This weekend I got a hell of a deal on some gym equipment and got 2 cambered bench press bars with the equipment. I tried one out and found it puts a big stretch on the pec/delt tie in. Does anyone have any experience with these bars and are they of much value in your opinion?
I think someone at elitefts does them with a one board or some other shit it basically makes it a deficit so you are still getting more ROM, but not so much where you fuck yourself up.
Never used one; never will. My gym has two. Its a training specific device. If you know why you’d use it and what the benefits would be then go for it. The potential for strain of the shoulder is why I’ll never touch it
I know Joe Defranco uses it with a two board, that way your only going about an inch below your chest if that. It increases ROM but not a whole lot.
I used to use one frequently a couple years back. Helped my raw bench a lot but you really have to be careful about going too heavy and/or using sloppy form
I have done bench press with the cambered bar, but stop doing it because I didn’t like the feeling on my chest/shoulders.
TRAIN HARD
“BIG WILLIE” J.T. HALL
I’d use one if my sticking point is at the bottom.
[quote]JoeC5267 wrote:
I know Joe Defranco uses it with a two board, that way your only going about an inch below your chest if that. It increases ROM but not a whole lot.[/quote]
Try it and tell me that 1" below your chest isn’t “a whole lot”. The extra inch feels like forever.
We typically use a 2 board with the cambered bar. And like threewhitelights said, that feels like a huge difference.
I know a lot of people say that it bothers their shoulders, but I’ve never felt more than a little extra stretch, even with a 1 board.
I have used them before to get more chest work and a good stretch after a heavy bench day…if you use good form and don’t go too far with the bar then you won’t hurt yourself,…the bar we have only comes to about two inches off my chest with 225, so i stop it there and press back,…the lightest weight that can touch my chest (275) with a camber bar usually puts just enough of a stretch
What would be the advantage of using a cambered bar over simply using dumbbells?
When I was much younger we would do them full range of motion for 4-5 week cycles. I almost feel like it made more of an aesthetic difference in my chest than power.
Now we work them in every once in a while as an assistance movement but always off a 1 or 2 board as my old shoulders and elbows couldn’t take full range anymore.
What I like to do with the camber is turn it the other way and press like that.
Also, they are a great bar for shrugs and kelso’s.
To the poster who asked about the bar vs. dumbbells, greater load and more specificity to the bench press.