building pecs....without a bench?

PAz said:
Interesting...I've never read of this but it may explain why the absolutely *huge* guy in my gym (160kg for a few sets of 8 last week) wasn't going right down to the chest.

How far are you above chest level then? He was around an inch or so...
Click to expand...
As with most things it's different for everyone but I believe an inch is the absolute lowest you should go. A decent average is to get a friend to make a fist and put it on your chest sideways (like in a hammer position if you get me?) and you should just kiss his thumb with the bar.

EDIT- I'd give a link or two but I'm just off out, google it there will be many sites with info on the dangers of bench pressing ;)
 
Last edited:
The distance that you come down will also depend on your build. If you are slim (ie smallish chest) and have long arms then you have a bigger clearance to your chest than a monster guy with short arms.
 
Interesting, I've always gone right down to chest level since I've been training (on and off seriously for 4 years or so).

pshhht I hate bench pressing.


/heads to google.
 
PAz said:
Interesting...I've never read of this but it may explain why the absolutely *huge* guy in my gym (160kg for a few sets of 8 last week) wasn't going right down to the chest.

How far are you above chest level then? He was around an inch or so...
Click to expand...

Should be to your chest in my opinion, Lower it goes, harder it is, consider people that only move it a few inches to be cheating it.

There's probably a lot of sites that say that its bad, but there's a lot more that say its fine.
I have no doubt I could do 460 or so taking it just over an inch off chest.
 
Chong Warrior said:
Maximuscle can keeping screwing you :p
Click to expand...
lol, I wondered if someone would say that. Now I was going to say what's difference between Cyclone and MP's Hurricane (apart from price), but Hurricane seems to have disappeared from the MP site :\.

Edit : found it now :p.
Chong Warrior said:
You could do DB Press on the floor? It's actually what people should do when coming back from a shoulder injury as the floor prevents you lowering your elbows below shoulder level so it's safer. Just difficult to use a good amount of weight.

I don't lower the bar to my chest anyway when bench pressing as it's very bad for the shoulders.
Click to expand...
I would have thought it's easier for a person to cause more problems to their shoulders by doing DB presses.

I find if I lower the bar to my chest, half the time it gets stuck there :p.
 
Last edited:
PAz said:
Interesting, I've always gone right down to chest level since I've been training (on and off seriously for 4 years or so).

pshhht I hate bench pressing.


/heads to google.
Click to expand...
Here's one of the best sites on the internet ;) http://www.chekinstitute.com/articles.cfm?select=26
The CHEK stuff is in my opinion so far ahead of others, very in depth stuff and really interesting. I'm hoping to start taking their courses this year... they aint cheap though! :eek:
Heaven Can Wait said:
Should be to your chest in my opinion, Lower it goes, harder it is, consider people that only move it a few inches to be cheating it.

There's probably a lot of sites that say that its bad, but there's a lot more that say its fine.
I have no doubt I could do 460 or so taking it just over an inch off chest.
Click to expand...
What do you think you get from going that extra inch lower? Apart from a load of stress on your shoulder joint and not being able to lift as much weight ;)

If anything you're just missing the oportunity to add some more weight, gain some extra strength and muscle while putting yourself at greater risk of injury... and for what?
 
Killa_ken said:
I have found wide grip dips to be very good :)

When i cant get to the gym I just stand between two work tops and dip :p
Click to expand...
Excellent for working the pecs ;)

Unfortunately they don't seem to agree with me and cause me a lot of stress in my elbows and shoulders. I do them with my arms as close to the body as possible though but this puts almost all the stress onto the triceps, no bad thing though as they're the best for building big guns :D
 
Never injured myself due to what you say, I just dont agree that it puts so much pressure on your shoulders.

That page talks about the ROM thing, now i can take my hands way behind my chest normally, as im sure most people can.
 
As I said earlier everyone is different, you might have a great ROM in your shoulder joint? I don't struggle with any problem until I hit 100kg, it's only then I feel any discomfort in my shoulder and why I started looking about for possible reasons why.

Is it worth it? not for me. I now even find it better as I can keep tension in my pecs 100% of the time and I can get a much better 'feel' and pump, this isn't possible for me when going too low.
 
Phnom_Penh said:
Chong, how much can dumbell press and how much can you bench press?
Click to expand...
I never go for big lifts as I train alone usually though my current routine means I'll be hitting my 5 rep max in the next 2 weeks so I'll have a much better idea.

2 weeks ago I did these lifts in my HST routine:
This is after some hard squats and just 60 seconds rest between sets.
Decline Bench Press: -
(8x60, 8x80) 8x95, 10x100, 7x102.5 - couldn't risk going for more on last set as there was only me in the gym, I'd reckon could have lifted it though :)

This is after some hard deadlifting and just 60 secs rest:
Incline DB Press: (10x30kg) 8x(95lbx2), 8x(100lbx2)
The big DB's in my gym are marked in pounds for some reason.
 
I understand your reasoning, but that would also mean that you shouldn't semi lock out at the top, main work being done on the chest is in the lower quarter of the press, the top quarter being all triceps.
I guess I just dont like it because its not what ive done in competition, and I regard most people that do what you do as cheating, they probably haven't read any of this stuff though, just like to look like they're stronger :rolleyes: the gym got a better olympic bar at xmas, and a load of correct weights, everyone lost 10lbs haha

Also, when you lift, why 60 seconds in between?
I have as long as I like between the big compounds, usually 3-4 mins, while the two spotters do theirs, and then hardly any rest between concentrated exercises, seems to work.
 
Heaven Can Wait said:
I understand your reasoning, but that would also mean that you shouldn't semi lock out at the top, main work being done on the chest is in the lower quarter of the press, the top quarter being all triceps.
I guess I just dont like it because its not what ive done in competition, and I regard most people that do what you do as cheating, they probably haven't read any of this stuff though, just like to look like they're stronger :rolleyes: the gym got a better olympic bar at xmas, and a load of correct weights, everyone lost 10lbs haha

Also, when you lift, why 60 seconds in between?
I have as long as I like between the big compounds, usually 3-4 mins, while the two spotters do theirs, and then hardly any rest between concentrated exercises, seems to work.
Click to expand...
My training isn't about willy waving and showing off in the gym what I can lift. I leave my ego at home locked up in the wardrobe, safer that way lol! :D

As for the 60 secs rest it's part of a cycle of my training. Right now I'm in the 5 reps with short rest periods and in 2 weeks I'll be doing 5 reps with longer rest periods. Then I'll have a week off and then start over and goto 12 reps, 8 reps, etc.

I'm more of a bodybuilder aiming for hypertrophy and lower bodyfat than a powerlifter aiming for strength.
Pigeon_Killer said:
^ 407lbs or 185kg. Very impressive lifting.
Click to expand...
Indeed :cool:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom