I’ve heard people say that the bench press is not a functional exercise, meaning that it doesn’t really have any benefits in other aspects of life. That’s in contrast to the squat, deadlift, overhead press, and other lifts which clearly help one in the various movements they have to perform on a regular basis. Squatting and deadlifting help you pick up heavy things. Deadlifts, pullups, and rows increase your grip strength. The overhead press helps you push things in that vertical range of motion. Even bicep curls make carrying things with bent arms easier, as do pullups and rows. But the bench press has none of these benefits, so the argument goes. What do you think about this? What are some of the practical benefits or applications of bench pressing?
Well it does strength several of the muscles invoulved for throwing a punch.
It strengthens and builds muscles of the upper body. So it actually does benefit us. Speaking of carrying things, pay attention to what happens with pecs and shoulders next time you do a limit set of any deadlift variation or loaded carries towards the end.
We also sometimes push things horizontally in real life sometimes. And just because an exercise doesn’t mimic some specific movement, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t benefit us in that movement.
Yep…. When ever I hear this argument online regarding the functionality of it .No one takes into the consideration of the muscles that get benefits.
Oddly no one seems to shit on a basic push up as something not functional.
Of course its functional… how else are you supposed to get a girlfriend without benching 2 plates?
Tell us the proper definition of functional exercise
I’d argue bench pressing is more beneficial than overhead press from a functional standpoint. I’m far more likely to push in a horizontal plane than strictly vertical.
Pushing a door open, shoving someone, pushing someone off you (if on ground), putting a heavy box on a shelf, throwing punch, etc.
There is no such thing as a functionless exercises. Anyone trying to tell you otherwise is trying to sell you something.
Bosu ball curls
I rest my case
I was just going to write that anything where you need to use force in some way is functional by nature.
Even if you’re jedi.
And along with that, what exercises do is just make muscles stronger. A stronger muscle is more functional than a weaker muscle. Motor unit training comes outside of the weight room.
It makes you bigger and stronger. Guys in contact sports who use the bench press are harder to bring down if you tackle them high
These discussions are always pretty vague because “functional” means different things to different people. Will benching give you a bigger bench? Yes ma’am! Will it give you a bigger chest? Sure! Is it better for hypertrophy than overhead presses and weighted dips? Ummm….no..? Is it joint friendly? Not compared to a Viking press at fifteen degrees…
Is it functional? That depends on how often you get hit by a car, whether you are on the football defensive line, if you are one of those Japanese dudes Tokyo subways employ to push people onto trains or wrestle, whether you like to bump into people at clubs while telling them to “stop looking at” you, or if you often try to get free food from vending machines by tipping them towards you.
I bench to get a bigger bench. Might not make sense. But it works for me.
A strong bench could also help you push yourself up over a wall or fence. Or wrestle and shove guy into position.
I agree, stronger is better. Bench press is good for upper body strength.
But you might need to do other moves to get that strength to “carry over” to sports or activities.
I prefer incline bench. Longer ROM and hits the chest more. I hadn’t flat benched in yonks until the other day but that feel on your structure when it gets heavy. How can u not get stronger doing that
Interesting thread. I agree with any strengthening excercise is preferred compared to doing nothing. But - I have a hard time believing that you actually benefit from bench press in ordinary/daily life. People seem to develop some muscle from hard labor, but it’s never the pectorals. It seems you never apply enough progressive overload without excercise for these muscles to grow. Also, the pectorals are stubborn muscles to get big and strong even if you lift (unless you provide them androgen receptors supplemental fuel). This means I may tend to agree with the OP on this.
But the bench press isn’t a pec isolation exercise…
Look here….
As a sexually active individual the bench press INDEED is functional.
I will see myself out now.
Agreed. My shoulders and triceps is doing the heavy lifting while bench pressing. But my reasoning also applies on these muscles. Regular people simply don’t have big triceps or big, rounded shoulders - no matter what they’re doing in life/work. You may get big as a lumberjack, but this doesn’t mean you look like you lift. I feel I’m derailing a bit, so it all stops here.