I glanced through the article, and remember the video from before,
and neither is stating that retraction is bad.
Both seem to be communicating that we want scapular retraction as the bar moves closer to the chest, but that one shouldn’t lock the scapula back there. Or at least, one shouldn’t lock the scapula back there arguing that it’s better for scapular health.
I can’t say for sure whether either is claiming that you should actively protract as much as possible at the top, but I could infer that argument from Paul’s article,
When you hold the scapula in retraction as you press, it keeps the anterior serratus from being able to do its job and keeps the pecs from fully shortening. You’re not actually getting the pecs to work maximally, and you’re not actually creating the stability that powerlifting junkies say you are
because the only way you are going to contract the pectorals maximally would be if you actively try to push the bar as far away from you as possible at that point and that does not seem stable at all to me. Then I’d rather just do scap pushups.
I’m weak though so I should probably keep my mouth shut but I felt this nuance might be missed out on in the thread and since I learn stuff from what people in this community write sometimes I have to interject some points into the discussion to aid my own understanding despite lacking
My point is that if you don’t know that powerlifting is a sport (no judgement from me), how can anything be cheating? In the absence of rules, there is no such thing as cheating.
Correct but you know how the internet works right, Paul says you need to protract a bit to get the maximal contraction and suddenly everyone is all “omg don’t retract” then in 5 years they’ve all got shredded shoulder joints and not the fun shredded.
Paul specifically says retraction doesn’t create stability which may technically be true but it sure feels more stable. Again not saying Paul is wrong because it’s the only way i feel my pecs when pressing is by a little protraction at the top.
It’s all about the right tool for the job.
If you’re a powerlifter or someone seeking to bench as much as possible- Id venture to say you’re going to want some level of retraction to accomplish this. You just probably have to learn to move through the whole range of motion for optimal health and power production.
Oh I knew what you was getting at. It was sorta of me trying to wrap my mind around the notion that the poster in question in their profile claiming 20 years of lifting experience .Wasn’t aware that it was a sport.
If you see what he was saying a few months back, he did say that benching with retracted scapula will cause shoulder issues in the long run. Maybe he changed his story or something.
I believe him about the pec shortening part, but I’m not going to try benching 400+ with freely moving scapulas.
tongue in cheek