As with many posts in this section of the forum it is probably the most simple question, but…
Are there any benefits to lowering a barbell so it physically touches your chest during a standard benchpress, compared to having ur elbows at a right angle parallel to the floor.
Obviously I can lift alot more if I only go to a right angle but I didn’t know whether to decrease the weight and lower the height I am taking the bar. Also when doing incline press with dumbells what is the optimum level to lower the weight to?
Range of Motion (ROM) is key. Drop a bit of weight and touch your chest. Don’t rest on your chest, just touch. Same thing with all your lifts, use the full ROM, you’ll have better gains.
[quote]BenCB5 wrote:
Are there any benefits to lowering a barbell so it physically touches your chest during a standard benchpress, compared to having ur elbows at a right angle parallel to the floor. [/quote]
Umm… yeah. Isn’t that what a bench press is supposed to be?
[quote]jbodzin wrote:
Range of Motion (ROM) is key. Drop a bit of weight and touch your chest. Don’t rest on your chest, just touch. Same thing with all your lifts, use the full ROM, you’ll have better gains.[/quote]
Agree completely. There is no reason to not touch the bar to your chest whether elbows or flared or close in a proper movement. The only reason one coudn’t touch their chest is due to using to heavy a weight and being to weak to do it.
I have seen plenty of guys in the gym who grab 90 pound DB’s and then only do partials for six reps. If they did full ROM they would be lucky to get one rep. That is because they lack the proper strength in the lower portion of that lift.