have had shoulder or rotator cuff surgery, benching to your chest will most likely be a problem and therefore not advised. Using board press variations here is a great idea as it will allow you to control how far you bring the bar down. Simply have a partner hold a stack of 2x6's on your chest in a 1 board, 2 board, 3 board, or more, configuration and bring the barbell down to the boards as if you were bringing it down to your chest. Board presses are also a fantastic means for building lockout strength in the bench press as well. Board presses will allow you to use a greater amount of weight than a regular bench press which will provide a tremendous overload on the triceps allowing you to improve your lockout strength as well as build some impressive triceps mass.

If you have healthy shoulders and good mobility there is no reason you should not be able to bring the bar to your chest in a bench press. However I recommend the practice of "tucking" the elbows when lowering the bar. This movement will keep unnecessary stress off the shoulders. To tuck properly simply attempt to "pull the barbell apart" while trying to bend it into a "horseshoe" shape. This will put your upper arm in approximately a 45† angle in relation to the torso. This is a position you will typically see a powerlifter bench press in. It lowers the groove of the bar (you will typically touch somewhere between your upper abs and your sternum depending on the length of your arms and how big you arch your back) than the traditional bodybuilding-style bench press. Again, this will keep the stress off the shoulders and it will probably make your bench press poundage go up, two positives!

Hardcore bodybuilder types will argue that in order to effectively train the chest you must bring the bar down high on the chest close to the collar bone. This puts your elbows directly out to the side and creates a 90† angle at the shoulder. However, this places a greater stress on the shoulders as well and limits the amount of weight you can handle. Again, the bodybuilder types may argue that you cannot truly build big pecs but let me ask you this - have you ever seen a powerlifter with a weak, small chest? I seriously doubt it.

One more note on shoulder health, when performing bench presses (or any exercise for that matter) it is very important to train the opposing muscles and functions as well in order to prevent the development of an imbalance around the joints. For instance, since the bench press is a "push" in the horizontal plane it is advisable to perform a "pull" in the horizontal plane to balance it out. In this case a horizontal pull would be a row or some variation of the row.

For excellent pictures and descriptions of the exercises I've mentioned in this article visit the exercise index page at Elite Fitness Systems by following this link:

http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/default.asp?qid=37487&tid=51

In a nutshell, if you have healthy, mobile shoulders, bringing the bar to your chest in the bench press should be fine as long as the proper technique is practiced. However, if you are recovering from a shoulder operation or if a medical professional advises otherwise, use a safer variation of the bench press. Remember, any exercise can be helpful if done properly and harmful if done incorrectly.

Good luck and stay strong AND healthy!

Scott