Hey I’ve been doing a little reading and I think I might use the bench press as an auxiliary exercise. Before you get all huffy, hears this; the PRIMARY movers in blocking are the tri’s and front delts. This is excluding a strong core and legs. So wouldn’t a standing push press or standing military press be more sport specific? They need good core stabilization and are ground based. Any input on whether I should use 1-arm or dumbbells or barbells or anything thing like that is welcome.
I prefer barbell. I have no real theory behind it, it just feels more natural. Plus after reading Goldbergs post about putting a 120lb dumbbell over your head one handed, I tried it. That felt so off balanced and unnatural for the spine. Anyway, just my two cents,
cha-ching
Push presses are great, I would definetly put them in your program, another great lift for a lineman is the Jammer Press. Don’t neglect your bench too much though, horizontal pushing strength is still important in football, also every coach and recruiter in the country likes a big bench.
Try using closer grip on bench, as well as incline. Have your arms about as far apart as they would be when blocking. Also, use a variety of exercises.
Would weighted pushups and more dips also be good aditions, seeing as how the pushups are ground based and dips are better for the shoulder girdle. Thanks for the input so far.
Well yeah, forget all the bench, incline bench, etc. Push press, push jerks, strict overhead pressing, one arm pressing are all far superior. Also remember using “military press” to describe an overhead press is inaccurate. Although a recruiter may ask about your bench, it will not make or break you. Walk in with cannonballs for delts and legs like trees and they won’t care. I’m assuming you’re still in high school since you use your number for your name. U of Nebraska doesn’t even have a bench in their weightroom any more.
BigC, are you serious that Nebraska doesn’t have a bench?
Yes, I am.
Hey thanks for all the info.
BigC, I agree with you that overhead lifts are superior, but the NFL personnel people for some reason put alot of stock in the bench press as the best measure of upper body strength…
explosive movements (ie. push press, cleans, jammer, ect.) are important for speed/power sports like football, however for many people it’s become the be all end all. Don’t put the cart before the horse. For a lineman nothing will develop upper body mass like barbell bench. It’s the king upper body movement. For a young guy you need to do lots of squat, bench and deadlifts along with some explosive movements. If you don’t develop the force through increased size and strength than you cannot develop optimal power. As an offensive line coach at a Canadian University I am seeing a disturbing trend towards total explosive power movement protocols in workouts and a move away from the basic big three. As a result I’m seeing smaller,slower and weaker linemen. I know many of the performance coach guru guys will jump all over me, but expolsive, functional strength type workouts to the exclusion of time under tension, strength lifts does not create big, strong , fast, powerful linemen. The other problem I see with young guys doing a lot of functional strength and explosive lifts is that without good coaching and almost constant supervision, injuries are more prevelent. Our school focuses on a lot of explosive lifts with little attention paid to traditional strength lifts. Last year our quarter back missed spring camp due to a back injury while using the hammer strength jammer machine. Our starting mlb missed a game from an ankle injury done doing squat/pushpress combos and our starting will backer played the entire season on an injured knee done doing a bounding drill. Interestingly enough after a 4 year committment to explosive lifts and plyometrics our team has not become faster overall and we are smaller and weaker. I am not against explosive and functional strength lifts at all. I think they have there place in a well periodized program. Just not at the expense of the traditional strength lifts (squat,bench,deads) that build the foundation for speed and power to be created from.
I am in agreement with you. I don’t have the time tonight to respond in length but would like to address this topic with you and others at a later date. Many of the “circus act” movements that are being used have little to no transfer to the playing field. To improve your hitting, get a good coach pick up a bat and hit. To improve your blocking as a lineman, get a partner and work on blocking technique. To improve in soccer, guess what? Get a ball a wall or partner and get started. Why all of a sudden to improve at our given sport do we have to bounce down a speed ladder on a Swiss ball on one leg wearing Strength Shoes, a parachute on our back, with a Body Blade in one hand a kettlebell in the other while balancing a Theradisc on our head. Combine that with the risk of injury as you mentioned and you have a less fit, less skilled, and injured athlete that you have coached/trained.
Perhaps these “gurus” will feel less intelligent or not innovaters if they simply told their athlete to bench, squat and deadlift. It seems every month there is a new gadget to improve preparation and a new “guru” to hawk it. As if they have conrned the market on athlete preparation. Here’s my last thoughts: THE GADGETS TAKE THEY PLACE OF THINKING AND TEACHING! ALWAYS LOOK AT THE PERSON WHO IS GIVING YOU THE TRAINING PROGRAM. ARE YOU DOING A PROGRAM DESIGNED FOR YOU OR ARE YOU TRAINING THE WAY THE COACH LIKES TO TRAIN HIM/HERSELF. Please respond.
Regarding the NFL use of the bench press to measure strength. Yes they do use it. They are not right though, and I believe they know it. To me and them, it is a lot easier to have players “rep out” with 225 on a bench instead of getting a squat max or clean and press. Lineman_56 when you go to try out at the combine then you can worry about your 225 rep max.
I’m not going to comment on Magnus’s post except for this. When football players start lying on their backs during a football game and press someone off of them, then I will consider the barbell bench superior to standing pressing. And also, players will get hurt if they don’t have a solid foundation under them. It sounds more that your strength coach needs to reevaluate his training. I think this is why HIT gets used too.
Hey thanks for all the great info guys I really appreciate it. Magnus I still keep Box squats and deads as the main stay of my program. I also do glute-ham raises, good mornings, some overhead squats, and a few reverse hypers. I use the westside system so what ever I feel weak on I really hit. On the upper body days I use to do a floor press or board press for max effort days (I have a bad lock out). Then tri’s work of some kind, and maybe an overhead press. And then some lat and bi’s work. I try to do abs 3 times a week. So the program is tailored to my personal needs as a weightlifter, but not as a football player that is why I’m thinking of switch to overhead lifts. Nothing fancy just “old school”.
I have never seen a competant strength coach use “gadgets.” I think Magnus was referring to the use of explosive lifts in training and not giving as much attention to the “big three.” The point I am going to make is that players get hurt doing the big three as well as on “explosive lifts.” Just about two weeks ago a player of mine blew out his rotator benching. He was doing a set @365*5 which is roughly 80%. Obviously this wasn’t too difficult for him but not easy. All of a sudden on the third rep, oops there it goes. Luckily the spotter caught the bar. I also had a player bust his wrist about two years ago going for a max clean. I also had a player pull his hamstring chasing kids around in his apartment complex. It’s all relative. Going to heavy to soon on anything may hurt you. Or it could just be a freak thing.
Any more input is greatly appreciated.
Think of the movement you are puhing up though in a frontal plane in a push press or standing mp… When you are pushing your opponent you are in a Transverse plane. so the most sports specific for football would be the Bench press or to get even more sports specific a medicane ball chest pass… Think of your movement then you can figure out what exercise is more sports specific.
I am in agreement with magnus also on this one Pylo is a great workout for lineman look at LA washington redskins LB. He trains with mostly Pylo… he does a plyo bench press, squat ect…
I don’t think using explosive lifts such as push jerks or presses and power cleans are gadgets. With the involvement I have had with football strength coaches at a high level, they base their programs around squats, cleans, and presses. There aren’t many who deadlift. Now I’m sure there are some idiots who have their athletes doing some wild and crazy stuff, but I think they are few and far between. Now obviously running in a straight line or just around cones isn’t as good as practice. BUT there are NCAA rules that forbid year round practice. This is why most schools have 7 on 7 in the summer put on by the athletes themselves. I guess the point I am trying to make is that from what I have seen most strength coaches try to do the best for their players which is allowed by rule. Most aren’t going to have some swiss ball weirdo thing, and most don’t claim to invent new exercises. As we all know everything has been tried before, so you can’t be inventing too much. Lineman_56 add push presses and push jerks to your program. Go ahead and bench too. They are all important exercises. Chances are bench is only going to take 10 or 15 minutes and I would be willing to put in that extra time.
Ok, I admit it, bench press does have a place in a training program. I just think benching is often the focus instead of push pressing, jerks, etc. Saying that you push straight ahead in a football game is almost complete crap though. First of all, most highschool lineman don’t use their hands enough. Second of all (except for o-lineman) you don’t extend your arms starting from your chest. Third of all, a close grip bench would be better since you should have your hands inside when playing. Fourth, you don’t play football laying on your back.